Online courses trim billions in personnel training

Massive online open courses (MOOCs) are supposed to change the face of higher education. Early success, though, has been easier to find among corporations, CNBC reports.

A University of Pennsylvania survey released late last year found that few students made it past the first online lecture. That’s been a constant criticism of MOOCs from educators: There’s a lack of proof that they work as well as traditional classroom methods. San Jose State University suspended a program it had initiated with MOOC provider Udacity after poor early results.

These stumbles in the education sector haven’t stopped corporations from finding a compelling reason to embrace MOOCs: Online courses trim a bill that runs to $160 billion annually for job training and certification, according to a report by Bersin, a unit of Deloitte Consulting.