A Study of Faculty Perspectives on the Benefits and Challenges of Offering Massive Open Online Courses

• In Event: Roundtable Session 37
  In Roundtable Session: Workplace Learning: Multiple Contexts, Multiple Settings

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish perceptions of faculty regarding the benefits and challenges of MOOCs and the reasons for low completion rates of courses. Data were collected electronically from faculty in a major university based in the southern US. Of the 1,057 target population who completed the online survey, 939 responses were viable, and only 396 of the faculty responded to the open ended questions. Faculty open responses were analyzed using the Atlas Ti qualitative program. Open ended coding and axial codes were developed to group primary codes into broader concepts which enabled the researchers to create themes. The responses provide rich and robust descriptions about the benefits, challenges and reasons for low completion rates of MOOCs.

Authors

• Credence Baker, Tarleton State University

• Fredrick Muyia Nafukho, Texas A&M University

• Karen McCaleb, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

• Melissa Becker, Tarleton State University

• Michelle A Johnson, Texas A&M University - College Station