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(Dis)organization and Success in an Economics MOOC

Author

Listed:
  • Abhijit V. Banerjee
  • Esther Duflo

Abstract

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) present the potential to deliver high quality education to a large number of students. But they suffer from low completion rates. This paper identifies disorganization as a factor behind failure to complete a MOOC. Students who enroll one day late are 17 percentage points less likely to earn a certificate than students who enroll exactly on time. This reflects selection, but it does seem to be related to demographic characteristics, motivation to complete the course, or ability. This suggests that building in even more structure in the MOOC could be a factor in improving performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2014. "(Dis)organization and Success in an Economics MOOC," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 514-518, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:5:p:514-18
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.5.514
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    Cited by:

    1. Pugatch, Todd & Wilson, Nicholas, 2018. "Nudging study habits: A field experiment on peer tutoring in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 151-161.
    2. Daniel Schunk & Eva M. Berger & Henning Hermes & Kirsten Winkel & Ernst Fehr, 2022. "Teaching self-regulation," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(12), pages 1680-1690, December.
      • Daniel Schunk & Eva M. Berger & Henning Hermes & Kirsten Winkel & Ernst Fehr, 2022. "Teaching Self-Regulation," Working Papers 2210, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    3. Wada, Shuhei, 2021. "Online education and the Great Convergence," MPRA Paper 108793, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Hardt, David & Nagler, Markus & Rincke, Johannes, 2023. "Tutoring in (online) higher education: Experimental evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. McKenzie, David & Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Predicting entrepreneurial success is hard: Evidence from a business plan competition in Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    6. Joshua Goodman & Julia Melkers & Amanda Pallais, 2019. "Can Online Delivery Increase Access to Education?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(1), pages 1-34.
    7. Hardt, David & Nagler, Markus & Rincke, Johannes, 2022. "Can peer mentoring improve online teaching effectiveness? An RCT during the COVID-19 pandemic," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Riudavets-Barcons, Marc & Uusitalo, Roope, 2023. "School Closures and Student Achievement: Evidence from a High Stakes Exam," IZA Discussion Papers 16074, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Patterson, Richard W., 2018. "Can behavioral tools improve online student outcomes? Experimental evidence from a massive open online course," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 293-321.
    10. McKenzie, David & Sansone, Dario, 2017. "Man vs. Machine in Predicting Successful Entrepreneurs: Evidence from a Business Plan Competition in Nigeria," CEPR Discussion Papers 12523, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Guerrero, Maribel & Heaton, Sohvi & Urbano, David, 2021. "Building universities’ intrapreneurial capabilities in the digital era: The role and impacts of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Perri, Timothy, 2016. "Online education, signaling, and human capital," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 69-74.
    13. Ni Huang & Jiayin Zhang & Gordon Burtch & Xitong Li & Peiyu Chen, 2021. "Combating Procrastination on Massive Online Open Courses via Optimal Calls to Action," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 301-317, June.
    14. Tong, Tingting & Li, Haizheng, 2018. "Demand for MOOC - An Application of Big Data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 194-207.
    15. Novella, Rafael & Rosas-Shady, David & Freund, Richard, 2024. "Is online job training for all? Experimental evidence on the effects of a Coursera program in Costa Rica," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    16. Gong, Jie & Liu, Tracy Xiao & Tang, Jie, 2021. "How monetary incentives improve outcomes in MOOCs: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 905-921.
    17. Hoque, Nazmul & Basher, Syed Abul & A.K. Enamul, Haque, 2022. "Do Students Perform Better in Online Delivery of Education? Evidence from Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 112981, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Sam Allgood & William B. Walstad & John J. Siegfried, 2015. "Research on Teaching Economics to Undergraduates," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(2), pages 285-325, June.
    19. Emilie Dargaud & Fréedéeric Jouneau-Sion, 2020. "The good MOOC and the universities," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5), pages 474-490, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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