The San Diego Traveler

I’m sure you’ve heard that the cost of a college degree is going up.  The current annual cost has been estimated between $12k and $32k.  With students typically attending college from 4 to 5 years, expenses can reach as high as $160k! 

Although it is true that the cost of a degree keeps going up, the cost of education may actually be going down – free in fact.

How?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently announced that anyone can access their online classes through MIT’s OpenCourseWare.  You can download the curriculum, get a syllabus for each course, access the reading list, lecture notes, assignments, and the exams.  In essence, you can educate yourself, with the same materials used by students at one of the finest universities in the country.  What you won’t get is communication with the instructor or university credit for the classes.  The education is free, not the degrees.

I wish that I could say that all of San Diego’s colleges and universities have followed suit and offered their courses to the masses for free, but most haven’t yet.  However, there is a happy exception. 

The San Diego Community College District provides many free continuing education courses at ten major locations throughout San Diego.  They’ll even send you a free class schedule.  Classes are offered in everything from Accounting to Welding, and include many certificate programs and classes geared toward older adults.

Other community organizations offer free classes as well.  The Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego provide free community law school classes on a monthly basis.  There are free braille classes offered at the Escondido Joslyn Senior Center, free introductory dance classes through many dance studios, and free gardening classes are offered by local nurseries and garden clubs throughout San Diego.

Come back tomorrow to read about exciting free educational resources available through San Diego Libraries. 

You’re never too old (or too broke) to learn.

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