GSB Pushes For Online Education

Even by the usual standard of acronyms, Mooc is particularly clumsy. But is this new buzzword the future of education?

Mooc stands for "massive open online course" - a Web-based, open-access education model that enables large-scale learning and interactive participation. In many cases, course content is free to anyone who registers; they pay only when they undertake a formal programme or seek a qualification. Some education providers, though, find ways to set the tills ringing immediately.

Moocs are not subject-exclusive. They are available across the higher education spectrum. In some countries, they have even begun to penetrate high schools. A 2011 Mooc launched by Stanford University, in the US, attracted about 160000 participants. Inevitably, the informal nature of Moocs means many people drop out of courses along the way but a growing number of institutions are introducing their own.

There is some resistance to Moocs in business education: market research in Europe this year found that most prospective business school students would not use a Mooc. Many companies would not recruit graduates who had only studied online. However, there was enough contrary support in both groups to suggest Moocs will gain ground.