Studying Learner Behavior in Online Courses With Free-Certificate Coupons: Results From Two Case Studies
Name
4564-Article Text-31617-1-10-20200110.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
310.14 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
76708dee52ed099121eb2f52f51a470c
Author(s)
Littenberg-Tobias, Joshua
Ruipérez-Valiente, José A
Reich, Justin
Date Issued
2020
Journal
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
Publisher
Athabasca University Press
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The relationship between pricing and learning behavior is an important topic in research on massive open online courses (MOOCs). We report on two case studies where cohorts of learners were offered coupons for free certificates to explore how price reductions might influence behavior in MOOC-based online learning settings. In Case Study 1, we compare participation and certification rates between courses with and without free-certificate coupons. In the courses with a free-certificate track, participants signed up for the verified-certificate track at higher rates, and completion rates among verified students were higher than in the paid-certificate track courses. In Case Study 2, we compare learner behavior within the same courses by whether they received access to a free-certificate track. Access to free certificates was associated with lower certification rates, but overall, certification rates remained high, particularly among those who viewed the courses. These findings suggest that some incentives, other than simply the cost of paying for a verified-certificate track, may motivate learners to complete MOOCs.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.19173/IRRODL.V20I5.4564
