To say that going to college is an expensive process is an understatement. As of 2012, total student debt in the US is believed to have exceeded $1 trillion. In 2011, the New York Times reported that the average student loan was about $26,500 and that online college courses are not very cheap. However, the advent of free online college courses, known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), may change the face of education forever.
It began as an experiment, but all indications point to it being a major success, with a large number of public universities willing to offer MOOCs to anyone who applies in the hope that many Participants will pass the course; Enroll in college and pay the normal tuition fees. In a country where a degree in religious and women’s studies at a prestigious university can cost up to $100,000, MOOCs can open up a world of education to students. Why are colleges interested in offering these free tester courses? Many American colleges are heavily in debt and need some way of attracting more students.
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The University of Arkansas, the University of Cincinnati, and Arizona are the only three reputable colleges included in the state plan. The growth of MOOCs really took off in 2012 as start-ups like Udacity and edX emerged and offered hope for those who previously could not afford education. These courses were founded by professors from top schools such as Stanford and Harvard, with millions of teachers around the world taking teachers on their offer.
At this stage, one wonders whether MOOCs might one day replace college degrees. If that were the case, it would make a big difference to an incredible number of potential students. One issue was that colleges were not giving credit to MOOCs, but that is set to change as well. Several universities in Austria and Germany are giving credit for the MOOC and it may spread to American educational institutions as the state of Colorado makes noise about following the lead of its European counterparts. The University of Washington is also considering this course of action, although college students will have to pay a fee and do additional work with a professor at the institution if it goes ahead with the plan.
The future of MOOCs
These free online courses are no longer a novelty and will continue to be used as a tool to encourage potential students to enroll in university. The University of Texas at Arlington has teamed up with Academic Partnership to offer free online college courses For Nursing students. To date, more than 80% of those who accepted the free offer returned and paid for the on-campus course. If nothing else, MOOCs give students a ‘try before you buy’ option, a valuable resource when courses are so expensive. Free online college courses can pose a threat to traditional education, but if these institutions find a way to use MOOCs to their advantage, like the University of Texas, giving away something for free could be very tempting.