Why? Unless they degrade the quality of contents and exams of course.

Yes, to an extent, but as strange as it sounds, you can jeopardize your reputation with the companies that hire your graduates and still maintain your status as a prestigious research institution. I think the gamble GT is taking in this context is that this type of degree is terminal and largely self-directed, meaning the primary recipients will be self-educators who want it specifically for practical application. That means they are essentially just people who will learn and apply the material anyway, but they want the paper credentials to go with it. That reduces their risk.

Those who actually complete a full online course are probably great examples of self-motivated workers who will make the college look great.

I'm not sure pure numbers will be the issue. Whether GT grants 25 or 2500 MS degrees in Analytics is irrelevant; the quality of the graduates with that degree is what matters.

Provided they do not relax their standards, I don't see there being an issue. An MS appeals to professionals who are unlikely to relocate for a program. I'm in a suburb of NYC; if I wanted an MS, I'd have to consider commuting to Princeton or Yale, at an hour and a half to two hours each way, to the much closer NYU or Columbia but with similar travel times once the intersection of mass transit schedules and class times are considered, or to the state school 15 minutes away with a much less prestigious program.

Meanwhile, GT has a prestigious program at a cost comparable to or better than the state school, with no commuting issues. It's the program I'd go into, and I live close to a surfeit of prestigious CS programs! There are plenty of qualified applicants across the country that don't have the option of "drive to your favorite of the 3 nearby Ivies".

If they keep the admissions process and curriculum/evaluation equivalent between online and in-person, then going online greatly expands their applicant pool but doesn't necessarily dilute it. If the program decides to relax their standards to get even more money, then they'll have problems, but that strikes me as being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

yes, I meant this