Wellesley College's edX Lineup Announced

Wellesley College announced at the . Earlier this week, the College announced its four-course online list, to be offered through edX.

The four WellesleyX courses:

• Introduction to Human Evolution (taught by biological anthropologist Adam Van Arsdale)
• Was Alexander Great? The Life, Leadership, and Legacies of History’s Greatest Warrior (Spring 2014, taught by Guy MacLean Rogers)
• Introduction to Global Sociology (Fall 2014, taught by Smitha Radhakrishnan); 
• Shakespeare: On the Page and In Performance (Fall 2014, taught by Yu Jin Ko and Diego Arciniegas).

Registration for all classes is now open.

“The strength of Wellesley’s faculty and curriculum is reflected in these initial courses,” said Wellesley College President H. Kim Bottomly in a release posted to our blogs. “Wellesley looks forward to contributing to, and helping to shape the conversation about the role of online education, especially in promoting the liberal arts.”

EdX uses what are called massive online open courses (MOOCS), in which anyone with an internet connection can participate in a course without applying or or attending the courses in person. Students can earn certificates of completion from the university, which are currently free--the edX FAQ site says a modest fee may be implemented in future. 

The online education provider went live earlier this year, and WellesleyX will start offering courses in the coming school year, as will the University of Texas. Last month, edX also announced it was partnering with MassBay Community College, as well as Bunker Hill, to offer some computer science classes.

The WellesleyX classes will be the first liberal arts courses on the site.