Enrollment for the University of Virginia Darden School's open online course "Grow to Greatness" is growing fast.
The course is a joint venture between UVA's business school and Coursera, a company that partners with universities to offer online courses to anyone, for free. Enrollment has grown to 20,000 students since the course was announced in mid-July. In the last two weeks alone, the course has gained near 4,000 students.
Representatives for the Darden School say enrollment is virtually unlimited. "Grow to Greatness" could accommodate as many as 100,000 students. The class will focus on growing private businesses rather than starting them. Darden professor Ed Hess, who has written a number of books on business growth, will lead the growing number of students.
Randall Smith, the chief technology officer at Darden, said, "It's a worldwide market here and when you can take a course like Ed's for really no cost it's a great opportunity."
Not only is the course free for students, the UVA Darden School Foundation will provide all course readings for free as well. The only prerequisite for the course is a desire to learn how small and medium sized businesses grow.
The first segment of the course will begin January 28 and will run for five weeks. To learn more or sign up click here.
Reported by Kristin Twiford
