Dive Brief:
- MIT President L. Rafael Reif said in an interview with The Washington Post that all ideas are on the table when it comes to expanding online education in revenue-generating ways.
- An MIT task force last year recommended expanding fee-based online certificate programs in areas such as professional and executive education, which could expand revenue.
- Monetizing individual lessons as modules, rather than full courses, could also be a new direction for the university based on task force recommendations to unbundle online content.
Dive Insight:
MIT has long been considered a pioneer in offering educational content online. Nearly 15 years ago, the university began offering a platform for faculty to post course materials for the world to see. Since 2001, 175 million people have taken advantage of the access. MIT has also led in massive open online course creation through its partnership with Harvard for edX. It is not surprising that the university’s leadership has kept an eye out for future innovation potential. The world is waiting to see what they’ll do next.