EdX has its “MicroMasters” program. Now Coursera has introduced the “MasterTrack.” The massive open online course provider recently announced that it will pilot three MasterTrack certificate programs in coming months: one at the University of Michigan and two others at the University of Illinois. The news came during Coursera’s partners conference, hosted at Arizona State University. The idea: to parcel up degrees in small, more digestible chunks for prospective students.
U Michigan’s Construction Management MasterTrack will allow users to take courses for certification or apply their work to an advanced degree that would be completed on campus, if they meet admission criteria. The program costs $2,000, has a series of six courses and is expected to take about six months to finish. The institution hasn’t finished figuring out how many credits would be applied from the MasterTrack credential to a master’s degree, but according to an FAQ on the university website, the “expected reduction” would be about six credits. Compared to traditional distance learning tuition, that would be a savings of about $1,165 per credit hour.
