Costs, Certifications, and Financial Assistance
One thing I have not addressed yet since I’ve started sharing my experiences with alternative learning experiences is cost.
A great thing about MOOCs (or, Massive Open Online Courses) is that they are usually free to access, particularly if you are seeking to follow the class at your own pace or do not need certification. While I’ve been primarily utilizing what’s available through the website Coursera, a few good online searches will show you that a number of traditional colleges and universities make some MOOCs available to the public on their own websites. There are a variety of open source courses across the web - from lecture videos made available through You Tube to open archives from museums and libraries.
Naturally, for those accessing MOOCs for continuing education and for career purposes, the need to have some kind of accredited validation for one’s work and what they have learned arises. It’s one thing to say, “I learned about programming on this website.” It’s something else entirely to have confirmation that you have completed a course and have at least an adequate understanding of the subject matter. Because of this demand, some MOOC providers began offering optional certificates for satisfactory completion of a course, and even for specializations spanning several courses related to a specific topic or area of study.
This is what I have chosen to do for the courses I’m pursuing. I’ve browsed similar certificate offerings on other course sites, and most seem to fall within a price range of $70-$100 per course, though some are as little as $50 and even $30. These are comparable and even significantly less than the cost of similar continuing education courses offered by colleges and community centers. Add to this that you have the convenience of being able to access your course material from anywhere that you can connect to the internet, and this further saves time and money.
Some people opt to complete the free version of a course, then retake or apply for a certificate afterwards. Some enroll in the certificate program right away. While the courses and fees vary slightly, specializations are set up so that you can pay for each course one at a time, or for the entire series of courses. This is a huge advantage over other specializations I’ve seen from learning centers and bootcamps, which often require up-front payment for all.
Coursera rolled out an option to apply for financial assistance. It is still relatively new, from what I understand, and is based on a kind of honor system. When you apply, you are asked to fill out a questionnaire with your income and why you need assistance, along with your goals and how you plan to contribute as a student. It’s because of this financial assistance program that I have been able to pursue these courses. I have to say, I’m thankful to have access to this kind of resource.
While the lecture videos, handouts, and links to reading material are adequate enough to pass each course, there are recommended texts you can purchase. Often, the courses are based on materials found in these texts. I purchased a book that coincided with the “What a Plant Knows” MOOC I took two years ago for fun, and it helped me to really understand the material. I have not purchased recommended books for any of the courses I’m taking now. Some of the books can only be found on Amazon and are difficult to find in other bookstores or in libraries. An upside is that many of them are available in Kindle versions, so you can save even more money by purchasing them this way, which is what I may do.
The Intro to Philosophy course I’ve been taking is almost over, and while I’ve been passing my quizzes, I feel I would have had a better time grasping the material if I had the recommended book that went along with it. I plan on purchasing the book later (but soon) to read through - hopefully, it will help retain some of what I’ve learned and expand on the subject a bit.
I made a wishlist that I have been adding titles to as I go along. It’s a smart way to keep track of that. Perhaps paying for course certification on MOOCs and other online courses could include a code for rental of e-books for the duration of the course? This would cut down costs without simply providing the book absolutely for free.
While the primary purpose of open source material is to make it free and available to all, getting the most out of your courses may involve some expense. It’s similar, in a sense, to open source software. You can get the free version, which is an excellent and useful tool that you might not have access to otherwise. But you can always opt to purchase the premium upgrade later as your needs grow and change. It’s still more affordable than the typical commercial options, and the paid versions help contribute to covering the costs of the free versions.
