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CU earning money from online offerings

Posted at 9:34 AM, Apr 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-25 11:34:29-04

The University of Colorado is starting to earn money from the massive open online courses it offers on the website Coursera.

The Daily Camera reports that the courses, known as MOOCs, are free, but some students have begun to pay for certificates showing they've competed a course or a multi-course unit in a particular subject.

CU Associate Vice President Deborah Keyek-Franssen says the certificates have generated about $110,000 for CU since September. She expects that number to go up this spring, when new multi-course units will be launched.

Keyek-Franssen says CU didn't necessarily expect to make money from the courses, which also have the potential to introduce millions of people to CU. But she estimates that the school could generate $250,000 a year from its offerings on Coursera.