Launched on October 15th, 2013, iversity.org is a German-based MOOC provider that offers academic courses in English and German. All of the MOOC platform‘s courses come at no cost to the user.
Iversity Course Format:
Typical iversity.org course offerings are comprised of eight chapters, with each chapter containing six to ten units. Courses are taught on an instructor-dictated schedule and are not self-paced. Each unit contains video lectures, quizzes, and homework assignments. In some cases, students within an iversity MOOC will also complete peer reviews and work in groups. However, all iversity courses feature discussion forums through students can interact with one another and post questions. The forums also typically contain an “upvote” and “downvote” system similar to Reddit. Students are often tasked with completing a final exam at the end of each course.
Course Offerings:
iversity.org offers a variety of courses that correspond with university courses from all four years of a university education. Although most course offerings are in English or German, students can also take some classes in Russian and Italian.
The MOOC provider offers courses in Engineering, Economics, Political Science, Chemistry, Philosophy, Biology, Physics, Architecture, and Art Studies. Additionally, students can also take “Interdisciplinary” courses.
- Engineering course offerings include “Vehicle Dynamics III: Vertical oscillations”, which teaches students how vehicles behave on different types of roads.
- A Political Science course example would be “Governance and Policy Advice: How Political Decisions Come to Life”. The course covers the impact of policy advice and political consulting on governance.
- Chemistry course offering “The Fascination of Crystals and Symmetry” explains the symmetrical structure of crystals and helps students to acclimate themselves with free crystal structure exploring software.
- An example of a Philosophy course offering would be “Political Philosophy: An Introduction”. This course provides students with the vocabulary used to understand world politics and the meanings connected with each word.
Accreditation and Certification:
Three iversity MOOCs are eligible for European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits. Through the ECTS system, students complete the MOOC courses remotely before visiting the university campus that awards credit for their completion. At this location, students complete final examinations. The ECTS courses are as follows:
- “Algorithms and Data Structures” from University of Osnabrück
- “Fundamentals of Marketing” from Lübeck University of Applied Sciences
- “Introduction to Business Administration” from RRTH Aachen
After completing the course, students will receive a free Statement of Participation that can be downloaded in PDF format. However, this document only stipulates that the participant completed the course and there are no grade marks on the certificate.
Students interested in receiving a graded statement can apply for a Certificate of Accomplishment. The available certificates are determined by the instructors, who decides the type of examination required to complete the course. The Certificate of Accomplishment, which requires a payment of either 49€ or 99€, will show the student’s percentile rank and the assignments completed within the course.
Instructors:
Similar to other MOOC providers, iversity offers the opportunity for college professors to apply to teach on their website. Additionally, individuals who refer a professor to iversity will receive a free iPad.
Partners:
Iversity has partnered with several organizations in an effort to provide its Massive Open Online Courses:
- European Commission
- Open Courseware Consortium
- Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
- EXIST
- GESIS
- European Science Foundation