Harvard, MIT to offer free online courses
May 4, 2012
Getting a college degree can be an expensive endeavor, regardless of what school you choose. According to the College Board, for the 2011-2012 school year, public four-year colleges charged an average of $8,244 in tuition and fees for in-state students, while out-of-state students paid an average of $12,526. Private nonprofit four-year colleges charged an average of $28,500 per year in tuition and fees.
Many colleges and universities are even more expensive. The cost to attend Harvard this year was $52,652 for tuition, room, board and fees. Nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is similarly priced. The university has reported that the price for the 2012-2013 school year will be $54,238.
Luckily, many student parents at these and other universities depend on grants for parents, scholarships for mothers, single mother scholarships and other financial aid to offset the high cost of an education.
Now, those who want to attend these two prestigious Boston-area institutions will have the chance to do so for free. Harvard and MIT recently announced that they are partnering to provide students throughout the world with online courses from the two schools.
The $60 million edX partnership will allow students to earn certificates for completing online coursework.
The first edX courses will announced this summer and will be available during the fall semester. In addition, officials say that additional universities may join the program in the future.
According to the Huffington Post, edX students will be able to watch video lesson segments, take embedded quizzes and participate in online laboratories. Once they demonstrate that they master the subject being studied, they will earn a certificate of completion.
"EdX represents a unique opportunity to improve education on our own campuses through online learning, while simultaneously creating a bold new educational path for millions of learners worldwide," said MIT President Susan Hockfield.
Online learning has become increasingly popular. A recent study conducted by the Sloan Consortium finds that the number of individuals taking online classes is on the rise. The 2011 Survey of Online Learning reveals that nearly one-third of all students in higher education are taking at least one online course.
This type of learning is especially popular among nontraditional college students, such as mothers who are pursuing a degree. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that 29 percent of students with one or more children and 32 percent of married students take at least one distance education class, in contrast to 18 percent of students who neither have children nor are married.
The flexibility online classes offer students is one of the biggest reasons many mothers choose this route when they decide to go to college.
