Massive online courses grow; what's in it for the universities? - Kirk Pinho, Crain's Detroit

Depending on whom you ask, universities benefit in a few different ways. For some, the upside is that the courses may sow seeds for the MOOC students to eventually enroll at the university, generating revenue. For others, there are educational benefits in that they give professors a sort of educational sandbox in which they can experiment with new and emerging methods of delivering content and course themes. And some argue that the benefit is largely social in nature by offering high-level educational opportunities to a group of students that may otherwise be unable to afford them. "They provide the general populace with an opportunity to have lifelong learning experiences and exposure to new content," said Geralyn Stephens, associate professor, clinical, in teacher education in Wayne State University's College of Education. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150830/NEWS/308309998/massive-online-courses-grow-whats-in-it-for-the-universities