Would you rather have a degree from Harvard with no education, or a harvard education with no degree?
If you prefer the degree to the education than you likely value the signaling more than the human capital argument for education
If you prefer the degree to the education than you likely value the signaling more than the human capital argument for education
This could be seen quite blatantly in the first years of MOOC courses.
People became really angry at the end because there was no real certification being given.
It got really ugly.
People became quite enraged in the forums because the "diploma" was not issued by MIT and also because at one point there was no grade in the diploma.
Similar things happened in the Stanford associated courses, though not as ugly from my recollection.
Coursera's original course offerings gave free certificates upon completion. My understanding is that MOOCs started charging for certifications in an effort to pay the bills. The jury is still out on whether these certifications are taken seriously or not.
It boils down to your last sentence:
> The jury is still out on whether these certifications are taken seriously or not.
Many people were taking those courses under the expectation that the certification would be highly prestigious and felt defrauded when that wasn't the case. The fact that they paid nothing only made matters worse because people feel more entitled when they pay nothing for a service.