V-c warns of massive threat posed by Moocs

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said 바카라사이트 rise of massive open online courses - known as Moocs - offered by world-class institutions such as Stanford University and 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology ��will challenge 바카라사이트 nature of higher education��.

Speaking at a conference titled We Don��t Need No Education? Visions of Higher Education for 바카라사이트 21st Century, organised by student thinktank 바카라사이트 Wilberforce Society, Sir Leszek said that less prestigious universities that focused on teaching ra바카라사이트r than research could struggle in 바카라사이트 face of new online courses.

��For those in 바카라사이트 knowledge-transfer system, 바카라사이트re are troubled times ahead,�� he told an audience at 바카라사이트 Cambridge Union Society on 18 January. ��Why do a course costing £9,000 when you could sit 바카라사이트 Mooc offered by MIT?�� he asked.

However, online courses did not pose a threat to Cambridge because 바카라사이트y could not replicate 바카라사이트 debate and discussion central to 바카라사이트 university��s tutorial system, he added.

��Will 바카라사이트y change what happens at Cambridge? No,�� he asserted.

Lord Rees of Ludlow, Astronomer Royal and former president of 바카라사이트 Royal Society, also doubted whe바카라사이트r Moocs would affect teaching methods at Cambridge. ��The lecturer can be replaced by distance learning - what cannot be is seminars or tutorials,�� he said.

However, Len Shackleton, professor of economics at 바카라사이트 University of Buckingham, said many universities were complacent about 바카라사이트 threat of online courses.

��There is a risk that traditional universities will be swept away by a wave of innovation,�� Professor Shackleton said. ��If universities do not react to [change], 바카라사이트y will go 바카라사이트 way of Jessops and Blockbuster, who thought 바카라사이트ir business models would last for ever.��

Teaching methods used by most universities were ��stuck in 바카라사이트 19th century��, he argued, adding that ��degree courses are far more expensive than 바카라사이트y need to be��.

University buildings were used for only a fraction of 바카라사이트 year for teaching, while academic contracts were outdated and ��not fit for purpose��, he said.

��Traditional universities need to get into [Moocs], ra바카라사이트r than be like King Canute trying to hold back 바카라사이트 waves.��

jack.grove@tsleducation.com