How would/will you list the free courses on your resume?

With the sudden explosion of free courses being offered by MIT, Harvard, University of Illinois, University of Edinburgh, Stanford, and the various other schools offering completion certificates, how would/will you list these on your resume?

More specifically, if you decided to take several courses in a related field, would you list these even though they are non-credit hours? I have no idea what the added benefit of having them would be, but you never know if an employer might consider these additional courses during a review of your resume.

For example, let's say two candidates were interviewing for a job, but candidate B had 5 courses in management listed on his resume with the certificates to prove passing the course. Would this make that person stand out? Of course I'm talking about on paper only because I know the interview process is also just as important as your documented education. Thoughts?

 

If they give you a certificate you could include the certificate title wherever you put other training and academic accomplishments in your resume. Possibly, if you think the classes are relevant to the job, you could create a heading called something like "Non-Credit Courses" and list the courses and their university. Probably, though, most of the courses are not resume-worthy. It might be better to take the free course and then get CLEP or other test-by-exam credit.

Free courses, especially open-courseware, seem to me to equal reading a book or learning to play an instrument, which are usually not credentials, but are things you do for satisfaction and self-improvement, like health and fitness. They will make your better, but are manifested your personal presentation like being well-spoken, confident, quick-witted or physically attractive.

 

This can apply, but is not really true for these types of courses being offered. Through the coursera.org site, I signed up to take Intro Human Physiology in January through Duke University---> https://www.coursera.org/#course/humanphysio

It's a college level course with assignments:
"Course Format
Introductory Human Physiology is a 12-week course. It consists of 31 lecture hours divided into 63 lecture videos of approximately 20 minutes in length. At the end of each lecture video, there are 2-3 questions for review. Each lecture has notes (6-8 pages) and an optional problem set of 10-15 questions. There are 3 multiple choice exams which test recognition and application of basic science principles and interpretation of physiologic data."

After the course is complete, the student receives a certificate of successful completion. This might not really help me in a potential job interview, but there are other courses that might. For instance, Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention offered by the University of California, San Francisco. In my field, disease prevention is a valued topic and talking point, so a course in this might set me apart from other potential employees. The course also comes with a completion certificate as well. Just some food for though (pun intended).

 

I agree with this. Would it be reasonable to put this type of learning in an "Non-Credit Courses" section under education? I'm hoping that my question is specific enough. Let's say the course offerings through coursera.org include 5 management courses, I think it would be beneficial to list all of them in a separate section. I wouldn't do this for 5 random courses, but for ones that you would see included in a program curriculum.

 

Make a separate heading on your CV and call it "Professional Development".

 

This wasn't really a me specific discussion, but rather what everyone else would do, if they are going to include it at all. I would probably do something just like that, but then would the specific course names be included? Most of us would end up with 10 pages of courses if we listed them. I guess it could be job specific as to what you would put on the resume. I wouldn't include underwater basket weaving when applying for a position as an aeronautical engineer. :tongue:

 

I do it like this:

Continuing Education
HTML Programming Fundamentals - University of South Florida
Six Sigma Lean - University of South Florida
Root Cause Analysis - University of Florida

 

I like that. It isn't stating anything incorrectly or being misleading, and it includes the school's name and course title. Simple and effective.

 

I like that, Randell. My problem is I barely have room on my resume to list my three diplomas, let alone all the cont. ed/development courses I've completed. I suppose I could create a separate document listing them that I could upload into the "additional documents" section that a large number of online application systems seem to use, though I've rarely applied for jobs online since finishing my first masters.
On another note, I've seen three threads on here regarding Coursera not including the one I posted about UVA offering free online courses (I didn't mention Coursera by name) and I can already see people salivating at the thought of adding a top-tier school's name to their CV/resume by completing one of these classes. I think a side-effect of this platform is going to lead to people...lets be diplomatic and just say "embellishing" their credentials (no one on this board of course). So here is my question. Will the certificates of completion say Coursera? The school? Both? Some of the courses say if you pass with a high mark you will be given a "Completion with Distinction" certificate. Some of the courses offer no cert at all (none of the courses led by Princeton faculty will provide a certificate, though Coursera will verify completion to 3rd parties with your permission).
So if you complete a class through Coursera how will you listed it on your CV? Will you mention the school or just Coursera? I'd venture to bet that most will want to use that elite school's name, even though if someone went to the trouble of verifying with a participating university they would have no record of it.
Sorry, it's late and my mind is rambling. This has been a rant.

 

I'm not sure that I've salivated over these new developments, but I am very excited with the possibilities these might open up. I enjoy learning, and offering no cost options to study subjects I have little use for in my career, but enjoy learning about, is a great idea. On the flip side, there might be some courses (or even groups of courses) that might be extremely beneficial to my career path, and offering a certificate of completion might be better for me personally than pursuing additional degrees. I already have an associates, bachelors, and masters, so if these courses are listed accurately on a CV or resume, I don't see where it creates an issue. I do see how people might abuse it though by listing that they went to the school, or that they received an actual undergrad/grad cert, and have no idea how they would remedy that problem.

 

I don't think I would list free courses on my resume. But maybe that's just me.

 

I have no reason to list free courses on my resume. Experience and RA degrees fill up all the available space.

 

How about courses you paid for? What is you attended a 5 day free training program with local CEOs providing leadership training and it was titled, "Leadership Development for the Future"? What if it was a 2 hour course that was a webcast that cost $99? Is the only deciding factor the "free" element?

 

lol.......

 

I don't see the need to list any of that. If the training was relevant, it is reflected in increased scope of responsibility and improved productivity in the experience section.

 

That makes sense. I would only put formal, established credentials on a resume. To me, most free courses will look like fluff and could push important info like degrees and certifications to the background.

Free Certificate: New Michelin I Spy books: childrens fun activity sheet

 

I would only list accredited, for credit courses on my resume.

I suppose if I was making a career change and only had a few non-credit free courses in that field, something in that field (the free courses) would be better than nothing at all. Otherwise, I personally wouldn't list it. I don't list seminars, conferences, non-credit vo-tech courses, etc.