Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Minnesota

They're real online courses, from real universities, taught by real professors--and they're free. Some big-name institutions are offering free online courses for a number of reasons: to motivate students to head back to school, to help them piece together less expensive degrees from a handful of schools and more. And we're talking big names (think Yale and MIT).

But how universities pay for these no-cost classes is the problematic, probably unsustainable part. Most have outside, foundation funding that will inevitably dry up. And when it does, what happens to the students who have benefitted from the free courses, but can't afford the steep fees they'd need to pay to finish a degree?

This is a phenomenon to keep on the radar as the search for a sustainable business model rages on.

University of Minnesota faculty and P&A instructors can now apply for the 2010-2011 Office of Information Technology's Faculty Fellowship Program. According to the description: "This 18-month program fosters a multidisciplinary learning community that explores possibilities and best practices in technology-rich learning environments, produces scholarship in this area, generates organizational awareness, and advances faculty leadership around these issues." Deadline is 5:00 pm, Friday March 5, 2010.

Visit the OIT Fellowship web site for more information. You can download a PDF of the call for proposals, the application instructions, and the cover sheet. Questions about the
2010-11 Faculty Fellowship Program should be directed to Kim Wilcox, co-coordinator, at (612) 624-3528 or wilco001@umn.edu or Lauren Marsh, co-coordinator, at (612) 625-9348 or lauren@umn.edu.