My advice, start with the free stuff. If you complete it then consider a paid thing. The completion rates of online courses is super low. I take this to mean people don't really want to do it.
I think its just difficult for people to hold themselves accountable. in standard colleges, you have other students, teachers, grades, etc which creates a social pressure for you to continue your progress.
with a MOOC, there doesnt really exist the same social pressure to continue or excel.
Its been interesting to watch how various MOOCs have tried to recreate these pressures (due dates, courses separated into weeks, peer review assignments, teacher 'office hours' etc.) and while i think they've gotten a lot better than at the beginning, im not sure they will be able to fully replicate the pressures of having real people in the classroom with you, who will notice if you are gone for a week
Columbia University has an Artificial Intelligence MicroMasters on EdX, first cohort started this month. It's free, or 1200$ if you want Columbia course credit.
Would you provide the actual bit you're interpreting? These are the words I see:
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Who is this MicroMasters Program intended for?
The MicroMasters Program in Artificial Intelligence
is intended for those who have a Bachelor’s degree in
Computer Science or Mathematics and have a basic
understanding of statistics, college level algebra,
calculus and comfort with programming languages.
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I don't see it mentioning anything contrary to the above statement. The micro-masters wouldn't be a full fledged master's degree, but could allow admission to receive a full masters (per the below):
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Complete, pass and earn a Verified Certificate in all
four courses to receive your MicroMasters Credential.
Learners who successfully earn the MicroMasters
Credential are eligible to apply to the Master of
Computer Science program at Columbia University.
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Other than the tagline "A series of credit-eligible courses recognized by industry", this is the only reference I found to course credit:
> Take your Credential to the Next Level
> If a student applies to the Master of Computer Science program at Columbia and is accepted, the MicroMasters Credential will count toward 25% of the coursework or 7.5 of the 30 credits required for graduation from the on campus Master of Computer Science program.
This part: "Learners who successfully earn the MicroMasters Credential are eligible to apply to the Master of Computer Science program at Columbia University" doesn't seem to mean anything. Isn't everyone already eligible to apply?