Udacity Courses

Online colleges are becoming more and more popular. They are popping up all the time and each school has it's own pricing. Some schools are no cost to the student, some may cost a few thousand dollars, and some may cost tens of thousands of dollars  in tuition fees to complete their education online.

Udacity is a four-year old teaching setup. After years of trial and error they feel as if they have finally worked out a way to properly train people and teach millions of people technical skills.  A specialist in artificial intelligence named Sebastian Thrun founded Udacity. Thrun once ran Google X and claims that the “nanodegree” program the firm created last year will result in much lower education costs with a wider accessibility. Early data suggests the program is efficient and results in new jobs.  Students who take classes through Udacity receive the nanodegree. This is a credential degree that Udacity worked with Google and other companies to turn into a form of workplace certification. Udacity is trying to help people gain skills in the world of technology because nowadays  technology is used in the workplace. Thrun even states that it is unrealistic to think a college degree will get you through your lifetime nowadays, since everything is becoming more and more technology based. Taking courses to receive a nanodegree is a good idea to assist in  finding a job easier.

When Udacity was first launched, it  had many students taking part in the program. However, the students became laxed  with their work and failed the courses. In 2013, Thrun changed the  program  into a more practical vocational school that offered highly structured lessons. Thrun believes that having  highly vocational lessons will help people find jobs in this technology driven economy. So far, Udacity’s new model has been much more successful. The cost per month is very low and the student can take as little or much time to complete the classes.  When the class has been completed the student receives  half of their tuition back. The company believes that an average student completes the classes for a nanodegree in about 5 months. The cost is usually around $500, for a five month period, which is very inexpensive compared to the tuition cost of a  normal university. Many students who have completed the courses and earned their nanodegree have found jobs and are making a good living.

Udacity may be an independent school, however, they have the capacity to  hire professionals who are able to be personal graders and to give feedback to those taking the classes. This service provides a view from a  real person instead of just outsourcing the services to the Internet. The instructors for the classes are real educators as well.  There is an Android course that is staffed by instructors from Google, who created the mobile operating system.

Udacity is a profit based service, but all of those profits go right back into developing new coursework for students to take. It has also raised $35 million from investors. Udacity will use this money  to develop more courses and hopefully more students will take advantage of this program.