We know MOOC learners are diverse. Is the same true for those taking MOOC business courses? Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed data from the students who took business MOOCs. They found much more diversity (geographically, at least) in the MOOC participants, compared to students in MBA programs. According to their data:

…78% of individuals who registered for an online business course came from outside of the United States. For comparison, Executive MBA programs in 2012 only attracted an average of 14% foreign students. Part-time or flexible MBA programs attracted 10%-32% foreign students, depending on the type of program. Even full-time two-year MBA programs, which attracted 45% foreign students, fall far short of the international reach of these business MOOCs. Read the entire blog post.

These findings suggest that MOOCs from business schools are not “cannibalizing” their existing pool of potential applicants, but instead reaching new audiences and under-served learners.

You can see the list of business and management courses on edX here. If you’re interested in courses from MIT Sloan School of Management, check out our list of featured OCW courses, or the entire course lists here.