Duke University, other institutions will begin offering some courses online for free

From Duke University: Duke University in Durham, N.C., will begin offering courses free on the Internet, school officials say. Duke will partner with Coursera, an education company that provides a platform for universities to deliver online courses. A handful of Duke courses will debut this fall, and more will follow in the spring, Duke Provost Peter Lange says. About a dozen faculty members have expressed an interest in participating so far.

RELATED: Beginning this fall, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will offer free online courses through the Coursera website.