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At the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

Converting MicroMasters MOOC “Zombies” into “Learners” – Research Award

September 5, 2018

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, September 5, 2018 – An MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) research project titled “Converting Zombies into Learners: Improving MITx MicroMasters MOOC Learner Retention” has been awarded a grant of more than $ 124,000 by the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative (MITili).

MicroMasters Mooc and Increasing Retention

Almost 9,000 learners have completed and earned a Verified Certificate in at least one SCx course (a supply chain MOOC or Massive Open Online Course), and 1,274 learners have completed MIT CTL’s highly successful MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management (SCM). While these numbers are impressive, the team is constantly looking at ways to increase both registration and active participation. In order to better understand the course dynamics, the program’s registrants have been categorized into four distinct groups: Learners (who watch videos and complete the work to attain a grade), Voyeurs (who watch video lessons but do not complete the work for grade), Magicians (who do not watch any lesson videos and miraculously complete some work for grade), and Zombies (who neither watch videos nor complete any graded work).

The distribution of learners in these categories varies dramatically between verified (students paying a fee and electing to earn a Verified Certificate) and auditing (students taking the course for free) students. On average, 85% of verified students are Learners, 10% are Voyeurs and 5% are Zombies. However, for auditing students, just 5% are categorized as Learners, 25% as Voyeurs and 70% as Zombies.

Although the number and geographic spread of MicroMasters students have far surpassed expectations, the program’s management team wants to reduce the number of students in the Zombie category, and increase the percentage of Learners and Voyeurs. Another objective is to reduce the number of Learner dropouts; individuals who complete some graded work successfully but cease to submit graded assignments or take exams and therefore don’t pass the course.

The research project will help the team to achieve these goals by devising a methodology for identifying the different categories of students and developing a model for predicting dropout rates. This work will enable the team to design effective interventions and other measures to reduce the dropout rate and improve MOOC learner retention.

Redefining Education

“MicroMasters is redefining supply chain education. This year, 40 MicroMasters credential holders from around the world enrolled in and graduated from MIT CTL’s campus-based Supply Chain Master’s Degree in Applied Science in SCM as the inaugural class of our new SCM Blended program,” said Dr. Eva Ponce, Executive Director, MITx MicroMasters Program in Supply Chain Management, who is leading the research project. “We are constantly working to improve the online program, and the research project funded by MITii will help us to refine the MITx MicroMasters in SCM and make it even more impactful.”

Ponce noted that the research will benefit other MOOCs too. The findings will be made available to other programs and could ultimately be used to improve the MOOC education model. Studies show that a relatively small proportion of MOOC participants complete their courses.

The research project is scheduled to start in September 2018 and end in October 2019. During

this 13-month period 10 SCx courses will run, allowing the researchers to implement and test different intervention actions. A paper based on the research will be submitted to an international academic journal by the end of 2019.

For more information please contact:

Arthur Grau
Communications Officer, MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management
agrau@mit.edu
617-253-4592

NOTES TO EDITORS

About MicroMasters

The MITx MicroMasters credential in Supply Chain Management consists of five intensive online courses covering all aspects of logistics and supply chain management (equivalent to one semester worth of courses in the SCMr program). Students submit graded homework every week and take mid-term and final exams in each SCx course. To earn the MITx MicroMasters Credential they also have to pass a proctored comprehensive final exam. The total cost of the MicroMasters Credential in SCM in 2018 is $1,200, including the cost of the five courses and the comprehensive final exam.

This innovative program in online education has reached over 260,000 learners in more than 196 countries across the globe. Learners enrolled in the program come from diverse backgrounds. Most of them are professionals from supply chain and related business fields who are expanding their skills, as well as students in other academic programs who are augmenting their knowledge base. A new intake of SC0x learners will start on September 5th, 2018.

Conversation with director Chris Caplice

About MITili

Founded in February 2016, MITili funds, connects, and shares research investigating learning effectiveness. The research ranges, for example, from scans of individual learners in Brain and Cognitive Sciences to applying data analytics to understanding the implications of policy decisions in Economics to almost every department at the Institute.

MIT CTL
First Students Arrive on Campus to Pursue “Hybrid” Masters Degrees

January 31, 2018

In early January, 40 students from around the world landed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to embark on their first semester at MIT. Though it was the first time they had set foot on campus, they weren’t new to MIT courses by any stretch.

After completing the online MicroMasters program in supply chain management (SCM) offered through MITx by the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), passing a comprehensive exam, and making it through a demanding admissions process, these eager learners were simply taking the next step on their career journey: earning a full masters degree from MIT.

These students also happen to be pioneers. They make up the inaugural cohort of the blended SCM (SCMb) program, which allows students to apply online course credits toward a masters degree — one that is identical to that received by full-time residential students.

More than 1,900 learners have completed the rigorous MicroMasters slate of five courses; of those, 622 have passed the comprehensive final exam to earn the credential and qualify to apply to the SCMb program.

“Each of the five SCx courses in the MicroMasters curriculum is an intensive 13-week program,” says Chris Caplice, director of the SCM MicroMasters program and executive director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. “Completing it takes a lot of grit, personal effort, and determination.”

Read More on MIT News
Student-Industry Interconnection Transforms the Fabric of Supply Chain

May 23, 2017

By Yossi Sheffi, Ph.D.

More and more companies today are finding innovative ways to collaborate with supply chain research centers. When the projects are well planned and supported, the benefits of such partnerships can be substantial. Supply chain professionals often are surprised by how much value they derive, and the students involved enjoy the unique experience of applying their classroom-based knowledge in the real world.

