What role will MOOC platforms play in UK universities online futures?
As we emerge from a period of restrictions and enforced moves to remote teaching that have hugely impacted the higher education experience, it’s becoming increasingly evident that UK universities are thinking much more strategically about online education.
So much of the public discussion has been about online learning as a component of the predominant campus-based experience. But, in the midst of the last couple of years many universities have also been seriously considering how they develop their online or distance education portfolios.
For many of them this involves exploring partnerships with online education companies to support their ambitions, as evidenced in the number of recent tenders for private partners that have been issued.
These tenders have all been focussed around a category of online education company called online programme managers (OPMs) who help universities develop and grow their portfolios in this area.
However, many UK universities also have longer standing partnerships with another type of online education company, sometimes referred to as MOOC platforms.
Although a Mass Open Online Course (MOOC) as a type of online learning is an independent concept, they are very strongly associated with a number of prominent online education companies that were formed to run and offer them in partnership with universities.
Although still referred to as MOOC platforms these companies have evolved into more comprehensive online learning organisations offering degrees and microcredentials and presenting other kinds of opportunities.
So as universities enter a different phase of thinking about online education and as some consider new and different partnerships it’s an opportune time to reflect on MOOC platforms' role in UK higher education.
What’s the current state of these partnerships?
As things stand there are over 50 UK universities partnered with MOOC platforms, who provide them with the online platform and the gateway through which people gain access to courses.
These partnerships operate in different ways - some universities pay thousands of pounds each year to be able to develop and deliver courses via MOOC platforms, whilst others have a percentage of income generated from courses taken by the company.
Of the UK universities that are in partnerships with MOOC platforms - practically all of them are partnered with FutureLearn, but there are currently 9 that have partnerships with either Coursera or edX or both.
Understandably, as a UK company, FutureLearn really dominates the scene even though the US companies Coursera and edX are bigger in terms of number of registered users.
The number of partnerships between universities and MOOC platforms has consistently grown since the early 2010’s but what’s becoming increasingly evident is the rate of growth in partnerships is slowing. Between 2019 & 2020 there were approximately 8 new partnerships between UK universities and FutureLearn as opposed to 4 since 2021.
Any momentum that previously existed in terms of UK universities wanting to offer MOOCs and partnering with MOOC platforms has waned.
Are universities still creating MOOCs?
Although the slow down in the number of partnerships might play into a broader narrative of decline, some UK universities are still growing their MOOC portfolios. In the past 2-3 years over half of the universities partnered with MOOC platforms have added courses to their portfolios.
Whilst some universities have grown their portfolios, others have not and broadly speaking there are three categories of university and MOOC platform partnerships that currently exist.
There are those whose portfolios have declined or stagnated, those who have incrementally grown and those that have significantly grown their portfolios, as well as diversifying into offerings such as microcredentials and degrees.
Universities that have significantly grown their portfolios represent approximately 25% of all universities partnered with MOOC platforms. This category includes the likes of Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Imperial College, Leeds, University of London and UCL.
There are however a slightly larger number of universities that have portfolios that have either reduced in number or largely stagnated in the past 3 years; they represent around 30% of universities partnered with MOOC platforms.
How will these partnerships develop in the future?
The slowdown in new partnerships and the fact that around 75% of UK universities partnered with MOOC platforms seem to have small levels of engagement or a decline in engagement is notable.
For a long time university partnerships with MOOC platforms haven’t always been deliberately and thoughtfully aligned with a particular strategy. For some, these partnerships were initiated during the heady days of MOOC hype and have rumbled along unquestioningly ever since.
As a result some of these partnerships and course portfolios have been a very peripheral, ‘other’ part of university education activity. At times it is not always clear that they have been of real, significant benefit to institutions and it’s questionable as to whether universities in this position have really got out what they’ve put in - particularly financially but in other ways too.
In light of this and the current more strategic focus on online education and the role of partnerships, the next few years could see us reach a tipping point for university partnerships with MOOC platforms.
What is the current state of the major MOOC platforms?
