Dive Brief:
- MIT is piloting a MicroMaster’s credential, awarded to students who complete the first half of the supply chain management master’s program online in MOOC format.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that students who complete the first semester of courses online and pass a “comprehensive proctored examination” will get preference in the admissions process for the final portion of the master’s degree on campus.
- After spending just one semester on campus, students who do the first half of the coursework online can walk away with an MIT master’s degree.
Dive Insight:
Unbundling degree programs is one way traditional higher education is innovating to compete with flexible, nontraditional programs. MOOCs cannot replace a college degree. That’s clear by now, nearly a decade after the original massive open online courses began in earnest. But they can open access to certain content that prepares students for a degree program.
MIT’s pilot could also work to diversify the student body in its master’s in supply chain management program. Students who may not rise to the top of the applicant pool with their prior grades can now prove themselves by completing half of the degree online.