Are Students Interested in Online Classes? Of Course(ra)! One Million and Counting Sign Up for Free Virtual Courses08/13/2012  by Alexis Mattera
Since its launch earlier this year, Coursera has attracted its fair share of attention in the higher ed sector: Not only has the company formed partnerships with high-profile schools such as Stanford, Michigan, Princeton and UPenn, roughly one million students in 196 countries have registered for the startup’s free online courses.
Though the numbers reported by Coursera (and also its competitor Udacity, which has more than 739,000 registered users in 203 countries) are impressive, they don’t represent the amount of learning actually taking place. Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng explained in an email interview that the number of active students is significantly lower because many registrations are for courses that have not yet begun and many sign up but don’t end up following through with the coursework. So are students interested in free online classes? Yes, but time will tell whether or not the registered students actually stick with the program.
Have you considered enrolling in the online classes offered by Coursera, Udacity and others or do you prefer the traditional classroom experience? Posted Under : Back to School, College Budgets, College Classes, College Costs, College Culture, College Life, College Majors, College News, College SearchTags: college, college and society, College and the Economy, college benefits, college goals, graduation rates, online college, student life, study skills, technology |