Dive Brief:
- The first edX massive open online course for Advanced Placement high school students launched this week.
- Rice University is teaching the free AP biology course. Students typically pay anywhere from $75 as much as $500 or more to online course providers who charge a fee, the Washington Post reported.
- Other AP MOOCs on edX are planned, particularly in physics, by Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in January.
Dive Insight:
Also on edX, Cooper Union will offer AP classes in computer science and chemistry, Georgetown University will offer AP courses in electricity and magnetism, and the Tennessee Board of Regents will have English and composition courses. The nonprofit College Board oversees the AP program, but is not in a partnership with edX on the new MOOCs. More than 2.3 million high school students take AP tests, which can allow them to skip introductory courses in college or to qualify for college credit, if they score high enough.