Millions of students from all over the globe are flocking to Coursera, Udacity, and edX to take free, online courses. With these courses offering nothing more than certificates of completion, why are so many people eager to register as students? And what could the success of non-accredited programs tell us about what the 21st century student really wants? The rise of the number of non-traditional students in the learning environment is greatly impacting the landscape of higher education, and although we cannot be certain where the new road will go, we can be certain that the “King,” our perception of college students, is dead.

Kayla Webley, a writer for Time Magazine, answered the question of why students are taking these courses in a recent article. She registered for a Coursera course, Securing Digital Democracy, and began to question her fellow learners. She found, “Some classmates expressed a general interest in sharing with and learning from people around the world. But others offered more specific reasons for taking the class.”  In particular, “One student said he is studying computer science and wanted to understand why we all can’t simply vote from the privacy of our own homes given that the basic infrastructure to do this already exists in most places.” From these responses, we begin to see that students are taking the courses for multiple reasons, one of which is simply to engage in the community of learning, and another is to answer a very specific question. However, one of the most important answers came from a learner in Cote D’Ivoire who is working as a policy consultant in charge of creating an online voting system Nnenna Nwakanma stated, “Having been critically involved in some democracy and election initiatives, I was not just keen to get a handle on the security aspects of democracy, but also to share and learn from others.” Nwakanma’s experience is perhaps the most indicative of the 21st century learner.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in their 2012 State of Education Report, almost a quarter of all college students between the ages of 16 and 24 are employed for more than 20 hours a week while taking a full load of classes. This statistic, as well as the rising average age of college students, the increasing time it takes students to graduate, and students’s inconsistent attendance habits, has driven the number of non-traditional students to a much higher proportion. In 2002, NCES stated that the percentage of non-traditional students was 69%. As that number continues to grow, education must change.

What do the majority of students need from their colleges? If the students in MOOCs can teach us anything, they can teach us that higher education can benefit from the knowledge that many students want specific knowledge in specific areas, sometimes wanting that knowledge for no other reason than to tackle issues in the work place. The majority of students are now working as many hours as they are taking classes, and this situation necessitates the revolution of higher education to fit into the new social norm for 16-24 year olds. The future of higher education depends upon understanding that students have changed, and they demand a new approach to learning. MOOCs are drawing a lot of attention, and while they may not be the fix for higher education, their success is begging universities to ask, “What is making their online courses so successful?” Perhaps it is time for universities to become reacquainted with the needs, and wants, of their students. The “King” is dead. Long live the MOOC.