Business Today – August 25, 2019

schedule. Dev, too, encouraged his friends
to take up MOOCs, but very few were in
it for the long haul. On the other hand, he
felt compelled to continue as his company’s
performance was at stake.
To enhance learner engagement, plat-
forms are shifting most courses from live-
lecture format and time-bound modules
to shorter, pre-recorded sessions that can
be accessed and perused at one’s conve-
nience; in-between, there are multiple-
choice quizzes or short tests. Peer net-
works are created, and both alumni and
teaching assistants have become part of
those groups for better guidance, prob-
lem-solving and brainstorming. “We are
currently building a community of men-
tors, primarily our alumni, who can sup-
port students more effectively,” says Lalit
Singh, Chief Operating Officer of Udacity.
Irwin Anand, India Managing Direc-
tor of Udemy, says that failure to retain
students means ‘instructors revenues’ are

at stake (it works on a revenue-sharing

model). So, the trainers always respond to

students’ queries and upgrades the course-

ware if it is required. “Sixty per cent of our

courses have been upgraded in the past six

months,” he adds.

Shah of Class Central also asserts that

fewer people are now joining MOOCs –

from 23 million in 2017 to 20 million in

2018 – but the number of paid users has

increased. And that brings us to another

critical factor that increases course sticki-

ness – cost. Earlier, courses were free, but

students seeking academic credentials or

other services had to pay fees. Now compa-

nies have introduced paywalls with addi-

tional benefits. For instance, Udemy offers

a 30-day money-back guarantee in case a

student feels the course has not benefited

her, says Anand. “The money-back op-

tion allows people to experiment and keep

them engaged. Also, when one pays for a

programme, she is likely to complete the

TOP FIVE

GLOBAL

PROVIDERS OF

MOOCS

by registered users

(as on June 30, 2019)

Coursera

42 Million

learners

edX

21 Million

XuetangX

14 Million

Swayam

10 Million

Udacity

10 Million

Futurelearn

9 Million

Source: Class Central