When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offered its first free online course this spring, Ashwith Rego jumped at the chance to learn from some of the world's leading researchers, without leaving his home in India. "I never imagined that I would be taught by professors from MIT, let alone for free," says the 24-year-old engineer who works in Bengaluru.
From Harvard to Stanford, a growing number of elite universities are throwing open their digital doors to the masses. They're offering their most popular courses online for no charge, allowing anyone with an internet connection to learn from world-renowned scholars and scientists.
Many colleges have offered web-based courses for years, but the participation of top-tier research universities marks a major milestone in the expansion of digital learning.
The proliferation of so-called massive open online courses, or MOOCs, has the potential to transform higher education when universities are grappling with shrinking budgets, rising costs and protests over soaring tuition and student debt.
Long-term benefits
Supporters say these online courses can lower teaching costs, improve learning online and on campus, and significantly expand access to higher education, which could fuel technological innovation and economic growth.
Last month, a dozen major research universities announced they would begin offering courses on the online learning platform Coursera, joining Stanford and Princeton universities and the universities of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The University of California, Berkeley said it would start making online courses available this fall through edX, a competing web portal launched in May by Harvard University and MIT.
So far students can't earn college credit for the courses, but that hasn't dampened demand. EdX officials say 154,000 students from more than 160 countries registered for MIT's first online course. Only about 7,100 students passed the course, but that's still a lot more than can fit in a lecture hall.
So far, the new online courses are attracting mostly older workers who want to upgrade their skills and knowledge, but may not have the time or money to attend classes on campus.
The universities say the online courses are as rigorous as their campus counterparts. Some schools, including the University of Washington and University of Helsinki, say they will offer college credit for Coursera courses. Besides potential cost savings, the new generation of online classes can change how students learn on campus by relieving professors of lecturing duties and freeing up more time for research and discussion with students.
Valid questions
But many questions remain. Are the courses rigorous enough to justify college credit? How do schools prevent cheating? Can colleges keep charging students thousands of dollars for courses they can take free online? Some educators say these cyber courses can't replace the academic community and learning experience of a traditional campus education.
But others warn that MOOCs have the potential to undermine the finances of colleges and universities — much like how free web content has upended newspapers, magazines and other media industries. If students can get high-quality academic material for free, colleges and universities will be pressed to demonstrate the education value they offer beyond lectures and exams.
Even though Coursera, founded by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, two Stanford professors, is a for-profit venture, it remains committed to keeping the courses free.
Ng says, "If a place like Princeton could teach millions of students, I think the world would be a better place." Coursera is exploring ways to generate revenue, including charging students for certificates and charging employers who want to identify top students.
