[martalist]

I can't argue with #3 - some MOOC graders are particularly terrible, too.

However, there's nothing to stop a person studying just as many topics/subjects online, and to cover them in about as much depth.

[wiremine]

I agree. However, there's not a good way to compare apples to apples like there is with a university education. Maybe that's the next step: having these MOOCs come up with some competing standards...

[martalist]

Yes and no. Many of the MOOCs provided by the likes of MIT, Stanford, Berkley, etc, are not watered down. For lesser known providers the quality of content is less certain.

I think a standard in terms of grading would be a huge win.