Online-Education Start-Up Coursera Teams With Top-Ranked Universities to Offer Free Courses - Nick DeSantis Chronicle of Higher Ed

Last fall, two Stanford computer-science professors helped create an online course-hosting platform that opened some of the university’s classes to the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of students enrolled free of charge. Their start-up company, which grew out of that effort, now seeks to give millions a taste of top-quality education by expanding its platform to other elite universities. Coursera, the online-education outfit founded by Stanford professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, will grow its course platform through official partnerships with three more top-tier institutions, the company announced today. Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Stanford will use Coursera’s technology to offer a mix of classes including computer science, business, and literature. The young company already serves seven courses, and about 30 more will be rolled out later this week and through the summer.