Forty public universities, including Arizona State, Cleveland State, and the University of Arkansas, are planning to offer free online courses that carry full credit in an effort to entice potential students to sign up for a full degree program.

The new initiative, know as MOOC2Degree (MOOC stands for massive open online course), is being run in a partnership between the universities and Academic Partnerships, a commercial company that helps universities move their courses online.

As part of this initiative, Academic Partnerships will work with the universities to recruit for these courses and will receive a cut of any tuition from students who sign on for further study.

The universities and Academic Partnerships are hoping that this freebie will help people realize the value of an online education without any initial financial risk.

"While the number of online education opportunities continues to grow at an incredible pace, there are still many adults who are apprehensive about the experience and demands of learning online," said Phil Regier of Arizona State University Online. "We want people to experience what a high-quality online course is really about, with all the academic rigor, interactions and opportunities we provide."

An example of the kind of course being offered includes the University of Cincinnati's Innovation and Design Thinking course, which can kick off a master-level degree in either business or engineering.

According to The New York Times, however, many of the courses will be "professional development" courses — offerings that could lead to a master's in education or a bachelor of science in nursing.

While free online courses aren't exactly a new thing, such a large partnership plus free college credit means these offerings will likely get a look by curious online academics. The first offerings will be available to interested students this spring.

【新闻快讯】亚利桑那、克里弗兰、阿肯色等美国40所公立大学正计划将学校的所有课程搬上网，这样学生可以免试听课，以攻读学位，学费则是“看着给”。这个计划被称为“与学位挂钩的公众在线公开课”。

亚利桑那州大学网站负责人Phil Regier说，很多成年人都有继续学习的愿望，这个计划可以让他们在免除财务负担的基础上圆梦。

辛辛那提大学的“创新与设计思考”公开课是一个例子，学成可以申请商学或工程硕士学位。其他课程多是专业技能培训，可以获得教育学硕士或护理学学士等学位。今年春季开始有兴趣的学生将可以留意相关信息。

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