Universities make global push into free online education

Australian Financial Review 26 February 2016

Australian universities are making a global push into free online education with nearly 50 courses either scheduled or under way with the major international massive open online course providers, writes Tim Dodd for the Australian Financial Review.

The University of Queensland leads the way with 15 courses on offer through US massive open online course, or MOOC, provider edX. Next is UNSW Australia (formerly known as the University of New South Wales). It has seven active courses and most are offered through its new partner, British MOOC provider FutureLearn.

The new breed of MOOCs has departed from the early concept of replicating academic topics and moved into covering subjects of general interest in a rigorous way, or offering career-enhancing courses which will be attractive to professionals. Many courses have close links to academic disciplines and offer an introduction to a field which universities hope will be a marketing tool to reach potential students.
Full report on the Australian Financial Review site

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