不花一分钱，免费上顶尖商学院

    就以商学院教育为例。几十年来，企业家一直劝告专业人士寻找一位导师，在一所“需要经历千锤百炼的学校”攻读MBA学位。听起来很诱人，但知识就是力量。如果你在创业时犯了那些相同的根本性错误，你就一定会付出惨重的代价。所以请问自己这些问题：如果这些潜在的MBA候选人能够审视课程目录，同时确定有助于填补自身知识漏洞的基础课程和选修课程，如果他们能够利用这种研究来构建一个学习计划，从而像一个正常的课程体系那样，一步步地建立起自己的知识体系，如果他们能够在类似课程时代和edX这样的MOOC平台上找到这些课程，那将会怎么样？

    这是一个诱人的提议。试想一下，如果你每8周参加两个MOOC课程，理论上你可以使用与完成传统项目相同的时间，完成你的MBA学业。你几乎无需花费任何代价，就可以在网上找到MBA课程要求的很多内容。

    甚至连即将离任的研究生入学管理委员会(Graduate Management Admission Council，GMAT考试主管机构)首席执行官大卫•威尔逊也认为，这一幕很有可能。“下一代的MBA学位可能不是一个学位，而是一组证书，”威尔逊说。“市场将决定它的价值。”

    你现在可以免费参加顶尖院校提供的基础性MBA课程。这还不包括几十个其他领域的选修课程，比如金融、市场营销和可持续发展（在线免费的选修课其实要比一个昂贵的在职MBA项目传授的内容多得多）。那么，这是否值得考虑？

    让我们来看看优势（除了不支付学费）。请直面现实：一旦你进入职场，并证明了自身价值，没有人在乎你是在哪里获得的学位。通过MOOC完成MBA学位能够向雇主显示，你是一位颇具自律性、思维超前、敢于率先尝试新事物的人，你拥有值得信赖的自我控制力，完全可以独当一面。MOOC课程的辍学率徘徊在90％左右，而你竟然能够善始善终，这也充分证明你具备在艰难环境下生存的韧性。

    请无视那些声称MOOC正在降低课程要求的古怪想法。顶尖商学院正在安排教学和科研明星（而不是兼职教授或助教）参与MOOC课程。在耶鲁大学，诺贝尔经济学奖得主罗伯特•希勒将在来年1月份负责一个关于金融市场的MOOC课程。与之类似，哥伦比亚大学教授，联合国秘书长潘基文特别顾问杰弗里•萨克斯即将主持一个计划于1月份开始的可持续发展MOOC课程。

    为什么呢？其一，最好的老师通常也是最具创新性、最富激情的老师。MOOC恰恰是教育的新前沿，来自世界各地的数千名学生通过这个平台聚集在一起——往往超过教授在多年执教生涯中可能能够接触到的学生总数。MOOC仍处于起步阶段，具有充分的增长空间。一位有远见的教授难道愿意放弃这样一个躬逢其盛的机会么？更重要的是，这些高校意识到，MOOC是一个向世界展现自己最好一面的途径，是一个打造自身品牌，从而吸引学生的媒介。因此，这些学校正在不遗余力地确保自己的课程能够取得预期的效果。总而言之，你在MOOC上或许将接受比教室环境下品质更高的指导。这是相对于那些坐在实体课堂听课的同学，你将获得的另一个优势。

    Take business school education. For decades, entrepreneurs have counseled professionals to find a mentor and earn your MBA in the "school of hard knocks." Sounds tempting, but knowledge is power. And it's very costly to make those same fundamental mistakes in launching a business. So ask yourself these questions: What if these would-be MBA candidates could review course catalogs and identify foundational courses and electives that would fill their knowledge gaps? What if they could use this research to construct a learning plan that would build their knowledge, step-by-step, like a normal curriculum? And what if they could locate these courses on MOOC platforms like Coursera and edX?

    It's a tempting proposition. Imagine taking two MOOCs every eight weeks. You could theoretically finish your MBA in the same time it takes to complete a traditional program. And you can find much of the content covered in an MBA curriculum online at little to no cost.

    Even David Wilson, the outgoing chief executive of the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT test, says it may well be possible. "The next MBA degree may not be a degree but a portfolio of certificates," says Wilson. "The market will determine the worth of it."

    You can now take the foundational MBA curriculum from leading institutions for free. And that doesn't count the dozens of elective courses available in areas like finance, marketing, and sustainability (far more electives, in fact, than would be available at an expensive executive MBA program). So is this worth considering?

    Let's take a look at the advantages (besides not paying tuition). Face it: No one cares where you earned a degree once you get your foot in the door and prove yourself. Completing your MBA requirements via MOOCs could show employers that you're a disciplined, forward-thinking first adopter who has the self-control to be trusted to work on your own. With MOOC drop-out rates hovering around 90%, your approach would also demonstrate that you possess the grit to survive difficult circumstances.

    And disregard that quaint notion that MOOCs are watered down curriculum. Leading institutions are using their teaching and research stars -- not adjuncts or TAs -- in their MOOCs. At Yale, Nobel Prize winner Robert Shiller will lead a MOOC on financial markets in February. Similarly, Columbia's Jeffrey Sachs, who moonlights as a special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is holding a MOOC on sustainability beginning in January.

    Why? For one, the best teachers are usually the most innovative and passionate faculty members. And MOOCs are the new frontier in education. They bring together thousands of students from around the world -- more students than professors might reach in years of teaching. And MOOCs are still in their infancy with plenty of room for growth. Why wouldn't a forward-thinking professor not want to be part of such a trend? What's more, institutions realize that MOOCs are a way to show their best face to the world. They are a vehicle to build their brands and attract students. As a result, schools are taking extra pains to make sure these courses work. Bottom line: You will probably receive higher quality instruction on a MOOC than in a classroom environment. And that gives you another advantage over your brick-and-mortar peers.