I would argue that the problem is signaling. Where and what you studied in school are signals employers use to rank you against your peers. IE going to Harvard signals that you are the elk that got into Harvard. No one really cares what you studied there. This is the primary function of college in the employment landscape: signaling. Very few people go to college for the actual learning (they go to get the signaling that will allow them to get a job).

MOOCS would need to get into signaling and have employers take their signal seriously. I hate to sound classist, but unfortunately MOOCS lack of selectivity means they don't signal as much as a college with a low acceptance rate.

I myself did not go to an elite school, and realize that the above is a very broad generalization...