Trespass Of Malice

Free Online Education Is Now Illegal inMinnesota - George Roedler, manager of institutional registration and licensing at the Minnesota Office of Higher education, clarifies that his office's issue isn't with Coursera per se, but with the universities that offer classes through its website. State law prohibits degree-granting institutions from offering instruction in Minnesota without obtaining permission from the office and paying a registration fee. (The fee can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, plus a $1,200 annual renewal.) That means that it's Stanford, Columbia, Michigan, the University of Melbourne, et al. that are violating Minnesota law by partnering with Coursera to offer courses that Minnesota residents can take for free.

"It's not like we're sending the police out if somebody signs up online," Roedler adds. "It's just that the school is operating contrary to state law."

The law's intent is to protect Minnesota students from wasting their money on degrees from substandard institutions, Roedler says. As such, he suspects that Coursera's partner institutions would have little trouble obtaining the registration. He says he had hoped to work with Coursera to achieve that, and was surprised when they responded with the terms-of-service change notifying Minnesota residents of the law.

The thing is, no one is wasting their money on Coursera courses, because they're free. (Yes, says Roedler, but they could still be wasting their time.) And again, while its partners are degree-granting institutions, no one is getting a Stanford degree by taking a class or two on Coursera. At most, some classes offer a "certificate of completion." If every government took Minnesota's approach, free online education probably wouldn't exist, because the cost of compliance and registration in all 50 states, let alone other countries, would be prohibitive. Here's hoping that common sense prevails. ( slate )

Information

Want to make money blogging?– Here's advice from someone who's been there, done that — and turned the effort into an enviable full-time living, while never veering from her mission of helping people live more simply. Meet Tsh (pronounced "Tish") Oxenreider, whose online introduction includes the line "no, my name is not a typo," ...

Web Browsing, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Your Web browser can enhance your Internet experience, but of course, the speed of your Internet connection matters, too. Still, you won't have to pull your hair out of frustration if you're using a browser that won't crash or freeze all of a sudden. Here ...

Five Tips Every Guest Blogger Should Know - One of the best ways to increase your visibility is to become a guest blogger at a popular blog. This is a chance for you to gain exposure to a new audience and credibility by being associated with highly-respected bloggers with major followings. Guest blogging is a ...

Website Redesign? Be Sure to Plan Ahead – At some point in time, every service provider takes a look at his or her website and decides it's time for a redesign. And, to be perfectly honest, a website redesign can be more difficult and time-consuming than building a completely new site from the ground up. ...

With the rise of the internet we have seen a new economy develop - the rise of the internet we have seen a new economy develop – Internet Marketing 101 – A Look at the History of the Internet Throughout the history of man, our accomplishments have been marked by various ages. There was the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. These were primarily marked ...