Imagine a college course with none of the trappings: no lecture hall, no notebook and, in most cases, no tuition and no credits.

These are massive open online courses, or MOOCs, and they may play a starring role in the future of higher education.

Syracuse University has offered two MOOCs so far, both through the School of Information Studies: “New Librarianship” and “Introduction to Data Science.” SU is currently not offering MOOCs this semester.

Most MOOCs are completely free, though in some cases students can pay a fee or do extra work to receive credit or certification. Some MOOCs limit enrollment to make group discussion sizes more manageable, but the “massive” component ensures that even MOOCs with enrollment caps have thousands of students.

The programs offer a flexible, convenient education model, but have been criticized by some academics for low completion rates, a lack of personal interaction and even issues with intellectual property.

Elizabeth Liddy, dean of the iSchool, said that MOOCs can expand learning opportunities for teachers.

SU’s experience with MOOCs can also introduce the entire faculty to new teaching methods, she said.

“As a whole, the university is looking into them,” Liddy said of MOOCs. “I think of it as probably the biggest thing that’s happened in education in 100 years, and if you’re a university, why wouldn’t you look into it?”

Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina said he sees potential for MOOCs. The Georgia Institute of Technology will be offering a master’s degree in computer science entirely through MOOCs, he said.

The program will cost less than $7,000, a fraction of on-campus tuition, Spina said.

But one of the biggest criticisms of MOOCS is their low completion rate.

In a study, conducted by Katy Jordan, a doctoral student in The Open University, a U.K.-based online university, the current completion rate for most MOOCs is less than 10 percent.

Several factors contribute to MOOCs’ low completion rate, said Pat Cihon, an associate professor of public policy and law. Because the programs aren’t for credit, the lack of personal contact removes social pressure to know the material. And because MOOCs are free, students aren’t invested in them, he said.

“There’s something to be said about personal interaction, the fear of being called on in class,” he said.

But completion isn’t the point of MOOCs for many students, said Jeffrey Stanton, an iSchool professor and senior associate dean who taught one of SU’s MOOCs, called “Introduction to Data Science.”

Stanton estimated about half of those who enroll in MOOCs do so out of curiosity, without any intention of completing it. Another quarter, he estimated, intend to complete the course but get sidetracked by other commitments.

Jasy Liew Suet Yan, a doctoral student pursuing a degree in information science and technology at the iSchool helped with the content design of Stanton’s MOOC.

MOOCs, Yan said, have different levels of student involvement — from the “very excited and very active” students who finish the course, to more passive students who read materials but don’t participate in discussions.

David Lankes, a professor in the iSchool, said MOOCs’ low completion is understandable given the lack of traditional incentive and investment, and shouldn’t rule out MOOCs’ usefulness.

“It has such a steep drop because it has such a low bar for entry,” he said. “It’s a very low-stakes game.”

Liddy, the iSchool dean, agreed that the lack of student investment contributed to MOOCs’ low completion rate. The completion rate in SU’s two MOOCs was above average at 11 percent. She credited the availability of technical- and content-related support for the higher completion rate.

But sometimes there are incentives. People who completed the “Introduction to Data Science” MOOC were eligible for a scholarship in the iSchool’s Data Science Certificate of Advanced Studies program.

Some academics also see MOOCs as threatening intellectual property.

When MOOCs include professors’ video lecture, Cihon said, the professors essentially surrender control of their intellectual property. In most cases, he said, the professor is paid a one-time fee, and the university can continue using the video lectures indefinitely.

But, Lankes doesn’t see MOOCs as a new or dangerous factor in the copyright debate.

“If your intellect can be stolen by 10 video clips over a semester, then you’re not contributing enough to a university,” he said. “But actually, I’m worried about this stuff becoming proprietary.”

Lankes said he doesn’t believe the world of online content should be broken down into “walled gardens” of exclusive content.

Stanton said he supports the free distribution of online content, having released the textbook he wrote on data science for free on iTunes under a Creative Commons license allowing people to remix and redistribute the content.

“I want my work to get out there, and I want people to benefit from it,” he said.

But MOOCs have different purposes from traditional education models, and shouldn’t be compared to traditional courses, said Lankes.

“The way I looked at it was changing the expectation,” Lankes said of his experience teaching a MOOC. He said MOOCs, such as the one he taught, are meant to promote a cursory knowledge of the topic, not mastery.

The lower level of professor-student interaction, Liddy said, shouldn’t immediately rule out MOOCs, pointing to a “great variety of individuals” enrolled in the programs.

She said the mix of young and old students, including novices, experts and professionals in the field, creates a rich learning environment.

Despite the criticism, SU’s administration sees MOOCs as a valuable learning experience and opportunity.

Liddy said MOOCs can bring new students into SU, in addition to providing pedagogical data.

“Seventy-four percent of the people who took (SU’s) MOOCs had no prior connection to Syracuse University,” Liddy said. She added the two MOOCs SU has offered more than paid for themselves by bringing students into traditional SU programs.

With MOOCs, the biggest and most controversial question might be what to expect for the future.

Cihon, the associate professor of public policy and law, said he isn’t convinced of their longevity.

He criticized the lack of direct contact between students and professors. Unlike traditional courses, he added, the content of MOOCs can’t be tailored to students’ personal interests.

The programs don’t have the same kind of incentives for people to stay with the program, and universities haven’t found a way to successfully capitalize on it, Cihon said.

Though MOOCs could be beneficial by “democratizing education” making it available to a lot of people, Cihon added, he remains skeptical.

“The idea that somehow a lot of universities will hold costs down and still maintain the quality of education I think is a big myth,” he said.

Re-examining instruction methods and the education process are “healthy,” he said, but not total replacement.

Yet, many agree that MOOCs are not meant to replace traditional higher education course.

Stanton said he believes experimentation with MOOCs can yield useful innovations for higher education, while Lankes said MOOCs represent a growing flexibility in higher education.

“I think that there’s a real, important role for students to play in what they want out of them,” Lankes said.

Spina, SU’s vice chancellor and provost, said that MOOCs should be seen as a useful learning opportunity, not a takeover of higher education.

“There’ll be some other latest-and-greatest in 20 years,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that what’s learned from doing MOOCs isn’t going to be embedded in the next great thing. I just don’t know what that next great thing is.”

Published on September 12, 2013 at 2:58 am

Contact Maggie: mmcregan@syr.edu