The Atlantic recently had an interesting POV that puts a positive spin on the high dropout rates of MOOC courses[1].
Essentially claiming that it is a by-product of the great fact that these courses are free and therefore have a low barrier to entry - in contrast to traditional higher education.
That and you need to sign up if you just want to have a (short) peek at the content. One also picks up more than one book in the bookstore before buying, if any.
Also, the real value in these courses is that they are the real deal. They should be hard, and thus not for everybody.
Yea, my dropout rate is around 80%. I'll sign up for 4-6 courses that sound interesting, watch the first few lectures all of them, perhaps do the first homework, and then decide which ones (if any) I feel I have the time and interest to complete.
[1] http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/overbl...