Seven favorite free business education sites

Looking for those hours of ongoing education you need for professional development, but don’t want to spend your hard earned nickels this year? Maybe you thought you should at least see what the inside of a University class actually looks like after prioritizing the social benefits of collegiate life?

Whatever the driver, there’s plenty of online education available, most that come with a price tag and a note that “you get what you pay for.” Every once in a while, though, that crazy price-to-value ratio tips in favor of the consumer that has already sunk a capital investment into a computer with ongoing expenses of Internet charges – or visited a public library. So here’s to letting (online business education) freedom ring…

Favorite site #1: QuickMBA

A great overview/refresher along all the major disciplines within an MBA, QuickMBA does a great job of not only giving you the essentials from accounting to strategy, but also provides a great recommended reading list further exploring each summary.

Favorite site #2: MIT’s EE Open Courseware

What better place to learn about EE than from MIT?! MIT also has open courseware around Economics, and the Sloan School of Management is highly regarded as some of the best open courseware on the web.

Favorite site #3: Yale’s Economics courses

Yale’s Economics courses include game theory and financial markets, and as an added bonus include audio and video, easier for me to personally get engaged in an online environment.

Favorite site #4: Berkeley

Berkeley also does a good job of webcasting audio and video, and has an Introductory Probability and Statistics for Business course in particular, distinguished from other sites.

Favorite site #5: The Open University

For the more traditional read and click online learning, out of the UK comes The Open University, with courses specific to Business and Management which are rated by users and focus on more practical applications associated with the courseware.

Favorite site #6: University of Southern Queensland

While we’re going international, then, the University of Southern Queensland has an interesting course on Communication, Technology and Policy.

Favorite site #7: Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative

Finally, along the lines of interactivity (including quiz/refresher interactive questions while you read), Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative spans multiple subject areas and allows anyone to ‘peek in’ to a course to take it anonymously (without a login).

Just remember in your studies the advice from my last fortune cookie, “Learning without thought is labor lost.” Or as Jim Rohn envisaged, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”