HANOVER, N.H. – January 23, 2014 – Dartmouth announced today that it has joined edX, the nonprofit online learning platform founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The partnership underscores the College’s commitment to leadership in the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.

“As home to some of the finest teachers in higher education, we are excited to explore how new technologies can further the reach of our excellence,” says Dartmouth President Phil Hanlon ’77. “By joining edX, we enable our faculty to pave the way for the future, discovering new ways to teach that will take Dartmouth classrooms to the world.”

The increasing popularity of MOOCs, or massive open online courses, has been rapidly changing access to higher education. Through edX’s online platform, students of any age in any location can take courses free of charge (without academic credit) from some of the world’s finest universities, now including Dartmouth. EdX launched in 2012 and now has nearly 130 courses and 1.8 million unique users.

As a member of edX, Dartmouth will offer its first MOOC in fall 2014, with three more to follow. The courses will be taught by Dartmouth faculty members, who will receive substantial support from staff in Academic Computing and the College Library to create and manage online course content. Read more.