The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) launched the first free online course under the University System of Maryland's online learning partnership with edX, a nonprofit online learning destination founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to increase global access to high-quality education. The first offering, "Global Health - The Lessons of Ebola," is a free global health course that explores opportunities and challenges to advancing health in developing countries. Using the open access edX platform, the six-week course launched on September 20, 2016 and will explore how multidisciplinary teams can work more effectively together to address global health needs.
Two UMUC and one UMB instructor will teach the course:
- Donald A. Donahue, DHEd, MBA, FACHE, Collegiate Professor and Program Chair, Health Care Administration, The Graduate School, UMUC
- Jody Olsen, PhD, MSW, Visiting Professor, School of Social Work and Director, Center for Global Education Initiatives, UMB
- Katherine Marconi, PhD, MS, Adjunct Professor, The Graduate School, UMUC
The course will discuss such topics as:
- Why local health issues affect us globally
- What influences a society’s health
- How multidisciplinary teams address global health
- Which organizations contribute to global health
- What SARS, Ebola, and Zika have taught us
Participants can audit the course for free or receive a verified certificate for a small fee. More USM MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses) will follow in the near future.
