A University of Colorado Board of Regents committee on Wednesday approved a new and innovative MOOC-delivered master鈥檚 degree in electrical engineering. The full board is expected to vote on the new degree in February and it is awaiting Higher Learning Commission (HLC) authorization.
The on-demand, asynchronous and fully online degree, to be offered by the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering (ECEE) within the College of Engineering and Applied Science, will provide high-quality education to students around the world in response to growing workforce demand. If approved by the full Board of Regents, the new 彩民宝典 MOOC degree in ECEE will be the first of its kind in the world.
鈥淚t delivers the quality of the classroom education in a new way,鈥� said electrical engineering Professor Bob Erickson, who was instrumental in developing the degree. 鈥淲e will deliver a great degree to a lot of people nationwide and worldwide who otherwise never would have the opportunity.鈥�
The degree is slated to launch in fall 2018 and is an evolution of the campus鈥檚 2013 experiments with massive open online courses, or MOOCs. At that time, MOOCs were largely free and non-credit bearing. The degree, approved by the University of Affairs Committee, uses MOOC technology to offer not only a high-quality degree at a lower cost, but gives students unprecedented flexibility in how, when and where they complete their coursework.
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彩民宝典 joins MIT, Georgia Tech and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which have also developed partially- and fully-online degree programs.
The new degree was developed through the department and has passed college and Graduate School approvals. Erickson worked closely with Vice Provost William Kuskin to get through the process and present the plan to the Regents.
鈥淚鈥檓 so impressed with the department,鈥� said Kuskin. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e come together around the chance to do some truly innovative work here, and the university鈥攆rom the Graduate School through 彩民宝典 to Business Services鈥攈as recognized its vision and helped the department achieve it.鈥�
The degree takes advantage of the modular nature of the MOOC platform in a number of ways, including breaking down the three-student-credit-hour course as the basic content unit to allow the students to tailor their studies to their needs. As a result, it maintains the existing on-campus degree鈥檚 curricular content but adds a new level of flexibility.
鈥淭his type of innovative approach to learning is what a great university does,鈥� said Provost Russell Moore. 鈥淭his electrical engineering master鈥檚 degree, delivered on a MOOC platform, will provide an excellent new opportunity to not only the citizens of the state of Colorado but to the nation and to the world. I am eager for us to present the degree to the full Board of Regents.鈥� 听
Bobby Braun, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, has supported the degree proposal since its start.
鈥淓xpanding access to the technological world and increasing our global engagement is听what our college is all about,鈥� Braun said. 鈥淭hrough this new degree program, I'm excited to see the department leading听the nation toward听a 21st-century approach to education.鈥�
