For 1st Time, MIT's Free Online Classes Can Lead to Degree - COLLIN BINKLEY, Associated Press

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has offered free online courses for the last four years with one major downside: They didn't count toward a degree. That's about to change. In a pilot project announced Wednesday, students will be able to take a semester of free online courses in one of MIT's graduate programs and then, if they pay a "modest fee" of about $1,500 and pass an exam, they will earn a MicroMaster's credential, the school said. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/1st-time-mits-free-online-classes-carry-credit-34313786