A consortium of UK universities are launching an online project, giving public access to higher education courses via computers, tablets or smartphones.
The move challenges US universities that have so far dominated this emerging digital education market.
The initiative will include the Open University, King’s College London, Bristol, Exeter, Warwick, East Anglia, Leeds, Lancaster, Southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham and St Andrews.
Courses will be offered from next year.
This could “revolutionise conventional models of formal education”, says Universities Minister David Willetts.
The project will represent the biggest UK response to rapidly growing online universities – with these universities planning to offer courses through a shared online platform.
There are usually no formal entry requirements for students on such courses but individual universities will have to decide how students can be examined and accredited.
Martin Bean, the Open University’s vice-chancellor, said that the arrival of online courses meant that UK universities could either “stick their heads in the sand” or rise to the international challenge.
The vice-chancellor said higher education had to face up to the impact of the internet on delivering courses.
“What the web has taught us is that you can take nothing for granted – those who sit back and hope it goes away will lose,” he said.
University of Southampton vice-chancellor Don Nutbeam said joining this project would help to build the university as a “global brand”.
He anticipates that his university will offer about 15 to 20 self-contained modules, which could be the “stepping stones” for students to enter other courses.
“We want to be in at the foundation – we want to be well positioned,” he said.
A new company called FutureLearn is being set up to run this online project, which will be majority-owned by the Open University.
In the US, in these early stages of development, courses have been offered free – but there have been charges introduced where there are certificates and invigilated exams.