Image via WikipediaHow free education is growing.
The price of earning a degree has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. For many of us who are trying to learn new skills and are looking for a new job, the price tag can be a stumbling block. Although there are many places that offer free college courses, there really hasn't been anything that can help fill in the gaps for those who choose not to pay for their education.
I've mentioned OpenCourseWare in my blogs several times over the past year. It is a place that has courseware from many colleges and universities. The courses are free and include a .pdf copy of the textbook, lecture notes and sometimes even video lectures. Students can complete the courses in their own time and take whatever they can from them. Of course, the students aren't given any actual credits or certifications for the work, but they gain the knowledge.
At the forefront of the OpenCourseWare movement is Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They were the first to open up almost all of their courses to the project and inspired renowned universities like Harvard and Princeton to join in.
Now, the powers that be at M.I.T have decided to take things a step further. They have just announced a new program that is quite revolutionary. They plan to launch MITx, an online learning platform.
With MITx, the courses will still be free but they will have more interactive content. In addition, when students complete the courses and demonstrate mastery of the subject, they will be able to receive a certificate (for a fee, of course). This means that if you take a couple of courses that relate to your career, you can include the certificate information on your resume.
The program is not-for-profit, so I am assuming that the credentialing program will be affordable.
This is great news to anyone who wants to get an education but doesn't want to be tied down to student loan debt. In addition, this solidifies M.I.T's commitment to providing the best possible online educational experience to anyone who wants it. It will be interesting to see how this program develops. If OpenCourseWare is any indication, I wouldn't be surprised to see many other universities follow suite.
What do you think about this? Would you take college courses this way? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog and Beyond.com, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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