For Wall Street Occupiers or other decriers of the “social injustice” of college tuition, here’s a curveball bound to scramble your worldview: a totally free college education regardless of your academic performance or background. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) will announce on Monday that they intend to launch an online learning initiative called M.I.T.x,which will offer the online teaching of M.I.T. courses free of charge to anyone in the world.
The program will not allow students to earn an M.I.T. degree. Instead, those who are able to exhibit a mastery of the subjects taught on the platform will receive an official certificate of completion.
The full article from Forbes is here.
This article is from last year, however raises the question of whether this approach can tackle the inaccessibility of HE in developing country contexts. Pros and cons of such an approach?
Whilst such an approach can increase access, surely it is reliant on good internet access...?
ReplyDeleteYou raise a valid point Anonymous. This could definitely be viewed as one of the cons of the approach. Good internet access can be difficult to come by in some developing country contexts and more so in extremely rural areas. Therefore, although the potential to increase access is there, these issues perhaps need to be tackled in order to make online learning open to greater numbers.
DeleteIf you are an useless in something you can get a certificate
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting Anonymous. So if I understand you correctly, you think there is the risk that anybody could get certified? Even somebody who doesn't perform so well? It is perhaps important for the discussion to re-quote from the article: 'those who are able to exhibit a mastery of the subjects taught on the platform will receive an official certificate of completion'. Although it is unclear what 'mastery of the subjects' entails exactly.
DeleteI wonder if having free education in general (regardless of whether it is online or not) truly widens access or whether there are other issues to be tackled?
ReplyDeleteThat's a really important point you've raised Rachel. Of course abolishing fees goes some way to increase access, however some research studies have found that unless attitudes are changed e.g. gender, then barriers to access and completion of education can remain.
ReplyDeleteAt Refugee Support Network we run a programme supporting unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeking students in the UK to access Higher Education. Many of them are unable to do so because, for significant numbers, their status as an asylum seeker or holder or a temporary form of leave to remain produces enormous financial and practical barriers. For those interested, see our recent report I Just Want to Study at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.refugeesupportnetwork.org/content/consultancy
I will certainly be investigating these online courses for some of the young people we are working with...
Thanks for posting Catherine. I'd previously read the report when it was initially launched. Hopefully it will provide useful reading for others. It's so important we continue to research on such areas, to continue to raise awareness of the issues involved and to begin to find durable solutions.
DeleteI definitely think there is scope here for the group of students you mention - I hope the courses prove of use for the young people you're working with. Please feel free to send me a private message (via the contact page) to update me on how you get on. I'm sure fellow readers would be interested to know more about the pros and cons of the courses in practice.