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Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott will call for students to receive college credit for taking massive open online courses — often referred to as "MOOCs" — as part of the higher education plan he unveils on Tuesday, sources with knowledge of his plans say.
Abbott is scheduled to lay out his higher education plan in an afternoon speech at the University of Texas at Dallas.
MOOCs are online courses with unlimited enrollment that anyone — regardless of whether they are enrolled at a university — can sign up for and take for free. Right now, the courses rarely earn students college credit.
Abbott intends to make the case that to improve flexibility and affordability in higher education, credit should be offered for completing such courses.
Completion rates are low however, so not everyone sees these as a good idea. His opponent in the gubernatorial race does not mention MOOCs in her higher proposals.
Abbott's Democratic opponent, state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, has already unveiled her higher education policy proposals. Her plan makes no mention of MOOCs. Her proposals pertaining to affordability include providing more funding to the state's main grant program for low-income students, expanding access to a state loan program designed to encourage timely graduation and establishing a sales tax exemption on textbooks.
Assuming the change is adopted, what does this mean for community colleges?
- Here's one opinion:
Community colleges comprise a unique sector of higher education focused on the teaching and learning process. They have their own history, mission and diverse student populations, each member of which has distinct needs and aspirations. Further, community colleges have developed a considerable body of empirical knowledge and hands-on experience in providing effective pedagogical experiences. In communities across America, these institutions provide centers for lifelong learning, both by degrees and community education courses. Considering this context, MOOCs are unlikely to completely reinvent community college education or, for that matter, any other sector of higher education, as their most ardent proponents have argued. On the other hand, they have in their early use, demonstrated enough potential in expanding access and learning options to be considered more than a fad as critics of MOOCs have warned.
One author sees the push towards MOOCs as apart of a conservative war on college.
