“COVID-19 and students perception about MOOCs” a case of Indian higher educational institutions Manivannan Anand Shankar Raja Department of Commerce, Christ University, Bangalore, India, and Tomy K. Kallarakal School of Commerce, Finance and Accountancy, Christ University, Bangalore, India Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the outcomes of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the light of COVID-19 concerning the students of higher educational institutions (HEIs) in India. The COVID-19 has disrupted the normal teaching-learning role across the world and has put everyone in a nightmare. HEIs are now requesting students to take up MOOCs to explore and attain knowledge and the same is even followed by the corporate institutions. MOOCsare one of the crisis management solutions to ensure that education is continuous and not disrupted. Design/methodology/approach – The data included in this research has been collected from students of HEIs across India using a convenient sampling method. The collected data was exposed to a factor analysis using a principal component analysis (PCA) technique to reduce multiple dimensions. Findings – The various stakeholders such as the government, HEIs and the MOOC providers have to play a crucial role in developing intellectual human assets for the nation’s growth and progression by extending flexible and cost-effective learning facilities. Education should be free to boost up the learning motivation, and hence it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to provide few courses free of cost, which will increase the rate of enrolment and student participation. Research limitations/implications – From the research, it is well understood that MOOCs are useful to keep oneself updated with the market and industry trends especially when the world is focusing on business analytics, artificial intelligence and other technologically driven topics and concepts. Practical implications – The present study contributes to the growing body of evidence that MOOCs play an important role in providing flexibility in learning. In the future, if there are similar crisis, which will disrupt education, then the best alternative will be MOOC through which many stakeholders will benefit. Education should be free to boost up the learning motivation, and hence it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to provide few courses free of cost, which will increase the rate of enrolment and student participation. Social implications – Education is a service for the society which will have a long-term positive impact on improving the standard of living of the people. Hence, MOOCs can be one of the educational elements to provide learning opportunities to all age groups. Originality/value – This study has explored the perception of MOOCs among the students of HEIs in India in the COVID-19 pandemic. The fresh data collected from the students is a reflection of their experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. Indeed, it is quite surprising to know that majority of the respondents have arranged to learn during the pandemic, which shows the thirst and urge to learn. Digital technology and tools are welcomed and accepted by the student community. Keywords Covid-19, Massive open online courses MOOCs, Student community, Higher education institutions, Flexibility in learning, Expensive courses Paper type Research paper Students perception about MOOCs Received 8 July 2020 Revised 3 September 2020 27 October 2020 Accepted 3 November 2020 Interactive Technology and Smart Education © Emerald Publishing Limited 1741-5659 DOI 10.1108/ITSE-07-2020-0106 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1741-5659.htm