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What is edX?

edX is a Cambridge-based not-for-profit, equally owned and governed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University to offer online learning to millions of people around the world. edX offers Harvard, MIT and Berkeley classes online for free. Through this partnership, with other partners to follow, the institutions aim to extend their collective reach to build a global community of online students.

Why was edX established?

To transform learning and enhance education on campus and around the world:

  • On campus, edX research will enhance our understanding of how students learn and how technologies can best be used as part of our larger efforts to improve teaching and learning.

  • Beyond our campuses, edX will expand access to education, allow for certificates of mastery to be earned by able learners.

What are MITx, HarvardX and BerkeleyX?

Portfolios of MIT, Harvard and Berkeley online courses offered to learners around the world through edX.

What technology will edX use?

An open-source online learning platform that will feature teaching designed specifically for the web. Features will include: self-paced learning, online discussion groups, wiki-based collaborative learning, assessment of learning as a student progresses through a course, and online laboratories. The platform will also serve as a laboratory from which data will be gathered to better understand how students learn. Because it is open source, the platform will be continuously improved.

How is this different from what other universities are doing online?

edX is a not-for-profit built by the shared educational missions of its founding partners, Harvard University and MIT. Also, a primary goal of edX is to improve teaching and learning on campus by supporting faculty in conducting significant research on how students learn.

Who will lead edX?

edX is governed by a board made up by key leaders from Harvard and MIT. MIT Professor Anant Agarwal, formerly Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, serves as the first president of edX.

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Who can take edX courses? Will there be an admissions process?

edX will be available to anyone in the world with an internet connection, and in general, there will not be an admissions process.

Will certificates be awarded?

Online learners who demonstrate mastery of subjects could earn a certificate of completion. Such certificates will be issued by edX under the name of the underlying X University from where the course originated, i.e. HarvardX, MITx or BerkeleyX.

What will the scope of the online courses be? How many? Which faculty?

Our goal is to offer a wide variety of courses across disciplines. There are currently seven courses planned for the Fall 2012 [Link to courses page].

Will on-campus students at partner institutions be able to take these courses for credit?

No. Courses will not be offered for credit at partner universities. The online content will be used to extend and enrich on campus courses. Do we need to keep this?

Who is the learner? Domestic or international? Age range?

Improving teaching and learning for students on our campuses is one of our primary goals. Beyond that, we don’t have a target group of potential learners, as the goal is to make these courses available to anyone in the world – from any demographic – who has interest in advancing their own knowledge. The only requirement is to have a computer with an internet connection. More than 150,000 students from over 160 countries registered for edX's first course, 6.002x: Circuits and Electronics. The age range of students certified in this course was from 14 to 74 years.

Many institutions are partnering in this space. Will other institutions be able to collaborate with edX?

In July of 2012 edX announced the addition of the University of California Berkeley to the edX educational space. The gathering (or consortium) of many universities’ educational content together on one site will enable learners worldwide to access the course content of any participating university from a single website, and to use a set of online educational tools shared by all participating universities. We plan to add many more institutions to this growing online initiative.

Why is Berkeley joining edX?

Like Harvard and MIT, Berkeley shares edX mission “to enhance human fulfillment worldwide through online learning, transforming education in quality, efficiency and scale through technology and research, for the benefit of campus-based students and the worldwide community of online learners”.

Berkeley shares edX commitment to the not-for-profit model as a way to transform learning and enhance education on campus and around the world.

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What are the specific arrangements between Berkeley and edX?

Berkeley will chair the to-be-formed X University consortium, which is the consortium of universities offering courses on the edX platform. As chair, Berkeley will also get a non-voting board seat on the edX board, currently comprised of the MIT and Harvard leaders, and the edX
president. Berkeley will collaborate with the edX development team on the common edX
platform, which will be released as open source.

What will Berkeley’s direct participation entail?

Berkeley will offer two courses on edX in Fall 2012, and will be collaborating on the development of the technology platform. We will explore, experiment and innovate together.

Will the partner university’s standards apply to edX programming?

The reach changes exponentially, but the rigor remains the same.

How do you intend to test whether this approach is improving learning?

edx institutions have assembled faculty who will look at data collection and analytical tools to assess results and the impact edX is having on learning.

How may I apply to study with edX?

Simply complete the online registration form here[link], or click on the "SIGN UP" tab at the top of this page). Enrolling will create your unique student record in the edX database, allows you to enroll in classes, and to receive a certificate on successful completion.

How may another University participate in edX?

If you are from a university interested in discussing edX, please email university@edx.org