In a pilot project announced Wednesday, students will be able to take a semester of free online courses in one of MIT’s graduate programs and then, if they pay a “modest fee” of about $1,500 and pass an exam, they will earn a MicroMaster’s credential, the school said. The new credential represents half of the university’s one-year master’s degree program in supply chain management. Students in the supply chain management program are typically mid-career workers who take a year off work for intense training. […] MIT said there’s heavy demand from companies to train more students in the field, which examines the flow of goods from manufacturer to consumer. The Georgia Institute of Technology offers an online master’s degree in computer science for $6,600, but the classes can be taken for free without credit. “The new MicroMaster’s is an important modular credential for the digital age, and promises to serve as academic currency in a continuous, lifelong learning world,” Anant Agarwal, an MIT professor and CEO of edX, said in a statement.

Source: For 1st time, MIT’s free online classes can lead to degree – SFGate