Dive Summary:
- The American Council on Education, which represents most of the nation's college and university presidents, will be taking a closer look at MOOCs, and their approval could increase the value of the courses to universities and result in course credit (and, as a result, lower tuition) for students who pass particular courses.
- The initiative will be funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and part of the council's plan involves having teams of faculty examine the content and rigor of select courses in order to make a decision on whether they should be recommended for college credit.
- A division of the council called "ACE CREDIT" was created in 1974 to help adults get credit for courses and exams taken outside of traditional degree programs, and that team will be central to the council's plan.
From the article:
The American Council on Education, a non-profit organization that represents most of the nation's college and university presidents, is preparing to weigh in on massive open online courses — MOOCs, for short — a new way of teaching and learning that has taken higher education by storm in recent months. A stamp of approval from the organization could enhance the value of MOOCs to universities and lead to lower tuition costs for students, who could earn credit toward a college degree for passing a particular course. At issue is whether the quality of the courses offered through MOOCs are equivalent to similar courses offered in traditional classrooms. ...