Free online courses offered by universities

Free online courses offered by universities will not revolutionise the way traditional degree courses are delivered, says expert.
A new initiative that will provide students with free access to online courses run by some UK universities will not displace the traditional mechanism for delivering degrees, an expert has said. Universities law expert Gayle Ditchburn of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the 'Futurelearn' scheme would provide both UK and foreign-based students with a "taster" of what they could expect from signing up to traditional degree courses at UK universities. Ditchburn said that the value of signing up to traditional degree courses run by universities would not be diminished by the scheme. Last week The Open University (OU) announced that it had partnered with 11 UK universities, including Birmingham, Cardiff, King’s College London, St Andrews and Warwick, to deliver 'Massive Open Online Courses' (MOOCs) to students. Read more...