Dive Brief:
- The technology that enables massive open online courses, not the MOOCs themselves, represents a threat to traditional business schools, according to a report by two professors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
- That technology — short videos, smart testing and automated grading, and social networking and online communities — combined with the widespread use of YouTube-type media consumption by students today could be used by business schools to serve more students more efficiently or serve existing students with fewer faculty members.
- Another scenario that could develop would be that the functions of business schools are unbundled, and the traditional business schools are replaced by alternatives, the professors say.
Dive Insight:
The study, by Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich, is called "Will Video Kill the Classroom Star? The Threat and Opportunity of Massively Open Online Course for Full-Time MBA Programs." Among their recommendations, the professors advise that every faculty member should take an online course in their field of study, experiment with elements of MOOC technology, and move into forms of teaching that can’t be captured by MOOC technology. “At a price point of over $100 per session, a classroom encounter between students and faculty should be a significant event,” they write.