Serendipity35

There were plenty of posts earlier this month (including on this blog) about Coursera, the edtech startup that provides free online courses including MOOCs, was being banned in Minnesota. Perhaps because of all the online outcry and attention, the state has agreed not to enforce the disputed law in the case of the free, online educational forum.

The law that Minnesota has in place (as do other states) requires colleges and universities to register with the state before offering courses to residents. The schools that put courses into Coursera have not registered in the state and that was the basis for the ban.

Part of the story originally focused on the idea that with these courses being available for free online, it would be difficult (impossible?) for the state or even Coursera to stop Minnesota residents from taking them.

Some of the new round of postings feel that Minnesota’s promise not to enforce the law is purely symbolic. Certainly, the attention on Minnesota was not positive. Slate’s Will Oremus gave Minnesota a prize for “most creative use of government to stifle innovation.”