Should higher education course materials be free to all?

Abstract

In recent months, UC Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have, respectively, announced and achieved their intention to make entire lecture and course materials freely available online - to anyone. Leo Pollak argues that while British universities lag far behind in online course provision, the UK is uniquely placed to innovate further than MIT, and to once again radically redefine the basis of opportunity, learning and social mobility. © 2008 ippr.