Another variable in how things might develop in the future is the evolution and health of some of the major MOOC platforms themselves. The three major players in the anglosphere; Coursera, edX and FutureLearn have all undergone changes in recent years.
Coursera has evolved significantly and to quote US education technology writer and commentator Phil Hill:
“is no longer a MOOC company with side revenue add-ons, nor is it an OPM or a courseware company. Coursera is a broader entity described as a “global learning platform”, and this is not just marketing language. It describes their model.”
Coursera completed its IPO in 2021 and although the share price has dropped significantly since the initial high, the first quarter 2022 financial results highlighted a strong start to the year and growth.
Although fortunes can change, Coursera appears to be leading the way amongst the MOOC platforms, has the most registered users and appears to have a more clear trajectory than the others.
edX was somewhat surprisingly acquired by another large online education company 2U in late 2021. As a result there is a degree of uncertainty around how edX might evolve in the future. However, the number of partner universities has grown somewhat as some 2U partners start to offer courses via edX for the first time.
The deal has also led to partnership with edX to be more financially attractive as membership and annual fees for partners have now been removed. However, one of the major draws and distinctive elements of a partnership with edX, the fact that you’re partnering with a non-profit organisation has gone. This was certainly a driver for some UK universities that have partnered with them.
In the last couple of years FutureLearn has undergone significant changes to its leadership, CEO Simon Nelson has left as well as the majority of the senior leadership team that had been at the company for a number of years. In one sense this could be viewed as the end of an era and it has felt like over the last couple of years FutureLearn has struggled to transition into a new one. There hasn’t been the same buzz or momentum around the company that has existed in previous years.
Whilst like other MOOC platforms they have expanded into degrees and microcredentials, their portfolio looks very heavily dependent on Coventry University and the Open University and there is not the same growth or diversity of partners in this area.
Whilst as a UK-based company they will always have a certain degree of appeal to UK universities, they are a company that needs to rediscover its mojo somewhat and gather some forward momentum again.
What value might these partnerships bring to universities in the future?
In very broad terms universities have tended to rationalise and explain their partnerships with MOOC platforms in 4 main ways
1. Increasing revenue and brand awareness
The extent to which MOOC platform partnerships have increased revenue for universities is debatable. Although it’s not easy to precisely calculate the cost of staff time and all the associated expenses, it’s easy to see the financial returns received from courses. In the case of a MOOC you might be getting a 50% share of the £40 - 80 fee that a proportion of people who upgrade will pay, or a less clear cut proportion from subscribers.
For some universities MOOC activity has come at a financial loss and if someone were to precisely calculate profit/loss of this activity since the early 2010s it would make for very interesting reading. It is hard to see how in today's climate developing a MOOC portfolio on its own would be an effective strategy to increase revenue.
The more strategic uses of MOOCs are essentially as taster courses for degrees offered in partnership with MOOC platforms. So any university looking for a return on investment on these partnerships would really need to be offering credit-bearing, higher fee offerings such as microcredentials and degrees.
In terms of brand awareness or reputation, this can be a somewhat hollow justification for MOOC platform partnerships. A good number of UK universities have a strong enough brand to stand up in the online education marketplace if they effectively seek to capitalise on it, but many don’t realise this or have the capabilities to fully capitalise upon it.
In terms of brand - one has to question which brand really benefits the most in these partnerships, the MOOC platform or the university that’s effectively encompassed within it. For universities considering or reconsidering these partnerships I would contend that the most important brand is that of the MOOC platform in question.
2. Furthering a research agenda
This is certainly an interesting one and MOOCs have been both widely researched and used as means of disseminating research. Given that MOOCs can be encompassed into research bids/funding as an output this can be a good means of disseminating research that comes with some funding to support the cost.
There is a degree of tension with this approach, particularly between university course topic selection, which could be wide, varied and potentially niche if centred on research dissemination, and the commercial ambitions of a MOOC platform. It’s no great secret that they are more interested in courses in areas where they see both demand and revenue potential such as Business and Management, Healthcare, Teaching and Digital.
