This may be of interest to some DoCo members who are looking to earn some college credits (or just take some courses) online.
Udacity, in cooperation with instructors form several universities, offers dozens of excellent courses - all for free. But one of the things many people have been wondering is if it would be possible for Udacity to eventually take the next step and also be able to offer 'for credit' courses too.
Well it's happened (look
here):
Udacity is pleased to offer a select number of online courses in partnership with San Jose State University (SJSU). Students who enroll and successfully complete these courses will receive college credit from SJSU. Each class costs $150 and credit earned is transferable within the California State University (CSU) system and to most US colleges and universities.
Registration and payment cover:
Interactive online courses
Access to realtime course help
Direct communications with course instructors and staff
Online proctored exams
Credit on your official SJSU transcript for passing the course
All courses are available entirely online and you do not need to attend in person. Please see the FAQ on technical requirements to make sure your computer meets our classroom and proctoring requirements.
Enrollment is limited and ends May 24, 2013.
As mentioned earlier, Udacity courses are free, however, if you want to take one for credit, there is a fee involved. Udacity explains how this works in their FAQ:
All of our courses are available to take for free. However, there is a for-credit path for some of our courses, which is clearly indicated on each course overview page. You can learn more in this FAQ. The content of the class is the same for both options. The primary difference between for-credit and free classes are the support services and proctored exams that are part of the credit pathway.
There are also some tech requirements if you're taking a course for credit:
Technology Requirements
To participate in classes for college credit, please make sure your computer meets the following minimum requirements:
- Operating System: Windows XP or newer or Mac OS X 10.6 or higher.
- Internet Connectivity: We recommend 2+ Mbps, but at a minimum you should have 0.768 Mbps or higher download speed, 0.384 Mbps upload speed.
- We support the lastest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer 9 and 10 (Desktop Version). At this time mobile browsers are not supported.
- Plugins: Adobe Flash Player v11 or above.
- Ability to watch YouTube videos is required. If YouTube is blocked on your network, please contact your IT support or internet provider.
- For online proctoring: A webcam (640x480 or higher resolution) and microphone (built in with most webcams and laptops).
All in all an interesting opportunity for those who can make use of it. There's an additional FAQ posted by San Jose State University that gets into the nitty-gritty details of this program. Link
here.
IMPORTANT: If you are planning on taking one of these courses for credit, be sure to check to ensure whatever institution you're attending will agree to the transfer credits. Many will, but some schools (like the one I got my degree from) have their own fussy rules and limits on credit transfers - or may require approval in advance - so be sure to ask your school about it.
