Good Morning Everyone! Hope that your Monday has started off well! For us, we start off with how universities (and also private firms) think that awarding credits for MOOCs might help recruitment. Also, the push for professional development on how to create such a massive course is also in the works for Coursera.

If you’re wondering when the talk about MOOCs will die down, the answer is…not yet. But we’ve got a few stories near the end that talk money, development, and legacy — they’ll help clear your palate.

First, the Chronicle noted that some universities are starting to use MOOCs as a way to recruit successful students, by awarding academic credit at no charge. This idea came from Academic Partnerships, and they’re calling it the MOOC2Degree initiative.

Universities Try MOOC’s to Lure Successful Students to Online Programs (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

Georgia State U. to Grant Credit for MOOC’s (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Georgia State University has decided to stake its claim early re: awarding credit for MOOC’s: “‘Essentially, this is aligning MOOCs with our other transfer credits,’ said Andrea Jones, a spokeswoman for the university.”

Taylor Branch, Prize-Winning Historian, to Teach MOOC on Civil-Rights Era (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Even an award-winning historian wants to get in on the act! Taylor Branch will be teaching a course on his specialty, the Civil Rights Era in America, at Baltimore University to 20 classroom students, and up to an additional 100 auditors online.

Learning From MOOC’s (Inside Higher Ed)
As popularity continues rise on the front of teaching MOOC’s, Coursera has decided to create a course on how to do just that! According to Coursera, this course can serve as a “central space” so that professors can learn from one another’s failures and successes.

Arm of World Bank Buys $150-Million Stake in Laureate Education (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
The IFC (International Finance Corporation) of the World Bank has invested a rather large sum of money into Laureate Education. This Baltimore-based company serves 750,000 students across a network of 65 universities in 29 countries, including the Walden University of the U.S., which is completely online. Look for expansion in Africa and Latin America; says a Laureate spokesperson, “[IFC’s] mandate to us is ‘emerging markets.'”

Higher-Education Reform: a Legacy for Obama? (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Further looking at the many changes and reforms that have occurred in higher education, should Obama make it his legacy? Kevin Carey thinks that it is in Obama’s best interest to do so, especially with the advent of MOOC’s.

‘Bill of Rights’ Seeks to Protect Students’ Interests as Online Learning Rapidly Expands (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Finally, although this was the feature of a recent blog post, we would like to keep the conversation going. What do you think about this? Comment on that post, or jump in on…lively…conversation here.

Have a wonderful week! Some other news to ponder…
Private Equity Steps Into the International-Student Market
Online Marketplace Offers an Alternative to Student Loans
Five New Lessons From Salman Khan On Reinventing Education