NTU announces new online classes from top universities
About 23,000 undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) can sign up for free online courses curated by top global universities.
These online courses can be used to clear up to 12 academic units counted towards graduation requirements, equivalent to about four courses.
Certification for such courses typically costs around $100 to $300 each.
In a statement, NTU said its partner, online learning platform Coursera, is offering users certification for selected courses free, from a pool of more than 3,800 courses from universities and companies, in view of Covid-19.
More than 86 courses have been matched for students and can be taken even while on internship or overseas exchange.
Public policy and global affairs student Lia Tan, 22, told The New Paper the online courses could help her graduate in time as she was one of many whose semester was disrupted by the university exchange programme recall in February.
SAVINGS
The online courses would also help her save around $3,000 in make-up classes.
She had planned to take special-terms during school holidays to earn the 19 academic units that were forgone this semester, which would have cost $4,750.
Keen on applying for online electives such as The Science of Well-Being by Yale University and Drug Commercialisation by the University of California San Diego, Miss Tan said: "I'm feeling quite relieved that this option has opened up.
"While I'm limited to elective courses, I'm glad I can earn some of these units online by September in order to be on track for the timeline I have planned for myself."
Computer science student Aung Hein Htoo, 22, said the credit-bearing classes available to his faculty were just four options, but he is keen to attend other courses for his own enrichment, such as Machine Learning offered by Stanford University.
Said NTU's deputy president and provost Ling San: "We hope this new initiative will inspire our students to become self-directed lifelong learners and enhance their personal development and potential.
"Applying the knowledge gained from (these courses) to real-life problems will also give students a competitive edge in their careers."
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