…a video version of the course supplemented with a set number of hours of live teaching support, either delivered remotely by a…grad student, or live and in person from a local instructor, for a charge somewhere between zero and several thousand dollars, with credit awarded by your local institution. The existence of such an option–call it MIT on Demand–might even enhance the MIT brand, as OCW already has.
A company called StraighterLine already offers and important version of this idea: accredited online college courses for $399 per course, which includes ten hours of one-on-one tutoring. But the course credit is granted by just four small, unknown, community and for-profit colleges. This approach is half a step away from really blowing things up. It would just take a few more prestigious institutions getting on board to change the way people feel about online, on-demand education.
Anna Kamenetz, DIY U (pg 128)
Note that the total number of articulation agreements for SL is now (as of 6/10/10): 7, and it includes Western Governors University and Kaplan (no slouches in higher education)