[dougabug]

"Coursera and edX, the two main MOOC providers, are essentially acting as gatekeepers for American higher education online, replicating in their virtual world the pecking order in the physical world as determined by U.S. News & World Report rankings."

Much in the same way the NY Times is a gatekeeper for journalistic and editorial mindshare. Both confer/act as a conduit for prestige, and neither is immune to competition.

I will say that personally I find MOOC's far more interesting and relevant than the NY Times.