State of Minnesota bans free online education [update: State relents under pressure]

Originally posted by sevensheeps

free-ride tuition to those who hold academic promise but no bank holdings. Furthermore, 'Coursera' kinda sounds like 'Billy Bob's Backwater School-a-Book-Learnin' to me. My guess is that it is some unaccredited phony scam and that's why it's "banned." But like I said, I've never heard of Coursera before, so maybe I'm wrong.

reply to post by YoungSoul

 

I almost sound like I work for them.. But.

You are SO wrong.

Have you seen the universities offering the courses?

Berklee College of Music
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Columbia University
Duke University
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Emory University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Johns Hopkins University
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Ohio State University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The University of British Columbia
University of California, Irvine
University of California, San Francisco
University of Edinburgh
University of Florida
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of London International Programmes
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Melbourne
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Toronto
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Wesleyan University

Really?

I just can't see getting a decent education without textbooks.

Originally posted by MrInquisitive
reply to post by Maxmars

 

Uh, erm, folks, have any of you bothered to read the Slate link? It's been updated: Minnesota is no longer enforcing this out-dated law. Besides which, this law was meant to protect people from substandard education programs that cost money; it was written before there was a notion that free, online education would be provided.

So move along, ATS'ers, there's nothing to see here or wring one's hands about -- besides the fact that ATS'ers love to pile-on on some issue without bothering to check the facts of the matter.

Hahahaha. I, myself have been scratching my head at the free-education folks who haven't taken the time to read up on the issue they are so incensed over.

That said, just tried to go to coursera's website, but the page fails to load, i.e. the site is either overloaded or not working, but in any case I am not impressed by couresera so far.

edit on 20-10-2012 by MrInquisitive because: (no reason given)

Like I said. It's Billy Bob's Free Skool of Book-Learnin'.

Minnesota has plenty of private (read: non-government provided) colleges that offer millions of scholarship dollars every year to students who can't afford school. They all offer night, weekend, and online classes. Some of these people need to take a Midol, loosen up their unitards, and learn to read the whole message-board. Perhaps they're tea-partiers who want to cut education funding.

reply to post by Maxmars


Excellent catch! ...Kept me busy for half an hour checking the course offerings. Love the concept but as always, concerned about the organization's ability to manipulate public perception through "education." Still - more really is better and free IS best. I intend to take advantage of something coursera offers and count on my own ability to balance whatever paradigm is promoted with my own research and thinking.

Thanks much for posting this.


Ed. to add: Where else can ordinary folk sit in on classes from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Standford, Caltech or U of T? ...The professors are from over 30 really high level universities. Gotta love it.

This should serve as a warning to everyone who is for "Free Education"
And when I say free I mean redistribution of services "Free"

That's why free anything is wrong!
I mean in the redistribution sense

Because of the "REDISTRIBUTOR"

Please stop this nonsense lefties!

Unbelievable. I see no proper reason to ban free online education. It looks like another money grab.

Thanks for introducing me to the site! I'm hopping on to work on my film career even though I'm in the hole for the one I'm actually taking.

Minnesota's missing out big time.

reply to post by YoungSoul


Well I wouldn't say that..

Listen, some of us have already acquired a college education.. Heck some of us have masters and doctorates..

However, these people, like myself, would rather take courses they've always wanted to take (for personal benefit) without having to go through the tuition, student loans etc etc etc.

Perhaps someone would like to take a course that they wanted to take in college but couldn't because it didn't fit in with their major...

It's not like they are offering degrees for free, they are just offering a means to expand your own personal education.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


That's basically what I was getting at. The way I see it, why pay for something that you can get for free? Let's be honest here, most employers don't really care how experienced you are. If you don't have that piece of paper to prove it, most people won't even give you the time of day. That's where the problem is. It's simply not a good business model.

With that said, who in their right mind would bet (and it is a bet with how many people graduate college and can't find a employment) $60k and 4 years of their time for the hope of landing a decent job? ..especially with these numbers?! Seems to me that time and money would be much better spent at the Blackjack table rather than such "quality" education that could be easily found on the internet for free.

reply to post by Dishonored

With that said, who in their right mind would bet (and it is a bet with how many people graduate college and can't find a employment) $60k and 4 years of their time for the hope of landing a decent job? ..especially with these numbers?! Seems to me that time and money would be much better spent at the Blackjack table rather than such "quality" education that could be easily found on the internet for free.

But college is more than mere book learning. It is a social experience wherein one can experiment in terms of lifestyle, and make important social connections that pay off in later life.