A New Breed of Online Ed

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Emory has joined a group of notable American universities to launch Semester Online, a new education program that will offer rigorous, for-credit undergraduate courses.

Other consortium members include Brandeis University, Duke University, Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Rochester, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, and Washington University in St. Louis. The group has partnered with 2U, a company that works with universities to deliver graduate and undergraduate for-credit coursework online.

“All of the members of the Semester Online consortium are as committed as Emory is to providing students with a rich, high-quality academic experience online,” says Lynn Zimmerman, senior vice provost for undergraduate and continuing education.

While online learning has opened new horizons for universities, Semester Online stands apart in that it’s for credit, charges tuition, has a selective admission process, and provides classes taught live by top faculty in a small group setting, Zimmerman says.

“It’s exciting to be at the forefront of this—there isn’t anything quite like it,” she says. “I know that Emory students are very excited about the possibilities.”