This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Elite universities across U.K. are determined to bring revolution in the Higher Education by offering free access to thousands of online courses through joining Open University’s (OU) new venture.
Until now, such content has only been hosted by the American platforms, but the Open University is leading the project to set up a rival British company called FutureLearn; majority owned by OU; through partnering with the leading U.K. universities including including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, King’s College London, Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick.
Courses offered will be free, but allowing the virtual students to sit for exams and accreditation of certificate will be decided by universities. This is an initiative towards increasing the free accessibility to higher education both in the U.K. and across the world for which students were initially paying up to $13,700 a year in fees, raising questions about campus-based education system in future.
Universities minister, David Willetts has told: “Futurelearn has the potential to put the U.K. at the heart of the technology for learning agenda by revolutionising conventional models of formal education. New online delivery tools will also create incredible opportunities for U.K. entrepreneurs to reach world markets by harnessing technology and innovation in the field of education.”
He has also added that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) presented an opportunity for to “widen access to, and meet the global demand for, higher education. This is growing rapidly in emerging economies like Brazil, India and China.”
Welsh and Scottish ministers from devolved administrations have also greeted this revolutionary step in the field of education.
Welsh minister for education and skills, Leighton Andrews had encouraged the higher education sector in Wales to “engage with this in a serious way”.
Scottish cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, Michael Russell has appreciated the initiative and said it was an “excellent example of universities embracing new technologies and teaching approaches”.
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