More Elite Universities Offer Free Online Courses - TERENCE CHEA Associated Press

MOOCs have attracted millions of students and captured the public imagination over the past year, allowing people from all walks of life to learn from leading scholars at top-tier universities — free of charge. But the question remains: Can these large-scale, highly automated classes help increase college completion rates or lower the cost of earning a degree? So far only a small number of institutions are offering degree credit for MOOCs, but that could change if more colleges determine the digital classes meet their academic standards. Earlier this month, the American Council on Education said it will recommend credit for five Coursera courses. The association is evaluating more MOOCs for possible credit recommendations, which many schools use to decide whether to grant credit for nontraditional courses. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/top-universities-offer-free-online-courses-18553692