Did EdX Fail?

Home
News
Did edX Fail?

The MOOC platform created by Harvard and MIT was purchased by 2U for $800 million. The transfer is smart from a enterprise perspective however some observers wonder what might have been.

In 2012, edX was founded as a nonprofit by scientists from MIT and Harvard. From the start, expectations had been excessive for the platform that was designed to carry excessive-high quality education to the plenty online without spending a dime.

That very same year huge open on-line programs had been acknowledged by The brand new York Instances, which dubbed 2012 “The 12 months of the MOOC” in an article about edX and its for-profit competitors. “The shimmery hope is that free courses can carry the most effective education on the earth to probably the most distant corners of the planet, assist folks in their careers, and develop intellectual and personal networks,” the Times wrote.

‘Throwing Spaghetti on the Wall’

By 2013, edX had reached more than 1 million college students. But yet, edX courses and other MOOCS have been plagued by the issues with online studying which have develop into all too acquainted to educators over the previous yr-and-a-half, including low completion rates and lack of engagement from college students.

As a nonprofit, edX had much less funding and less means to overcome those obstacles than Coursera, which was founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller.

Over time, Coursera developed a enterprise mannequin primarily based on offering paid certificates and partnering with universities to pursue degrees on the platform. edX attempted related applications but had hassle keeping tempo.

“I think they were slower to scale then Coursera was and they'd fewer diploma choices,” says Sean Gallagher, government director of the middle for the future of upper Training & Talent Technique at Northeastern University.

“They by no means had a method, they simply saved throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks,” said Phil Hill, an edtech marketing consultant and author of the Phil on Ed Tech blog. (opens in new tab) “They had Coursera envy and tried to match Coursera's preliminary business plan, even though Coursera had a lot larger funding and a much easier to make use of platform. They did not hearken to their university partners on what they wanted.”

Unable to Sustain Pandemic Momentum

Even so, when the pandemic hit and training -- and so many different facets of everyone’s life -- went online, all the main MOOC suppliers loved a big surge. edX’s enrollments (opens in new tab) rose from eighty one million in 2019 to one hundred ten million by the end of 2020.

This pandemic-fueled success is a part of why the edtech world was surprised by the announcement (opens in new tab) that 2U, which contracts with nonprofit schools and universities to offer on-line diploma packages, was shopping for edX for $800 million from Harvard and MIT. The schools will use the money from the sale to fund a nonprofit that may study schooling.

Whereas some observers in higher ed bemoaned the sale (opens in new tab), it is smart from a enterprise perspective as the businesses complement each other, says Gallagher. 2U focuses on partnerships with universities for degrees and certificates, an area by which edX fell behind Coursera, and 2U will profit from the brand recognition and prestige of edX.

“Part of the rationale for QU is that they are going to be in a position to accumulate prospective college students extra efficiently,” Gallagher says. “Think about it as a giant funnel. At the highest of that funnel, you have got millions of people who are registered, or completed, or actively enrolled in these courses. If you can get a fraction of 1 % of them to enroll in a college program, that is a solid business mannequin.”

Gallagher says that the overwhelming majority of scholars enrolled in edX programs don’t know whether or not MIT or Harvard are nonprofit institutions to begin with and the distinction doesn’t at all times matter. “The reality is, most colleges and universities in right this moment's surroundings have to function with a surplus and they need to have a market orientation,” he says.

However Hill sees the shift from a nonprofit to the private sector as marking the tip of an era for edX.

“It definitely didn't obtain what it set out to achieve,” Hill says. “I'm seeing quite a lot of frustration from university companions who actually considered it as going to be a university collaboration to innovate new teaching methods and share analysis, and it undoubtedly did not do that.”

“It's tough for nonprofits to compete, however who says a nonprofit should compete? That they had a chance to be totally different and never try to be Coursera. They usually selected to not go that route,” he says. “I don't suspect we'll be speaking about edX much in five years. It is going to be rebranded by that time is my guess.”

Virtual Actuality Teaching: Successes and Challenges (opens in new tab)

Research: Video Learning Could also be More effective Than In-particular person Lectures (opens in new tab)


Erik Ofgang is Tech & Studying's senior workers writer. A journalist, writer (opens in new tab) and educator, his work has appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Associated Press. He presently teaches at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA program. While a staff writer at Connecticut Magazine he gained a Society of Professional Journalism Award for his education reporting. He's focused on how people be taught and the way know-how can make that simpler.

Here's more information in regards to digital learning stop by the web site.