Dive Brief:
- Just 4% of students signing up for MOOCs complete the courses, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Many who register fade away after the first few weeks.
- About half of the students registered viewed a lecture.
Dive Insight:
The researchers looked at one million users who registered for 16 free courses taught by Penn professors and offered through Coursera. Earlier data had suggested an average completion rate between 6% and 7%. These new findings come after last month's findings, also from UPenn, that found that most MOOC students already hold a college degree. But at least one professor takes issue with how some MOOC pass rates are calculated.