One of the biggest issues for current MOOCs is the large attrition rate (in the 90% range). Assuming that people signing up are at least average intelligence (on average of course), this suggests that average students are unable, for whatever reasons, to complete these courses. Part of it is that the instructors come from elite universities, are used to teaching elite students, and approach the MOOC in the same way, leaving the average student in the dust. Another part is that average students lack the motivation, discipline, as well as the smarts to learn complex concepts without a real-life instruction.
New Years Resolutions also have a high failure rate too, are people too dumb to lose weight?
The bottom line is that people change their minds, lose focus, are lazy, have ADD, don't get that job, adjust career goals, on and on and on. You being an elitist, attribute the attrition rate to ignorant peasants attempting to learn the skills of the gods, while the truth is that life happens and people saw something shiny and they signed up
Thus spake the master programmer: "After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless." -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"
