An online alternative to freshman year.

On average, the tuition and living expenses of traditional full-time undergraduate education programs total more than $15,000 per year at public universities, with much higher costs at for-profit institutions ([ 1 ][1], [ 2 ][2]). Three types of students are poorly served by this system: students who are so highly motivated that they could complete coursework independently, students who would be successful but are deterred by the cost, and students who are poorly prepared and invest the money to enroll in college only to fail. To meet the needs of these three groups of students, I believe that online options should be promoted specifically for freshman courses, which would allow students to begin college coursework without the financial burden. Introductory lecture courses that constitute much of the course load of a typical freshman experience are already widely available on the Internet for noncredit purposes from highly regarded research institutions such as Berkeley ([ 3 ][3]), MIT ([ 4 ][4]), and Yale ([ 5 ][5]), and they can be accessed free of charge by self-motivated learners worldwide. Such materials, with appropriate copyright permissions, could comprise essentially an entire freshman year virtual curriculum. Students' mastery of the material could be evaluated by secure examinations, perhaps the same advanced placement examinations already taken by man high school seniors to obtain college credits. ![Figure][6] CREDIT: UYEN LE/ISTOCKPHOTO A virtual course load would allow highly motivated students to complete the freshman year at a substantial cost savings before enrolling full time. It would lower the financial barrier to beginning a degree program for students with financial constraints. Students who are not sure whether they are ready for college-level work could also take advantage of this low-cost option to determine whether they need to improve basic skills before enrolling full-time to complete their degree. Of course, an online learning experience would not provide the benefits of a full educational experience, such as interaction with peers, teaching assistants, and senior faculty. Students will vary in their ability and willingness to undertake learning without the supportive resources that a traditional classroom and teacher provide, so online learning will clearly not be for everyone. Students who discover that the online learning environment does not meet their needs would still have the option to spend the time and money necessary to complete their freshman year in a more traditional and personal learning environment. 1. [↵][7]1. J. Lauerman , “For-profit college costs surpass nonprofit peers in U.S. study,” Bloomberg, 26 May 2011 ( ). 2. [↵][8]U.S. Department of Education, “U.S. Department of Education releases college cost lists to help students make informed choices,” 30 June 2011 ([www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-college-cost-lists-help-students-make-informed-][9]). 3. [↵][10]webcast.berkeley, UC Berkeley's central service for online video and audio for students and learners around the globe ( ). 4. [↵][11]MIT Open Courseware ( ). 5. [↵][12]Open Yale Courses ( ). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #ref-4 [5]: #ref-5 [6]: pending:yes [7]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [8]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [9]: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-college-cost-lists-help-students-make-informed- [10]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text" [11]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text" [12]: #xref-ref-5-1 "View reference 5 in text"