Online university to charge tuition fees

By Sean Coughlan. The latest expansion in prestigious online universities in the US includes plans to charge for courses which will count towards degrees.
The University of Texas (UT) System is joining the edX online platform project set up by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The University of Texas says it could offer degree credits through the online platform, with a tuition fee attached.
Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa said he wanted Texas to "lead this revolution".
"The UT System does plan to eventually offer courses for credit. There will be a tuition charge for credit-earning courses, but the amount hasn't been determined," said Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, spokeswoman for the UT System.
Rising costs
This would be a major step for this new wave of online universities set up this year by top universities in the US.
The edX alliance, launched this year, already includes MIT, Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. But so far these have offered free courses which do not carry credit towards degrees.
The latest recruit to edX - with more expected this autumn - is one the biggest public university systems in the US.
The network of universities in the University of Texas System has more than 200,000 students, 19,000 academic staff and an annual operating budget of $13bn (£8bn).