<p>I'm wondering what parents have to say about this knowing the thousands of dollars they pay for their student[s] education. I'm not even sure how this online university thing works. I've always been somewhat skeptical when seeing adverts for the 'University of Phoenix - Online'.</p>
<p>The free course materials discussed in the article would not result in any credit. They are there for people who simply are interested in learning for its own sake. It's also a way for we over-involved parents to share in our kid's experiences -- if we're lucky, our kid's college offers a course by one or more of their profs, and we can get a peek of their academic life that way. But there are no exams, and no measures -- a person could come online and simply watch a few minutes here and there -- someone else could buy the text books and scrupulously watch every single lecture, even taking notes -- there would be no way of knowing how much any individual got out of the course.</p>
<p>This is different than "distance learning" or on-line courses offered for a fee, where there is a charge for the material and the student will have assignments to complete & exams, to be submitted via email or completion of online forms. In that case, a faculty member is involved, both to be available to answer questions and to grade the exams; and credit will be awarded upon successful completion of the course. Depending on the stature of the university offering the coursework, the credit will be transferable to other universities.</p>
<p>I agree. I really enjoyed "attending " a few lectures without the fear of exams. I think its great that schools like MIT put many of their classes on line. Looking at exams and problem sets give a person a good idea what is required to do well in the classes.</p>
<p>I think it's great and my kid does go to Yale. She was torn between taking two classes this semester and made her decision, in part, because one would be available online and she could access it later. Even so, she read up on some material and is attending a lecture for that class today on a topic that interests her. I guess there is still an appeal about a live lecture. There isn't enough time to take everything available while in college -- this allows students the opportunity to get more out of their experience.</p>