MOOC Takeover

"Risk-free learning online"?! I just read this short article I found at the NYTimes Education portal. It's a new twist on something I've been following a bit: MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course). So far, MOOCs have not carried any credit, but a few universities are now using them like a gateway drug to get students to pay for more courses. One guy in the article says that 72-84% of students in the for-credit MOOC took another class that they paid for. But how many of those students would have paid for the course and then taken another course? If some of the intro classes are offered online for free, I'm just taking those until I have to start paying. Maybe one or two free courses could draw students in to one university over another, I suppose. Aside: If it's still available when I have spare time, I'm going to take Cincinnati's design course! Question: will other universities follow suit? How much percentage of the tuition are universities giving up to the promotion company? Are they just further crippling themselves? It's not like they're known for their business savvy. I guess there's not much risk for the students, anyway! :)