EdX for Cowboys
The nine academic universities and six health institutions of the UT System will join a $5 million partnership with edX, an online nonprofit founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Higher education is at a crossroads,” said Steven Mintz, who was recently appointed as the executive director of the Institute for Transformational Learning. “But by leveraging new technologies we can enhance student learning, we can accelerate graduation and we can hold down the cost of higher education”.
Higher education for all Texans
The UT Board of Regents unanimously passed the measure at a special meeting called on Monday morning. The announcement came just weeks after Gov. Rick Perry put forth his plan to make higher education accessible for all Texans, one that stressed graduating on time and tuition freezes and $10,000 degree plans to make college more affordable.
“The UT System’s partnership with edX is great news for Texas and exactly the type of effort I hope more schools will consider as we aggressively pursue the goals of improving graduation rates and making a college education more accessible and affordable for Texans,” Perry said in a statement.
For the time being, classes will be free, but may move to a tiered system where students paying tuition receive credit. Currently it has not been decided whether the four classes offered for the fall 2013 semester will be for credit.
