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Arizona State takes the first year online

Student Success
April 23, 2015 Max Bennett

On Wednesday Arizona State University (ASU) announced a partnership with edX, which provides online courses from traditional brick-and-mortar universities, to offer 12 MOOCs. The big news from this announcement is that students can  earn credits from ASU. 

The idea is simple. To enroll, students pay a $45 fee at the beginning of the MOOC and once the course is over they take a test. Upon passing, students have the option of paying up to $200 in tuition to earn credit for that course. 

ASU’s offering can serve as a “demo” of sorts, allowing prospective students to partake in college courses for credits without the upfront costs required at an in-person institution.

According to Arizona State, participation in the Academy will cost between $5,000 and $6,000. The average cost for just in-state tuition is around $10,000 while out of state residents pay closer to $24,000.

Beyond just the cost savings of an online freshman year, the Academy provides a significantly more flexible learning environment for non-traditional students. For example, veterans or soldiers on deployment, adult learners, and those not interested in a traditional 4-year plan can continue to get an education.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of students enroll in the Academy. Often times people who enroll in MOOCs already have degrees. Will that be the case with the Academy?  Or, will the students be degree-seekers? 

What’s also immediately unclear is how ASU will handle the transition for Academy freshmen. While ASU has a large online offering, how will students move from online to in-person, especially if none of the majors’ courses are available online? And, will these credits be accepted if students transfer? These are important questions to answer, not just for ASU, but for higher education as a whole as it continues to explore new avenues.

This also isn’t the first time that Arizona State has looked at offering education to a broader audience at a significantly discounted rate. Almost a year ago, they announced another large partnership with Starbucks to offer employees free online courses for a 2-year degree and reduced costs for a 4-year degree.

What do you think? Will this model work? Are you trying anything like this on your campus?