Background: Extensive research on massive open online courses (MOOCs) has focused on analysing learners' behavioural trace data to understand navigation and activity patterns, which are known to vary systematically across geo-cultural contexts. However, the perception of learners regarding the role of different learning design elements in…

This paper provides an introductory discussion of the value and theoretical structure of a higher doctorate in American academia. The theory is that such a structure would help to guide academic careers and provide a credentialing system that is absent in most accrediting processes and disappearing with the decline of tenure. The goal is to ignite…