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TIP SHEET by Elizabeth Fomin MOOCs: Tips for Enrollment Professionals Massive Open Online Courses 4. Personal and professional development (MOOCs) are courses offered for 5. Core curriculum for multiple universities free for any students with an Inter- Some MOOCs may have 6. Non-profit schools can undercut for- net connection. Many institutions now offer free MOOCs, including prestigious state profits by offering free courses as many as 50,000 universities and private schools. MOOCs are 7. Hiring (some corporations will hire high- students enrolled in a differentiated from ordinary online classes performing students) in several ways. course at the same time. How MOOCS could be used at Some MOOCs may have as many 50,000 your institution: Most courses are tuition- students enrolled in a course at the same 1. To help students decide on a major free. Most MOOCs do not time. Most courses are tuition-free. Most MOOCs do not count for college credit, 2. An opportunity for non-traditional or count for college credit, except in California. Successful MOOC stu- returning students to enter a higher dents do receive a certificate of completion education environment without initial except in California. from the hosting institution. cost, therefore making higher education more accessible to larger groups Successful MOOC MOOCs can be described as a grand of students students do receive a experiment in higher education and 3. As a marketing opportunity explaining MOOCS in simple terms as “a certificate of completion large research project by many institutions What to tell students and parents and corporations” is an easy way to explain about MOOCs: from the hosting this new educational tool to the curious prospective student. 1. MOOCs are a grand experiment in high- institution. MOOCs can er education with many collaborators. be described as a grand For the enrollment professional, enrolling in 2. edX, Coursera and MIT are all examples a MOOC is an opportunity not only to learn of MOOC platforms representing many experiment in higher something new, but also to gain an intimate different institutions. understanding of how MOOCs work. The 3. Describe the MOOC as a class with as education… experienced MOOC student/enrollment pro- many as 50,000 students. There is no fessional may confidently answer questions personal interaction with the professor from parents and prospective students in a MOOC. At this point, also mention 7. State that a successful course com- about the MOOC experiment. Signature that online courses with paid tuition at pletion of a MOOC awards certificate MOOCs could be suggested to a student to your institution have an enrollment cap is not currently accepted as course try out what your particular school has to that provides students with an opportu- credit except in rare cases. offer in the form of MOOCs. nity to interact with other students and 8. Gauge your answers for the audience the instructor. and add more details for more receptive For any enrollment professionals, signing 4. Know what MOOCS are available (if students/parents. up for the MOOCs offered by their insti- any) from your institution. tution can help them personally identify 5. If they are interested, encourage the MOOCs For Enrollment Professionals the faculty members on campus who may students and parents to sign up for a Enrollment and admission representatives already be well known worldwide by the free MOOC, but only if recommending should sign up for a MOOC or two while MOOC community. this opportunity is aligned with your they are still free of charge. It is an excel- institutional mission. lent opportunity to experience the student How are MOOCs used today? perspective of online courses, as well as be- 6. Explain that the “signature track” is 1. Interactive textbooks for flipped class- come more aware of current trends in higher available in some courses as a method rooms (publishers are getting involved) education. Signing up for a free MOOC in a being tested to better ensure the iden- 2. Corporate training tity of students taking online courses. home institution or even from a competitor’s institution, helps dispel any mystery about 3. Interactive learning and collaboration The signature track service for MOOCs this new technology. between institutions requires a fee. WWW.NACACNET.ORG SUMMER 2013 JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ADMISSION | 19 TIP SHEET MOOC Faculty Members assignments. Other assignments were graded Model Thinking MOOC faculty members are in a public by a computer program or “robot grader.” with Scott E. Page role and represent a significant marketing There were large forums for discussions Description: “We live in a complex world advantage over more conventional higher filled with students communicating in many with diverse people, firms and govern- education marketing methods. Many uni- different languages. Unless a student was ments whose behaviors aggregate to versities have powerful brands that have part of a smaller group, navigating the forums produce novel, unexpected phenomena. been traditionally represented by commu- could quickly become an overwhelming task. We see political uprisings, market crashes nications and marketing departments and It was a truly eye-opening experience to use and a never-ending array of social trends.” those brands are now being leveraged in a widget to extract the data representing (Coursera, 2013) online learning communities. my personal social network activities in visualizing a 3D graphic. Dr. Page’s lectures are recorded in a The MOOC faculty member provides a much soundstage. He patiently explains very more personal and educationally relevant The History of the Internet complex mathematical models in a friendly method for a student to experience the with Chuck Severance and approachable manner. I quickly found university before even visiting the campus. Description: “The impact of technology and that many of the mathematical proofs I networks on our lives, culture and society learned in high school have since had name Lurkers continues to increase. The very fact that you changes, resulting in a very steep learning Signing up for a MOOC is also a wonderful can take this course from anywhere in the curve for this particular lurker. I found that learning opportunity for staff and faculty. world requires a technological infrastructure my study skills were quite rusty and my at- Online students who enroll in MOOC for that was designed, engineered and built tention span seemed shorter than it used to the purpose of seeing the techniques, con- over the past 60 years. To function in an be. It took a great deal of discipline for me tent, technology and pedagogy are known information-centric world, we need to under- to make progress in learning the material, as “lurkers.” stand the workings of network technology. “ but this was an excellent reminder of chal- (Coursera, 2013) lenges facing today’s college students. At the University of Michigan, I signed up for three classes taught by my colleagues. Dr. Serverance’s fascinating video interviews Conclusion Casually ”lurking” in the virtual crowd of with the founders of the Internet hardware The MOOC experience was very positive for students, I could see firsthand what fac- and world wide web software make tak- me. I would recommend it to any curious ulty members were doing in their respective ing this course feel more like viewing a adult learner, and even high school students MOOC’s, learning from the experts. professionally-produced documentary. He would enjoy the varied topics and lively dis- carefully explains complex technology in cussions. Every day more information about Here are my impressions of the three courses a manner that is very accessible to a wide MOOCs is published and discussed. It is not I took at the University of Michigan, hosted audience. He also personalizes his course by yet known how MOOCs will ultimately affect at Coursera.org: offering the opportunity to meet in person the landscape of higher education enroll- or online with him for office hours in cities ment, but in the meantime institutions can Social Network Analysis around world, then posting videos of office use this exciting new technology to assist with Lara Adamic hours for all MOOC students to view. His of- students in their search for the college or Description: “This course will use social fice hour videos were made with a hand-held university of their dreams.sh network analysis, both its theory and camera, and included introductions of all of computational tools, to make sense of the the students attending. Most of the office Reference: www.coursera.org (accessed social and information networks that have hour meetings were held in coffee shops. May 12, 2013) been fueled and rendered accessible by the Internet.” (Coursera, 2013) ELIzABETH FOMIn is the online program manager and Dr. Adamic’s course was the most lecturer for the College of Arts, Science and Letters at the challenging of the three for me. The course University of Michigan-Dearborn. She has a BFA in graphic design and an MLS in technology management from included a great deal of mathematical theory Eastern Michigan University. She teaches courses in visual and practice, as well as assignments created communications, web design and infographics. with downloaded software applications and included a requirement of interaction with other students. Dr. Adamic’s MOOC required students to do peer grading on some 20 | SUMMER 2013 JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ADMISSION WWW.NACACNET.ORG