Model thinking: demographics and performance of mooc students unable to afford a formal education

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are seen as an opportunity for individuals to gain access to education, develop new skills to prepare for high-paying jobs, and achieve upward mobility without incurring the increasingly high debt that comes with a university degree. Despite this perception, few studies have examined whether populations with the most to gain do leverage these resources. We analyzed student demographic information from course surveys and performance data of MOOC participation in a single course. We targeted students who stated that they were motivated to take the course because they "cannot afford to pursue a formal education," and compared them to the group of all other students. Our three key findings are that 1) a higher percentage of non-traditional enrolled students are in this population than the comparison population, 2) in an independent t-test, a statistically significant portion (28%) of this group has less than a 4-year college degree versus 15% of the comparison group, and 3) the completion rate between both groups are relatively equal.