April 05, 2022
Blogs
Executive Director of MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management Eva Ponce and Senior Communications Officer Arthur Grau discuss the benefits of cultivating communities in online professional education.
Eva and Arthur's article, originally posted on our MIT Supply Chain blog, was recently featured in SupplyChain247.
As the MicroMasters program has grown — so has the number of alumni who remain actively involved in the learner community associated with the program. Currently, more than 2,600 credential holders belong to this community. These individuals, combined with those who are currently enrolled, comprise a vibrant, global community of supply chain professionals. The results of a longitudinal survey circulated among program credential holders (N=157) show that learner networking with other professionals in their field was one of the top five reasons cited when asked about the benefits that learners appreciate most from completing their credential.
The second and third most important benefits were staying connected with the course content and learning new concepts as they are introduced over time in course updates. For some of them, the CTA role boosted their resume while for others it helped them prepare for the program’s Comprehensive Final Exam (CFx). The CTA community, given its higher engagement and smaller size, is similar to communities that may form within corporate custom courses.