Although I disagree with this view I cant help but get the sense that people are expecting to replace a 3-4 year education which is filled with 6-12 of these types of courses with 5 courses and think they will be valued just as much. Getting knowledge in a topic is one thing, years of problem solving across different topics is another.

I use these classes as additional support to my education (when i dont understand something or if my class just scratched the surface and i want more). Other cases are classes that aren't offered that i find interesting like advanced databases from CMU that was posted a couple of months ago.

It is definitly not a replacement, but helps you dwell into topics that you may not be able to or are unsure of.