Dror Ben-Naim, founder and CEO of Smart Sparrow, an adaptive learning technology company, references the study in making his case that the MOOC have “lived up to their name in terms of generating massive enrollments.” But with completion rates in the “low single digits,” according to Hollands and Tirthali, they are far from delivering on their promise to democratize and revolutionize higher education by making it affordable and accessible to students who can’t afford four years of full-time, bricks-and-mortar college, Ben-Naim writes.

The research– by Hollands, a Ph.D. graduate and senior research scientist at TC’s Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education; and Tirthali, an Ed.D. graduate of TC and instructional designer at Brown University–has grabbed the attention of many who are watching to see whether MOOCs will be as successful as advertised in enabling vastly more students to earn college degrees.

The study was featured on the TC website and on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Wired Campus blog in May. Hollands talked about her research in a TEDx talk July 22.

Published Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014