Job with AT&T awaits after online courses - Eduardo Porter, NY Times

“We are trying to widen the pipeline,” said Charlene Lake, an AT&T spokeswoman. “This is designed by business for the specific skills that are needed in business.” Thrun sounded more ambitious about the ultimate goal: “It is like a university,” he said, “built by industry.” The NanoDegree is offering a narrow set of skills that can be clearly applied to a job, providing learners with a bite-size chunk of knowledge and an immediate motivation to acquire it. AT&T will accept the NanoDegree as a credential for entry-level jobs. It is hoping to persuade other companies to accept it, too. The company has reserved 100 internship slots for its graduates. Udacity is also creating NanoDegrees with other companies. If all goes according to plan, Thrun says, Udacity will ultimately create an alternative approach to the “four years and done” model of higher education, splitting it into chunks that students can take throughout their lives. “It’s a more focused education with less time wasted,” Thrun told me. “They can get a degree quickly, get a job and then maybe do it again.” http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20140621-job-with-att-awaits-after-online-courses.ece