Though the outlook is positive, this may not be applicable to all MOOCs, or to all institutions. Several unique factors to the studied application are:
- Solidarity in accreditation; the MOOCs were developed with the aid of the Ministry of  Higher Education and Science and the Federal State Education Standards, who require strict compliance from universities, lest they lose funding.
- Topic at hand; The courses examined, Engineering Mehanics and Construction Materials Technology, are relatively concrete and well accredited. MOOCs for more abstract or contested topics may have more mixed results.
- Ethnicity and sociodemographic factors; no reported data on the these two potential factors. This is unfortunate, as two factors are often considered, studied, and potentially crucial in US-based studies.

Integrating MOOCs in STEM-based Courses: Considerations

From the experiment results, it seems possible to deliver a similar level of instruction by using only MOOCs. This means that less teachers/administrative staff may be needed in order to teach the same amount of students. While this can be a great benefit for resource-strapped universities, the overall student response/opinion/impression has been slightly negative when shifting to an instructor-free, all-online course.

Potential Cost Savings from integrating MOOCs into courses

"We check convergent and divergent validity by computing correlations between students’ final exam scores and other scores that should be either statistically related or unrelated. The final exam score is significantly correlated with both their average assessment score (Pearson correlation = 0.35, P < 0.001) and their pretest score (Pearson correlation = 0.16, P = 0.008) but uncorrelated with their overall GPA (Pearson correlation = 0.07, P = 0.27) and high-school exam scores (Pearson correlation < 0.1, P > 0.11). This provides evidence that the final exam measures not only general student ability but also specifically knowledge and skills related to the course objectives."

Academic Predictive Factors - Conflicting Evidence

Given that the course materials are consistent, regardless of modality, with enough prior preparation, accreditation, and initial investment, a MOOC can be integrated into a course and provide results similar to both in-person lectures and blended courses involving the same MOOC.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MOOCs are often combined with traditional teaching methods to create different blended learning environments.

MOOCs in blended learning

Chirikov, I., Semenova, T., Malochonok, N., Bettinger, E., Kizilcec, R.F. Online education platforms scale college STEM instruction with equivalent learning outcomes at lower cost. (2020). Science Advances, 6(15). Retrieved from: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/15/eaay5324?luicode=10000011&lfid=231522type%3D1%26t%3D10%26q%3D%23%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%23&featurecode=newtitle%253Ffrom%253Dyn_cnxh&u=https%3A%2F%2Fadvances.sciencemag.org%2Fcontent%2F6%2F15%2Feaay5324

Online education platforms scale college STEM instruction with equivalent learning outcomes at lower cost


- Make room for student choice in MOOCs even if you must guide them in this choice. This can help with motivation.
- Workload should be carefully balanced between MOOC based and classroom content and this should be communicated in expectations to students.
- Learning outcomes should permeate the MOOC and classroom environment and be considered from the beginning. 
- Even if students are given a choice on a MOOC, having completion as a requirement can overcome motivational issues with completion. 


Recommendations for teachers implementing MOOCs in Blended Learning

Pros 
+ Student performance is the same or slightly better 
+ Students gained strong critical thinking skills - critiquing and analytical comments 
+ No negative impacts on any group/demographic 
+ Students engage with interactive online materials 

Cons 
- Students are still less satisfied with the blended format compared to face-to-face 
- Students feel less prepared for course materials 
- No feedback from MOOC instructors


 Pros & Cons of Integrating MOOCs in Traditional Classrooms

Integrating MOOCs in STEM-based Courses

Here, a control group and experimental group were administered a pre and post test with regards to a course that the experimental group was to take in a blended learning environment and the control group in a traditional classroom environment. Based on a paired t-test for the pre-test, there was no significant difference between the prior knowledge of the groups. After the post test ANCOVA test, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the post test scores. The experimental score was higher.

Role of MOOCs in Learning Performance

- SWOT analysis
- Faculty vs. student perceptions

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