New MOOC sequences. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will this fall package some of its online courses into more cohesive sequences, just as edX prepares to roll out certificates of completion using identity verification.
Seen together, the two announcements may provide a glimpse at what the future holds for the massive open online course provider. The “XSeries” sequences add a new layer of structure to MITx, the institution’s section of the edX platform. Ways edX Could Change Education. By Marc Parry Cambridge, Mass.
Kelvin Ma for the Chronicle Marcello Pagano (left), a biostatistician, and E. Francis Cook Jr., an epidemiologist, will teach a course in their disciplines this fall, one of Harvard's first on edX. EdX Revenue Plan. By Steve Kolowich How can a nonprofit organization that gives away courses bring in enough revenue to at least cover its costs?
That's the dilemma facing edX, a project led by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that is bringing in a growing number of high-profile university partners to offer massive open online courses, or MOOCs. Two other major providers of MOOCs, Coursera and Udacity, are for-profit companies. While edX has cast itself as the more contemplative, academically oriented player in the field, it remains under pressure to generate revenue.
"Even though we are a nonprofit, we have to become self-sustaining," said Anant Agarwal, president of edX.