For the first time in its history, Stanford is offering several of its engineering classes online for free. Unlike free class recordings which can be found in abundance on iTunes U, these classes will provide students will full course materials as well as asking students to complete homework and exams. In return, online participants will receive a certificate of completion.
Stanford has three classes up for online registrations: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Introduction to Databases and Machine Learning. Since opening registration this August, over 100,000 people have registered for these three courses combined.
All three courses begin on October 10th. As with the Introduction to AI course, there is a basic track and an advanced track. The basic track requires participants to watch lectures and complete quizzes while the advanced track also requires homework and exam participation. Both tracks provide a certificate of completion.
With everything free, there are some limitations. These classes do not count as Stanford university credit and do not provide direct access to the instructor. I might not be an expert in computer science, but I am definitely interested enough to follow at least one of these classes.
Let us know in the comments what you think of Stanford's offer and if you plan to take any of these courses!