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Abstract
Despite the widespread adoption of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), no business model has emerged to make them sustainable from an institution standpoint. Using MOOCs as a marketing platform shows promise; but for this to succeed, it is necessary to understand the motivations of those who undertake them and to demonstrate how these same motivations can be better satisfied through enrolment in a fee-paying university course. We discuss the motivations for students as they progress through a MOOC and the factors that might lead to subsequent university enrolment. Our arguments are informed by MOOC statistics, the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) marketing model, and the literature on adult education, technology adoption, goal seeking and consumer value. We argue that most students are led to MOOC enrolment through close alignment of the course topic and subject matter with their personal goals and through the establishment of an attractive value proposition. Progress in the MOOC depends on whether this goal alignment is maintained, and whether the value assumptions of students are met or exceeded. We predict that subsequent university enrolment will most likely occur when the MOOC experience is both satisfying and representative of the university experience, and where the increased time and financial commitment demanded by formal study is offset by the greater likelihood of attaining the focal goal. For this strategy to succeed, it will be necessary for the host institution to actively work with MOOC students to create an awareness of appropriate fee-paying courses and to promote the benefits of university study. This has implications for the way institutions market their courses to MOOC students.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jason Paul Howarth
Jason Howarth is a course director and lecturer at Charles Sturt University. Jason has a degree in Information Technology from CSU, where he graduated with the University Medal. Since then, he has been a lecturer in the School of Information Studies at CSU, and more recently, in the School of Computing and Mathematics. Jason completed his honours degree with research into the debugging of distributed systems written in Java. His other research interests include information security, MOOCs and digital marketing.
Steven D’Alessandro
Steven D’Alessandro is a professor in Marketing at Charles Sturt University. Steve has published 91 refereed papers in leading international journals (including The European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Services Marketing, Marketing Letters, International Marketing Review, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of International Consumer Studies, Journal of Macromarketing and Applied Economics), books and conferences. He is the co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Behaviour. Steve has published a number of market leading textbooks on Market Research and Consumer Behaviour as well as an original texts on Consumer Behaviour and Services.
Lester Johnson
Les Johnson is a professor in Marketing at the Swinburne University of Technology. Les has worked and lived in Australia since 1975. He has held positions at Macquarie University, Bond University, The University of Sydney, Mt Eliza Business School and The University of Melbourne. Les was elected one of three inaugural Fellows of the Australia New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) in 2004. Les was the editor of the Australasian Journal of Market and Social Research Society for 17 years and the editor of the Australasian Marketing Journal from 2009 to 2013.
Lesley White
Lesley White is the executive dean of the Faculty of Business, Charles Sturt University. Professor White has a background in services quality and has worked in the tertiary sector for 20 years. Prior to commencing at CSU, she held positions at the University of Sydney, Macquarie Graduate School of Management and the University of Wollongong; teaching, researching and consulting in the fields of marketing strategy and services marketing. Professor White previously held management positions in a range of industries including telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and consumer products.