Udacity hopes the certificates it offers to people who complete its massive open online courses are worth something. Now the company plans to charge students accordingly.
The company, one of the big three MOOC providers, said on Wednesday that it would no longer give learners the opportunity to earn free, "non-identity-verified" certificates. People will still be able to view Udacity's online-course materials without paying, but those who want a credential will have to open their wallets.
"Discontinuing the 'free' certificates has been one of the most difficult decisions we've made," wrote Sebastian Thrun, Udacity's founder, in a blog post about the policy change. "We know that many of our hardworking students can't afford to pay for classes. At the same time, we cannot hope that our certificates will ever carry great value if we don’t make this change."
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/udacity-will-no-longer-offer-free-certificates/51757