{"id":63830,"date":"2018-05-31T16:40:24","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T20:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/?p=63830"},"modified":"2018-05-31T16:40:24","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T20:40:24","slug":"education-startup-onlinedegree-com-makes-the-first-year-of-college-tuition-free-vedder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/2018\/05\/31\/education-startup-onlinedegree-com-makes-the-first-year-of-college-tuition-free-vedder\/","title":{"rendered":"Education startup OnlineDegree.com makes the first year of college tuition-free [Vedder]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Education startup OnlineDegree.com makes the first year of college tuition-free<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0— from forbes.com by Richard Vedder<\/p>\n

Excerpt:<\/em><\/p>\n

If you were told that an educational institution existed that would enable you to earn a year of college credit at\u00a0zero financial cost<\/em>\u00a0and with minimal hassle –from a\u00a0for-profit<\/em>\u00a0private entrepreneurial venture — you would no doubt be suspicious.\u00a0I receive\u00a0several pitches a week from individuals trying to promote all sorts of innovations, so\u00a0I was especially dubious of this proposition \u2013 until\u00a0I talked to Grant Aldrich, the fellow who helped initiate this project, and after reflecting a bit on modern internet-based businesses.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of millions daily use at zero cost an immensely popular social media platform, Facebook. It provides much joy to user\u2019s lives. Moreover, Facebook, Inc. has, of this writing, a market capitalization of $539.6 billion and its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is at age 34, one of the richest people in the world. I suspect Grant Aldrich thinks that the Facebook model can be replicated successfully in higher education. Aldrich\u2019s website (https:\/\/onlinedegree.com<\/a>) will provide users with free, high-quality online college-level courses, financed through advertising, sponsorships, etc., much like Facebook and Google do.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0venture is brand new and modest in scope and is just now\u00a0ready to launch its project.<\/p>\n

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He is bringing market-based capitalism to higher education without the crutch of government-subsidized student loans.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Yet Aldrich claims that he is not out to destroy traditional higher education, but rather to revitalize and support it. Students ultimately would go from his online courses into traditional schools,\u00a0saving at least 25% of the cost through credit transfer, making traditional education significantly more affordable and viable.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The information below is from Grant Aldrich, Founder of OnlineDegree.com\u00a0(emphasis via DSC)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Rather than bypassing traditional universities like the MissionU\u2019s or Coursera\u2019s, we have\u00a0a disruptive solution to innovate\u00a0within<\/em>\u00a0higher ed to\u00a0combat student debt and bring students back to a collegiate path.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the quick summary: At\u00a0OnlineDegree.com, anyone could receive credit, up to their freshman year of college, completely tuition-free<\/em>. All from home, on their own schedule, no pressure, and no applications.<\/p>\n

We offer students free college-level courses and work with accredited universities across the country to award college credit for the courses students take.\u00a0 With many options to complete their entire freshman year equivalence, there are potential pathways to receive up to 44 units of recommended semester credit at over\u00a01,400 colleges\u00a0throughout the US\u2026and growing.<\/p>\n

By understanding the predicament that working adults have, it’s obvious that the current educational system hasn\u2019t made it simple or easy enough for them to go back to school.\u00a0 They\u2019re busy, can\u2019t afford it, and have a lot of anxiety taking the first step.\u00a0 We’re changing that.<\/p>\n

Further information is below.<\/p>\n

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\nWho Are We?<\/strong>
\nOnlineDegree.com is a team of startup veterans, leading academics and PhDs (from NYU, West Virginia University, Georgetown, etc). We\u2019ve been working for over 2 years to make higher education more affordable and accessible for everyone.<\/span> <\/strong>It\u2019s been an incredible adventure to combat entrenched roadblocks and norms. More about us here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

How it Works<\/strong>
\nStudents take as many college-level courses as they\u2019d like on gen ed topics like Psychology, Robotics, Computer Programming, Marketing, History and many more\u2026free. We\u2019ve then worked with participating accredited universities across the country like Southern New Hampshire University, Excelsior College and others, so students can receive college credit for the courses they\u2019ve taken. <\/strong>In addition, there are pathways to receive credit at over 1,400 schools<\/strong> in total throughout the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our courses are:<\/strong><\/p>\n