The online education movement recently received a big boost from 10 of the nation’s top universities, including Duke, Northwestern and Notre Dame. The 10 schools unveiled a collaborative plan to offer online courses for college credit. This initiative represents a growing trend among universities to provide remote educational opportunities, and it is the next step in the development of the online classroom experience.

Semester Online

Ten of the nation’s top universities have joined together with 2U to form Semester Online, a new virtual program course. 2U, which was formerly known as 2tor, is the education technology company that developed the interactive platform.

Beginning in the fall of 2013, Semester Online will allow undergraduate students to take classes from any of the participating schools, remotely. The pilot classes will be introductory or general level courses in subject areas ranging from business to arts and humanities.

Member Schools

The 10 schools forming the consortium include Brandeis University, Duke University, Emory University, Northwestern University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The University of Notre Dame, The University of Rochester, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, and Washington University in St. Louis. Membership is open, and the consortium anticipates the addition of more schools.

Specifics

Semester Online will offer undergraduate courses at a fee for college credits. In addition, classroom size will be limited to 20 students. This is a radical change from massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, which are free and can include thousands of students.

Semester Online students will also be required to attend a real-time virtual class. In the virtual classroom, they will be able to see and interact with their teacher and fellow classmates.

In addition, students will be admitted to classes based on their academic records and course prerequisites. Enrollment is not limited to students who attend member schools. Anyone who meets the academic qualifications is eligible.

However, students will not be able to earn a degree solely from Semester Online’s virtual classes. Rather, the online education classes will supplement a traditional campus-based education.

[cf]tracking[/cf]

Get Free Updates!

Stay in the loop with a bi-monthly newsletter, with all our news from the previous week.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )

We will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Please Leave A Comment

comments

Related posts:

Apple iTunes U Surpasses 1 Billion Downloads as Online Education Surges Into the Mainstream U.S. Education Department Survey Shows Quarter of College Students Took Online Classes in 2012 Coursera Guides State Universities into MOOC Market Coursera Classes Only Offered by Elite Universities Blackboard Offers Flexible Platform for Schools Who Want to Join the MOOC Movement