Harvard Admissions Office Considers How To Weigh MOOCs - DAPHNE C. THOMPSON, Harvard Crimson

Among the familiar sea of acronyms surrounding college admissions―AP, IB, SAT, ACT―a new credential is popping up on applications that Harvard's Admissions Office has not yet decided how heavily to weigh: the MOOC, or massive open online course. Through HarvardX, the University’s subset of the online learning platform edX, anyone with an internet connection can enroll in virtual courses taught by Harvard faculty on topics ranging from computer science to global health to American poetry. But according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, admissions officers are still trying to figure out how to weigh edX courses against more conventional classes, like Advanced Placement and Ineternational Baccalaureate, on applicants’ transcripts. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/4/15/edX-weight-admissions-applications/