[bradleysmith]

I think you're spot on.

There's quite a barrier to a student with an existing undergraduate degree wanting to expand into a masters in a different field, particularly technical fields like engineering or computer science.

mooc's like Georgia Tech's offer a middle-of-the-road option between a tradition masters w/ placement testing (or a whole second bachelor for some) and professionally 'doing without' any accredited education and relying solely on chops and applied experience. I think there is a clear hole in the educational market for these 'transitional' services, and online courses seem to fill it well.

The real questions (VikingCoder stated above) are: to what degree does that $6600 certificate raise your earning potential?

AND

how effective, in contrast to traditional degrees or self-directed studies, are these online courses at educating people to professionally acceptable standards?

[mjn]

This one isn't much different from the perspective of someone wanting to expand to another field. You need a bachelor's in CS from an accredited 4-year program to enroll, or else you have to go through the usual placement-testing/remedial-course process if your degree is in a different field, as with the regular Georgia Tech CS Masters.

I don't see MOOCs as offering anything in particular that would make it easier to lift that kind of requiement. Large courses (whether in person or online) rely on incoming students coming from a standardized background, to allow the courses to assume a lot of things and minimize tailoring to individual students' varying needs. And MOOCs by their structure rely on instruction in (very) large courses.

[bradleysmith]

The real change is price for degree, and price to attend. You will have to go through the same placement-testing or remedial coursework, yes, but will have only $6600 to pay for the masters on the other end, and are able to take the courses on your own schedule, in your own geography. Keep your day job and all that.

If you're already in a college town with an affordable & flexible CS program that you stand a chance of getting into, then this probably doesn't offer much. But then, how does it stack against the Georgia Tech name? MOOC or not, that's got to look nice at the top of the certificate.

I understand this isn't for everyone, but I think there is some new-to-market value in these programs.