Why Are Some Online Courses More Open Than Others?

Abstract

This paper studies the determinants of the intellectual property license of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provided on a French platform. While they can opt for a traditional intellectual property right license, the vast majority chooses among creative commons licenses. Considering the ordering in terms of degree of openness of these licenses, we study the course-, teacher-and institution-related factors driving this decision. We observe that the field of study of the course and the characteristics of the institution providing the course play a role. We explain this result by the teachers' variable awareness and preferences with regard to open practices. We also find support for the idea that those willing to raise revenues by selling goods complementary to the MOOC (e.g. a textbook, certificate of completion or bundle of courses) are less likely to choose an open license.