However, as a means of disseminating research and producing an educational focussed output, they certainly provide a decent avenue and a marketplace of learners interested in taking such courses.
However, I have seen courses in this bracket draw very small numbers of learners and anyone looking to take this approach will need to consider whether their course topic will be appealing to MOOC platform learners. Previously held expectations that MOOCs will draw hundreds or thousands of learners just by virtue of their existence will need to be brought up to date too.
3. Furthering a teaching agenda
There is no doubt that the process of developing an online course and running one on a MOOC platform is a valuable activity in terms of educator professional development. I’ve personally encountered many educators who derive huge professional benefit from this experience.
Prior to the pandemic one might have considered a strategy that seeks to expose as many educators as possible to developing an online course through a MOOC platform as being a beneficial CPD strategy. However, given everyone will have had some exposure to online teaching, albeit of a different flavour, it’s questionable as to the extent such a strategy might gain buy-in anymore.
Universities do though still frame MOOC partnerships under the bracket of teaching innovation, and in some cases innovation and experimentation is enabled and facilitated. However, too often what is really meant by innovation isn’t innovation at all, but rather the adoption of fairly idiomatic approaches to what is a less familiar mode of teaching for their staff.
4. Expanding access and supporting lifelong & professional learning
MOOC platforms and online education companies in general have all largely positioned themselves as seeking to expand access to education and support lifelong learning. If you were being cynical about this, you might say that this is merely an altruistic strapline that masks commercial ambitions.
Nevertheless, MOOC platforms do have some potential to support an aim like expanding access, but just like teaching innovation, it won’t simply happen by just putting courses on a MOOC platform. The extent to which these platforms have reached those unable to access education via more traditional means has been contested, and some research has highlighted that a good proportion of those taking MOOCs are already well-educated.
Using MOOC platform partnerships to support lifelong learning - particularly in a way that is valuable to people professionally - certainly seems to be the most aligned to the strategy of MOOC platforms themselves. Although there are other ways in which these types of partnerships might support strategic aims, this is arguably the sweet spot.
A pursuit of a lifelong and professional learning strategy would almost inevitably lead beyond MOOCs to microcredentials, degrees and to other avenues that MOOC platforms might provide to reach this audience.
This is also a territory that OPMs occupy and so universities would need to compare and contrast these types of partnerships to determine which one best supports their aims.
As more UK universities begin to review and develop their online education strategies and portfolios, and think about the role of partnerships in that, consideration of existing or prospective MOOC platform partnerships should be a part of the mix.
Now we are over 10 years on from the initial surge of MOOC platforms, universities with existing partnerships that are simply ticking over, should now reflect seriously on these partnerships and whether or not they might, or are actually helping them achieve their goals and aims.
In some cases this will require bringing people's understanding of MOOC platforms up to date. They have moved on significantly from just offering MOOCs and now offer avenues for microcredentials, degrees and opportunities to deliver courses in partnership with private companies and direct to companies.
In a sense they offer a bit more of a spectrum as an online educational partner than say an OPM in that they could support a more philanthropic, open approach to online learning as well as a more commercial strategy.
Universities will also need to carefully consider the relative merits of housing courses on, and offering them via a MOOC platform as opposed to doing this themselves. Whilst it’s easy to make a fairly unsophisticated argument that going it alone means not incurring any 3rd party costs, HEIs need to conduct a cost benefit analysis in reference to their strategy to come to sound decisions.
It’s also worth noting that this doesn’t need to be an either/or decision, in fact a horses for courses approach could be effective, especially where institutions are confident in reaching and recruiting from the target audience themselves and where they have a strong online learning proposition already.
In essence what characterises all of this advice is deliberate, strategic, well-informed and thought-through decision making in relation to MOOC platform partnerships. Some universities have not always been very rigorous in this respect.
Nevertheless, as we enter a new era for online education, one in which there seems to be more universities developing partnerships to offer an online portfolio of courses, it will be interesting to observe whether MOOC platform partnerships will play a role in that and what this ultimately begins to look like.