One initiative that has proven to be especially rewarding for both parties is collaboration on graduate program theses or capstone research projects. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Global Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network, the typical research project process starts with finding prospective sponsor companies. Each center has an outreach program that companies can join to interact with faculty, exchange ideas, engage in research, and attend special events.

As part of their membership, partner companies can sponsor master’s program research projects. Those who are interested pitch their project ideas, and the relevant center matches projects with students. Each research project is focused on answering a question, and that question must be research, rather than consulting-based. Examples of typical research topics include setting the optimal delivery frequency for products, improving demand forecasting, and finding how a vendor-managed inventory program can be cost- and value-justified.

“Students are very good at tackling clearly defined problems, especially ones that involve quantitative analyses and modeling where they have to collect data from a variety of sources,” says Bruce Arntzen, executive director of the supply chain management program at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. Research questions that require students to analyze scenarios or alternative solutions to understand the key drivers of decisions also are well suited to these projects, he adds.

Read More of this APICS Magazine Article
MIT’s Digital Supply Chain Program Commences Second Course – 12-week course on supply chain design open to students worldwide

September 21, 2015

September 21, 2015 (Cambridge, MA). The second installment of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’ (MIT CTL) ground-breaking online supply chain course, Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals, will start on September 30th, 2015. Called Supply Chain Design, the SC2x course is part of the three-part SCx series and will run for 12 consecutive weeks. A year ago MIT CTL opened a new chapter in supply chain education with the launch of its SCx online program. The curriculum is part of the MITx initiative, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s selection of massive open online courses, or MOOCs.

The three courses in the supply chain MOOC, CTL.SC1x, CTL SC2x, and CTL.SC3x, are meant to be taken sequentially and cover supply chain logistics and fundamentals, design, and strategy. The first one, CTL.SC1x, was hugely successful. In its first two runs (fall 2014 and summer 2015) it had more than 50,000 registrants from 186 countries.

“We aim to build on this success with SC2x. Having covered the fundamentals of supply chain management, we are now moving on to how practitioners design the supply chains that support almost every industry across the globe,” says Dr. Chris Caplice, Executive Director, MIT CTL.

Global supply chains are complex structures that involve several firms crossing multiple time zones and continents. The design of a supply chain is critical to its overall success, and ultimately, the firm’s success. SC2x covers all aspects of supply chain design and will be taught by MIT CTL faculty.
Find more information on SC2x and enroll for the course here.

Contact:
Sarah J. Smith, Communications Specialist
MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
+1 617.253.4592 / sajsmith@mit.edu

About MIT CTL. Launched in 1973, MIT CTL is one of the world’s leading centers for supply chain education and research. Part of the MIT School of Engineering, MIT CTL coordinates more than 100 supply chain research efforts across the MIT campus and around the globe. The center also educates students and corporate leaders in the essential principles of supply chain management and helps organizations to increase productivity and improve their environmental performance. For more information, please visit: http://ctl.mit.edu, and visit the MIT CTL blog: Supply Chain @ MIT.
Research Expo a global window on new supply-chain ideas

February 2, 2015

Some 130 masters’ students from more than 25 countries gathered at MIT on Jan. 21 to present 80 research projects displayed on electronic posters.

Research Expo 2015 not only presented research in supply-chain management from around the globe — the projects were sponsored by companies and more 250 executives viewed the posters — it was also the culmination of a month-long series of events and networking opportunities.

Read the full article.

MIT News
MIT Research Expo 2014- Smart Minds are in Supply Chain Management

January 23, 2014

By Bob Ferrari

This week, Supply Chain Matters had the opportunity to be invited to MIT’s Global Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Research Expo 2014 which was held on the MIT campus. These was the third consecutive year that we have attended this event and remain impressed with the caliber and potential of supply chain focused candidates within MIT’s international student programs.

Read the full article here.

Supply Chain Matters
MIT creates global network for supply-chain research

March 27, 2008

This Boston Globe article announces the launch of the MIT Global SCALE Network, an alliance of leading research centers dedicated to supply chain excellence. MIT-CTL is part of the Network which spans North America, Latin America and Europe.

boston.com
MLOG Student Receives Top Honors from CSCMP

May 2, 2007

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 2, 2007 – New England’s leading organization for supply chain professionals has awarded its Academic Achievement Scholarship to a student from the Master of Engineering in Logistics (MLOG) Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The New England Roundtable (NERT) of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) selected Josh Merrill, MLOG 2007, to receive the $1000 award.

NERT selected Josh for this honor based on his exemplary academic record and impressive recommendations from his MIT professors. The organization provides these scholarships to supply chain students annually to help defray the cost of the students’ supply chain education, and to allow them to take advantage of unique opportunities to explore the field and practice of logistics in a manner that they consider personally and professionally meaningful.

“Josh is extremely deserving of this honor. He has been a leader both inside and outside the classroom,” said MLOG Executive Director Chris Caplice. On top of his impressive academics, Caplice said, Josh has expertly served as President of the institute’s Supply Chain Management Club, which continues to host innovative supply chain speakers and events for the entire MIT community.

After graduating from the MLOG program in June, Josh will be working for Chiquita Brands, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio as a Transportation Planner, a role that will involve network optimization across the entire organization. Before coming to MIT, Merrill worked as a Senior Business Analyst at ABG, Inc., and earned a B.S. in Quantitative Agriculture Economics at Purdue University. He is set to graduate from MLOG in June 2007.

The New England Roundtable (NERT) is an organization of professionals who are interested in furthering their understanding of supply chain concepts and practices and improving their own supply chain management skills. Formed in 1972, it is one of over 80 similar roundtables of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) around the world.