Reasons for Attending a MOOC: A Survey on EduOpen Learners

In April 2016 the EduOpen MOOCs platform was launched in the Italian university context, created as part of a project also funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research. There are over 50,000 registered users (April 2019) and up to now about 250 courses and 30 pathways have been produced by a network of 20 institutions. The continuous development of the project involves the introduction of more structured initiatives – such as the activation of Professional Masters in MOOC mode, first in Italy – and the constant increase in the number of registered students. These elements require a reflection on the training needs, motivations and expectations of users. A survey of 35 questions was subsequently conducted among EduOpen students to define demographic characteristics (first part) and motivations (second). In a broad research perspective, the analysis conducted will help us to understand the main uses of the portal by the students and to answer the following research questions: how to promote the continuous development of skills related to the human and professional expectations of EduOpen users in an open learning environment? What are the effective tools and strategies for rethinking the instructional design of the courses, starting from the needs and the opinions of the students? In this paper we describe some results collected in the second part of the survey that determines the most interesting topics of study (categories) based on the opinions of the students and the reasons for registering in an open portal together with those for leaving the courses. The results are presented in relation to data obtained from the first part of the questionnaire (age, gender, level of education, employment and marital status).