Disruption has become a buzzword in higher education
with more than eight million references available through a simple Google
search. Now, Georgia Institute of Technology is about to take disruption up a
notch.
Georgia Tech, in partnership with massive open online
course (MOOC) provider Udacity, is set to offer a master’s degree in computer
science through a series of MOOCs for $6,600, nearly $40,000 less than the same
degree would cost traditional on-campus students.
“This is uncharted territory,” Zvi Galil, head of the
school of computing at Georgia Tech, told Slate magazine.
“There is a revolution. I want to lead it, not follow it.”
Georgia Tech turns away nearly 1,200 students each year
for its traditional master’s in computer science, so the institution will be
able to reach many more applicants with this low-cost alternative. Offering the
master’s as a MOOC also opens it up to a worldwide audience that may help ease demand
in the job market, according to Udacity founder Sebastian Thrun.
Plans call for the online master’s program to be beefed
up with more human oversight, interaction, and student advising to make sure
homework is done on time, just as in a traditional course. There’s also a $2
million gift from AT&T to help defray start-up costs.
Both Georgia Tech and Udacity also expect to make money
on the program, estimating that by the third year it will have more than 2,000 students. If
that number is realized, the program is projected to cost $14.3 million with
revenues of $19.1 million.
“It is an experiment that no other institution of our
caliber has embarked on (yet!), but everyone is talking about moving in this
direction, so if we want to do it, we should do it right away,” a working group
of faculty members wrote in a report about the program. “There is an
opportunity to be a leader rather than a follower if we act quickly and
thoughtfully.”
