Are MOOCs Really Public Goods?

       Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become the star of higher education reform, sparking debates on the usefulness of online learning. As this article outlines, MOOCs are a proposed answer for America’s higher education flaws because they grant anyone access to education regardless of location, schedule, or income. The goal of MOOCs is to eliminate any accessibility issues that prevent potential students from earning an education, Because of this MOOCs been classified as public goods because they’re free resources that help better society.

            But are MOOCs really public goods? MOOCs are certainly non-rival as they are designed to accommodate “massive” numbers of students, meaning the enrollment of any one additional student does not hinder other’s ability to take the course. Defining MOOCs as non-excludable is slightly more challenging though. The whole motivation behind MOOCs is that they’re created to be used by anyone, anywhere in the world, but is this really the case? While it goes against the fundamental purpose of MOOCs, technically MOOC providers have the capability to prevent potential students from enrolling in a course, similar to the cable company example discussed in Mueller. Similarly, while MOOCs may be open to an infinite number of students, things like Internet access and computers, which are required to take MOOCs, are certainly not public goods indirectly limiting the number who can take any given MOOC.

            Overall, while MOOCs may be created as public goods intended to benefit the masses with no limit, the drawbacks mentioned above indicate that MOOCs are really impure public goods because they don’t fit the non-rival and non-excludable characteristics fully.