<p>25 online-only versions of Harvard College
courses. The fall line-up includes
Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare After All, Charles Maier's World War II,
Christopher Murray's Global Health Challenges, Harvey Cox's Religion and
Politics in Current Fundamentalist Movements, and Theda Skocpol's and Mary
Waters' American Policy and Public Policy.</p>
<p>For $1675 for the courses I looked at.</p>
<p>How about an unofficial audit?</p>
<p>I do not believe you can audit an online Extension course as you need a password and PIN. If you are interested in auditing classes, MIT's Open Courseware is the better deal.</p>
<p>Tokenadult:
Most Boston-area high schoolers receive scholarships to take Extension classes, so for them it's free or nearly free.</p>
<p>I think you can do official audits, but as marite said, you need a HUID and password and PIN and all that, and to get that you have to pay.</p>
<p>"For $1675 for the courses I looked at."</p>
<p>Nice sentence structure, tokenadult.</p>
<p>Isn't this what Hillary Duff is doing?</p>
<p>The price is $650.</p>
<p>Look at BIOL E-205 as an example.</p>
<p>This is an amazing deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Consider,</p>
<p>A University of Phoenix course costs $2000.
<a href="http://www.uopxonline.com/tuition.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.uopxonline.com/tuition.asp</a></p>
<p>Also Consider taking the class in person would cost $3650. Plus room, etc.
<a href="http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/03.24/03-tuition.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/03.24/03-tuition.html</a></p>
<p>I was looking at computer science courses. </p>
<p>Does the online biology course include a lab?</p>
<p>can high school students participate in this?</p>
<p>
[quote]
can high school students participate in this?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>High school students in the Boston area frequently take Harvard Extension School courses to supplement their high school programs, as related to this forum by Marite. It would seem to me that high school students all over the world, such as the young people on the math team I coach, could take Harvard Extension School courses online. I know of young people who take online courses from Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/</a> </p>
<p>or from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth </p>
<p><a href="http://www.jhu.edu/cty/%5B/url%5D">http://www.jhu.edu/cty/</a> </p>
<p>or from Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth </p>
<p><a href="http://epgy.stanford.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://epgy.stanford.edu/</a> </p>
<p>or from all of those course providers, or from other course providers. It's interesting to see Harvard get into that market. Whether there is a big draw to the Harvard Extension School name, irrespective of the price comparison among the different programs, remains to be seen. </p>
<p>BTW, I'm pretty sure the thread title here is misleading insofar as it implies that Harvard Extension School is the same institution as Harvard College. Both are part of Harvard University, but it is Harvard College that is legendarily difficult to get into for an undergraduate degree program, not the extension school.</p>
<p>These are Harvard College courses, just online.</p>
<p>I think the online offering shows the difference between people who want to go to Harvard to learn and those that are going for some other reason.</p>
<p>These classes are open to anybody. High school students, graduate students anybody.</p>
<p>This is real college credit that can probably be transfered to another college.</p>
<p>I think this is an amazing oppurtunity for people who really want to learn.</p>
<p>Marite, are these really courses that are just the same as Harvard College courses?</p>
<p>I am not really familiar with the online courses as my S did not take any online.</p>
<p>I believe that the lectures are the same, as they are taped. However, many of the classes also have a section or lab component. I do not know how these are handled. S took Intro Bio and there was a lab/section every other week.
I understand from one math prof that he was disappointed with the quality of students from the Extension School so he decided to discontinue offering his course online after one year.
Last fall, S was able to view some of his lectures online from one course, but the video work was unsatisfactory. It could not capture what the prof wrote on the blackboard. I believe the taped lectures work better when the instructor just lectures.
The Extension School has been reaching out more to high schoolers, as per an email S received last September.</p>
<p>My God are the extension classes the same as real Harvard courses? The trial ones they show on the website are crap! There must be a difference.. why would Harvard offer its real courses for a cheaper price?</p>
<p>I think the conclusion is that the Harvard Extension School courses are NOT Harvard College courses, so that the thread title is mistaken.</p>
<p>Fairly good ploy to make money though I suppose. I noticed they were quite vague about the nature of the courses on the website.</p>
<p>I took one of these courses online, so I think I may be able to clarify some ambiguities.</p>
<p>The Harvard Extension School, as I understand, does not have its own faculty or its own courses. It runs Harvard's summer school program and other outreach programs, like efforts to allow area residents to take some courses as part-time students, but I don't think they can pursue Harvard College (or Law School or Med School, etc) degrees. They also offer a few courses online if they don't have lab requirements (aka just lectures) by taping the lectures and broadcasting them on the Internet, and then requiring students (from all around the world I guess) to email assignments as necessary. I took a course that was offered by the School of Public Health. We had the option of taking it for undergraduate or graduate credit (I guess since the course is typically available to Harvard College students as well for undergraduate credit?) because the graduate students did some extra project or something. Anyway, it wasn't that great overall. I chose to do it to only learn more about the field I want to go into but also for the college credit. Oh and I'm pretty sure your transcript goes from the Harvard Extension School.</p>
<p>So yes, some of the courses are the same ones Harvard College students take, but you get credit from the Extension School.</p>
<p>For the last 2 years, I have been taking numerous HES courses over the Internet and on campus. I hope to clarify a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most HES version of day-time College classes are taped and viewable online. The video quality is excellent. In few courses, the HES students even invited to sit in during the day. </p></li>
<li><p>Students in HES courses are required to do the equivalent amount of reading, writing assignments, quizzes as well as exams. Honor grades are as easy/difficult to earn as in the College. :)</p></li>
<li><p>Most HES students are adult. I have met quite a few Harvard employees who are taking advantage of the $40 per course discount!</p></li>
<li><p>The same College professor is accessible by e-mail or office hours. Althought teaching fellows tend to run the course logistics.</p></li>
<li><p>Most HES students are taking the classes for enrichment. Few of us are actually pursuing a degree, be it undergraduate or graduate. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>For an outsider, the educational bargain and open admission policy offered by HES are usually hard to believe at first. As someone who benefits from the education, I am just thankful for President Lowell who founded the extension school some 97 years ago. See <a href="http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2006-07/overview/tradition.jsp%5B/url%5D">http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2006-07/overview/tradition.jsp</a></p>
<p>The Economics course I looked at was only $575. Is that right to be looking at the undergraduate credit thing or is there some other fee they hit you with to make it $1600?</p>