MOOCs have been the most talked-about topic in online education for two years now. The New York Times even named 2012 Year of the MOOC”. Since then, enrollment rates as well as the number of providers and the number of courses they offer have only continued to climb. But how long can even the wealthiest MOOC sponsors – organizations MIT, Google and Harvard – continue to offer these courses for free?
As of now, the MOOC industry hasn’t actually made its investors any money yet. The idea is to build support around the idea of open courseware before charging students for specific certificates of completion, college credit, and degrees. Check out the graphic below to see the financial scheme behind today’s MOOC phenomenon.
