To say that attending college is an expensive process is an understatement. In 2012, total student debt in the United States is believed to have exceeded $1 trillion. In 2011, the New York Times reported that average student debt was about $26,500 and online college courses aren’t much cheaper. However, the advent of free online university courses, also known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), could change education forever.
It started as an experiment, but all signs point to it being a huge success with a large number of public universities willing to offer MOOCs to anyone who applies in the hope that many of the participants will pass the course; enroll in the university 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 could open up the world of education to students. Why are universities interested in offering these free trial courses? Many American universities are heavily in debt and need some method of attracting more students.
Growth of a phenomenon?
The University of Arkansas, the University of Cincinnati and Arizona State are just three of the most respected universities participating in the plan. The growth of MOOCs really skyrocketed in 2012 when startups like Udacity and edX came to the fore and offered hope to those previously unable to afford education. These courses were founded by professors from top schools like Stanford and Harvard and millions of people around the world accepted the professors’ offer.
At this stage, one wonders if MOOCs will one day be able to replace university degrees. If this were the case, it would make a world of difference to an incredible number of prospective students. One problem was that universities didn’t give credit for MOOCs, but even this looks set to change. Several universities in Austria and Germany are giving credence to MOOCs and this could extend to American educational institutions as the state of Colorado has made noise about following the lead of its European counterparts. The University of Washington is also considering this course of action, although students at the university 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 prospective students to enroll in a university. The University of Texas at Arlington has partnered with Academic Partnerships to offer free online college courses to prospective nursing students. To date, more than 80% of those who accepted the free offer have returned and paid for the in-person course. If nothing else, MOOCs give students the option to “try before you buy,” a valuable resource when courses are so expensive. Free online university courses could 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 something away for free could prove very lucrative.
