MIT announced an online initiative in 2001 called Open-CourseWare (ocw.mit.edu),to "advance knowledge and educate students . . . to best serve the world."

Seven years and 1,800 courses later, anyone with an Internet connection can download syllabi, quizzes, and video lectures for courses ranging from aerospace engineering to world literature.

The idea of getting educated without paying tuition proved popular, prompting other universities to follow suit. There's now an OpenCourseWare Consortium (ocwconsortium.org) of schools from around the world, from Australia to Vietnam. American participants include Notre Dame, Tufts and Johns Hopkins, among others. To read more please visit the full article from inRich.com