To open with full disclosure, I am a huge fan of Open Courseware (OCW), Creative Commons licensing, and the notion of free knowledge.\u00a0 However, as an Educational Venture Analyst I would have to turn down the Royal Roads University (RRU) proposal based on the pitch.<\/p>\n
One of the main thrusts of the pitch is that opening RRU courses will raise the university\u2019s profile.\u00a0 MIT OCW became widely known because they were MIT \u2013 they already had a significant global profile.\u00a0 Has the profile of the Dixie State College of Utah (also an OCW member) been raised since they started opening their online courses?\u00a0 Burgess gives little data about the affect opening their courseware has had on other institutions nor does she address the technical requirements or costs of this initiative.<\/p>\n
Burgess (2008) also makes the bold claim that \u201cbeing open can really help us with learner recruitment\u201d.\u00a0 However, MIT\u2019s freshman enrollment before OCW was approximately 1050 students (Arnaout, 2000).\u00a0 The freshman enrollment eight years after OCW?\u00a0 1051 students (MIT, 2009).\u00a0 Perhaps there are other recruitment metrics Burgess is anticipating for the small university but she doesn’t mention any.<\/p>\n
While I appreciate Burgess\u2019s passion for a very noble venture, the pitch simply did not establish sufficient details on the benefit to the institution to warrant pursuing.<\/p>\n
Arnaout, R. (2000).\u00a0 MIT Cuts Size of Class of 2004 To Prepare for Housing Crunch.\u00a0 Retrieved September 16, 2009 from http:\/\/tech.mit.edu\/V120\/N8\/8enroll.8n.html<\/p>\n