U-M launches first massive open online courses on edX platform

The University of Michigan Office of Digital Education and Innovation launched its first four courses on the edX platform in April 2016. U-M, one of the first universities to offer free massive open online courses (MOOCs), became a charter member of edX in October 2015.

The courses included Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making; Data Science Ethics; Social Work: Meeting the Challenges of a New Era; and Practical Learning Analytics.

“Our first four MichiganX MOOCs reflect our aspirations to make the resources of the university available to the broadest possible range of global learners,” said James DeVaney, associate vice provost for digital education and innovation. “We have learned a great deal from our first 40 MOOCs and continue to seed faculty-led academic innovation aligned with our values of diversity, inclusion and academic excellence.”

DeVaney said with the new MOOCs, the Office of Digital Education and Innovation continues progress toward a goal to transform at least 200 courses by 2017.

Founded in 2012, edX endeavors to increase global access to high-quality education for everyone via online learning and the enhancement of teaching and learning through research. It has partnerships with more than 90 members, and is the only nonprofit and open-source MOOC provider and online learning destination.

To date, U-M has reached more than 4 million lifelong learners through MOOCs developed by faculty in partnership with the Office of Digital Education and Innovation. As part of a diverse, digital innovation strategy, U-M partners with edX, Coursera and NovoEd.