Learning Resources | News

Faculty Project Offers Free Online Courses

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 01/30/12

Udemy has launched the Faculty Project, a new Web site designed to offer free college-level learning to people from around the world.

The courses, available to students on demand, include discussion boards for interaction with other students and professors, videos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, articles, and other resources. According to information on the project's Web site, "The content will be available for free, forever, to anyone who wishes to consume it."

The subjects covered were chosen by the faculty members teaching them. They include:

• Introduction to Business Strategy, taught by Michael Lenox of the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia;
• Introduction to Operations Management, taught by Gad Allon of the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University;
• Economics of Energy and the Environment, taught by Ben Ho from Vassar College;
• Budgeting in Accounting, taught by Ken Milani of the Mendoza College of Business, Notre Dame University;
• History of Modern China, taught by Pamela Crossley from Dartmouth College;
• Brazil for Beginners, taught by Marshall Eakin from Vanderbilt University;
• The United States Constitution: A Biography, taught by Robert Allison of Suffolk University;
• Public Health, taught by David Dausey of Mercyhurst College and honorary faculty member at Carnegie Mellon;
• Ancient Greek Religion, taught by Robert Garland from Colgate University;
• Perspectives on Contemporary American Democracy, taught by Jeb Barnes of the University of Southern California;
• Elixir: A History of Water and Humans, taught by Brian Fagan, retired, from the University of California at Santa Barbara;
• Classics of American Literature: T.S. Eliot, taught by Victor Strandberg of Duke University;
• Building Information Modeling for Sustainable Design, taught by Glenn Katz of Stanford University;
• Select Classics in Russian Literature, taught by Irwin Weil, Emeritus, of Northwestern University; and
• The Cognitive Neuroscience of Mindfulness, taught by Amishi Jha from the University of Miami.

"We couldn't be more proud of the educators that have agreed to participate in this truly unique endeavor. Each is participating without pay, simply because they are interested in bringing knowledge to the global community," said Tim Parks, director of The Faculty Project. "Their knowledge, teaching skills, and passion for their respective subjects are truly exceptional."

"This project creates an incredible and unprecedented opportunity to share lessons that empower and inspire people to improve their lives and change their worlds," said Glenn Katz of Stanford University's Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and educational solutions specialist at Autodesk. "The Faculty Project brings together a critical mass of educators and topics that will help prove the effectiveness and demonstrate the value of this new learning approach, while providing valuable feedback and insights about how to enhance and continue improving it."

More information is available at facultyproject.com.