Tuesday, September 3, 2013

UT Online Class Aims to Earn Millions - DOUGLAS BELKIN, Wall Street Journal

Two University of Texas at Austin professors last week launched their introductory psychology class from a makeshift studio, with a goal of eventually enrolling 10,000 students at $550 a pop and bringing home millions for the school. The professors have dubbed the class a SMOC—Synchronous Massive Online Class—and their effort falls somewhere between a MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course, a late-night television show and a real-time research experiment. The professors lecture into a camera and students watch on their computers or mobile devices, in real time. The class, which made its debut Thursday night, is emblematic of just how quickly the once-static business model of higher education is shifting as technology gives students more options and forces schools and professors to compete for their attention. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324324404579045381967754304.html