A Comparative Analysis of MOOC - Australia's Position in the International Education Market

Tertiary education is one of the most important industries in Australia and a crucial source of income for its universities. Therefore, any new form of tertiary education that may have impact on Australian universities should be closely watched for implications on their business models. In the past decade, MOOC-Massive Open Online Courses have emerged with the promise to offer world class education accessible anywhere and anytime for free or at very reasonable costs. MOOC not only provide opportunities for lifelong learning, they are also designed to enrich, compliment and even (partly) substitute classic tertiary education. Hence, it is of crucial importance how and where Australia takes its stand in this rapidly evolving market. In this paper, Australia’s international position as a provider of MOOC is analysed and compared, in particular to Germany and the US.