Free Online Learning is Changing Education Forever

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are changing college education forever.

The world’s most prestigious colleges and universities are now offering free online courses.

Coursera.org and EdX.org feature more than 70 participating schools between them including Harvard, University of Michigan, MIT, and Georgia Tech.

While most do not offer credits, students may take exams associated with the course subject matter to earn credit.

Education-portal.com provides a comprehensive list of schools offering free online courses and offers links to the College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) which allows students to test out of general education requirements at 2/3 of colleges and universities in the U.S.

The site also links to Excelsior College’s Credit by Exam program that leads to credit at major schools like Ohio State, the University of Alabama, Boston College, and Virginia Tech.

Open University promotes its site as “the home of free learning”. While it is based in the UK, it creates a pathway towards earning a free college degree through digital learning.

For those who are not looking for college credit but just want to learn more about a favorite subject, the offerings are almost endless.

iTunes U promotes itself as learning anything, anytime, anywhere.

One of the most popular online offerings is the free American Heritage course offered online by Hillsdale College.

The access to higher education has never been better. Perhaps we are close to a world where earning a college degree is truly affordable to everyone willing to work for it.