by Natalie Kitroeff, BusinessWeek
It made sense that the Georgia Institute of Technology launched an online-only computer science degree in January of this year. It was less obvious what was in it for its two corporate partners: Udacity and AT&T. Sure, Udacity is an online education company. But the company’s founder, former Google (GOOG) vice president and self-driving car evangelist Sebastian Thrun, made his name by creating virtual programs open to anyone, not paid online degrees like the one Georgia Tech is offering. He is, according to Fast Company, the “godfather of free online education.” Georgia Tech’s program has the technological trappings of a massive open online course, or MOOC, but it’s different from a MOOC in important ways. First, to get credit for the class you need to pony up $6,600. Second, graduates can claim a Master of Science degree that’s no different from the one someone sitting in a physical Georgia Tech classroom would receive—you don’t have to list “online” next to the MS on your résumé.
Share on Facebook