Professors in the philosophy department at San Jose State University are refusing to teach a philosophy course developed by edX, saying they do not want to enable what they see as a push to "replace professors, dismantle departments, and provide a diminished education for students in public universities."

The San Jose State professors also called out Michael Sandel, the Harvard government professor who developed the course for edX, suggesting that professors who develop MOOCs are complicit in how public universities might use them.

The letter is part of a brewing debate about how MOOCs might deepen the divide between wealthy universities, which produce MOOCs, and less wealthy ones, which buy licenses to use those MOOCs from providers like edX.

The authors say they fear "that two classes of universities will be created: one, well-funded colleges and universities in which privileged students get their own real professor; the other, financially stressed private and public universities in which students watch a bunch of videotaped lectures and interact, if indeed any interaction is available on their home campuses, with a professor that this model of education has turned into a glorified teaching

They don't believe we already have two classes of university?

Perhaps they mean the divide will be even greater between the two.

Wait, isn't this the same SJSU that is doing the MIT course?

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/san-jose-state-u-says-replacing-live-lectures-with-videos-increased-test-scores/40470

I wonder if the real divide is going to be between technical fields (where a lowered teaching load means more time for research) and "liberal arts" (where a lowered teaching load means unemployment).

I personally have enough of a love-hate relationship with Philosophy that I will enjoy seeing it get disrupted, though I'll feel guilty for it...