Regarding the upcoming expansion of the undergraduate student body (President’s Page, April issue): When Sebastian Thrun started the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) experience at Stanford before starting Udacity, he noticed a peculiar phenomenon. Many of his Stanford undergrads preferred to take his course online rather than attend in person. He asked why, when they or their parents were spending good money for the privilege to attend Stanford in person. The answer was that they could rewind and replay parts where they may have had trouble following the first time, an opportunity not available in person.
Is Princeton willing to experiment with the MOOC/in-person mix? If so, that might be another way to enlarge the number who can come onto campus for part of their learning, while taking MOOCs when possible from home.
Regarding the upcoming expansion of the undergraduate student body (President’s Page, April issue): When Sebastian Thrun started the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) experience at Stanford before starting Udacity, he noticed a peculiar phenomenon. Many of his Stanford undergrads preferred to take his course online rather than attend in person. He asked why, when they or their parents were spending good money for the privilege to attend Stanford in person. The answer was that they could rewind and replay parts where they may have had trouble following the first time, an opportunity not available in person.
Is Princeton willing to experiment with the MOOC/in-person mix? If so, that might be another way to enlarge the number who can come onto campus for part of their learning, while taking MOOCs when possible from home.