New Study Raises Questions of Access for HarvardX | News | The Harvard Crimson

"A new study suggests online education may not be the panacea to income-based education gaps that proponents have claimed. Published in the journal Science, the study found a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and the likelihood of enrollment in and completion of Massive Open Online Courses. The study examined U.S. residents enrolled in 68 online courses offered by Harvard and MIT through edX, the non-profit virtual education platform the schools co-founded in 2012. Using census data and user-provided addresses, researchers John A. Hansen and Justin Reich found that those who lived in more affluent neighborhoods were more likely to register and complete MOOCs. For each $20,000 rise in a neighborhood’s median income, the odds of participation in a MOOC increased by 27 percent, according to the study ..."