I&#x27;d consider the #1 to #5 (out of 10,000 students) in Ng&#x27;s MachineLearning Coursera more compelling than &#x27;A&#x27; from his on-campus class.<p>So by making it a national competition, MOOCs have an advantage for those companies seeking high quality candidates.<p>Also, they deliver a more standardized training experience: Even if you took some interesting but non-conventional AI class at Harvey Mudd, it might be better for companies hiring junior devs to just know you&#x27;re competent at the basics from your online work.