The University of Washington announced on July 18 that is was joining Coursera, a a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities around the globe to offer free online courses to the public.
According to the Seattle Times article, the "UW currently has two free courses listed on the site, and by day's end Tuesday, more than 2,500 people had signed up to take them. The free courses are: scientific computing, taught by J. Nathan Kutz, and information security and risk management in context, taught by Barbara Endicott-Popovsky."
In response to the article, Popovsky said, " The MOOC's (massive open online course) tsunami is upon us. It is exciting to work in a school that is ahead of what's coming next and to pioneer this technology at the UW."
In Popovsky's course, students will learn to defend and protect vital company information using the latest technology and defense strategies, and analyze internal and external threats to proactively prevent information attacks. They will gain experience by solving real-world problems and leave the class equipped to establish and oversee information security.
As of August 2, more than 6,000 people have signed up fro Popovsky's course, which starts September 24.