OpenCourseWare Consortium, 20Million Minds Foundation and Excelsior College to offer certification and college credit for online courses in partnership with OpenStudy
Palo Alto, CA, November 14, 2012 Global learners studying on open courses offered by the OpenCourseWare Consortium member institutions, the 20 Million Minds Foundation and Excelsior College, now have the opportunity to earn Certificates of Participation and college credit. OCW Consortium members, University of Notre Dame, UC Irvine and TU Delft, will offer the first set of courses. OpenStudy offers open learners a vibrant, award winning community of practice and offers partners next generation assessment based on documented competencies, behavioral profiling and social analytics.
“We are delighted to be working with these innovators in education who realize the potential of open online courses and who are focused on helping not only high achievers but also at-risk learners. For high school students, this is an opportunity to engage with college level content – and add a credible documentation of engagement, helpfulness and academic competence to their college applications. For college students it serves the dual purposes of enhancing their performance in a college course and creates a verified e-portfolio for their first job,” says Preetha Ram, CEO of OpenStudy.
Open, online courses attract learners from every corner of the world to study free content. OpenStudy’s partners are extending the value of the open course experience by offering Certificate of Participation that not only reports on competencies gained by studying course materials, but also reports on skills important to employers: teamwork, problem solving and engagement. Together this documentation will demonstrate the employability of learners by addressing issues that confront employers – how to determine if a job candidate has both the content area knowledge and interpersonal skills to be successful.
Justin Soeung, applying for college this year, sees the value of a Certificate. He is using the University of Notre Dame’s Thermodynamics OpenCourseWare to gain a university-level understanding of the material. “Any of the colleges I apply for will be able to see that I am a serious student. Beyond my GPA and SAT scores, with this Certificate, they can see that I am truly passionate about Chemistry. They can also see that I interact with hundreds of learners world wide each day, helping some and getting help from others.” Catherine Lacey, a graduate student in Australia, is planning to use her Certificate when she applies for jobs to showcase her success at real-time problem solving in her field, Biology, along with demonstrated strong online interpersonal skills.
Mary Lou Forward, Director of the OCW Consortium says, “The Certificate of Participation is just what self learners have been asking for: a signal to employers of skills and competencies and a real incentive to keep them engaged with the learning.” Students who sign up for the certificate will be further incentivized to study through a “pay for performance” model, announced Dean Florez, former CA State Senator and President of 20 Million Minds. “After completing the course and submitting their grade for the course, students will receive rewards, including cash back and gift cards, to further recognize their success.” Students can pursue the option of earning college credit by passing a proficiency exam offered by Excelsior College. There is no cost to access course materials or to use OpenStudy. Certificates are priced starting at $30. Individuals can register for these courses at www.openstudy.com/courses. Partners plan to roll out additional courses in the following weeks.