Project Summary
To support a Massively Master's Degree in Computer Science at Georgia Tech, using Massively Open
Online Courses (MOOCS), referred to as the “Georgia Tech Online Master of Science in Computer
Science (OMS CS)”.
Anticipated Number
300
Organization Mission
Technological change is fundamental to the advancement of the human condition. The Georgia Tech
community – students, staff, faculty, and alumni – will realize our motto of “Progress and Service”
through effectiveness and innovation in teaching and learning, our research advances, and
entrepreneurship in all sectors of society. We will be leaders in improving the human condition in
Georgia, the United States, and around the globe.
Project Description
The vision of the Project is to bring affordable, high-quality post-baccalaureate computer science
education to everyone with digital network access and to provide new pathways to certification and
employment. Georgia Tech, Udacity, and AT&T are collaborating to make graduate learning and degree
programs more accessible and affordable for more people with a new approach to massively online
teaching. All three organizations have a commitment to accessible education, thought leadership, and
innovation. The collaboration brings leaders in MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), industry and
education together to apply the power of massively online teaching to widen the pipeline of highquality, educated talent needed in computer science fields today. This is the first time leaders in these
sectors have joined to offer an advanced degree program on a massive and affordable scale. The
program will be the first affordable and open degree program offered by a top ten-computer science
department. It re-defines a number of cornerstones of traditional higher education: access, admissions,
costs, delivery, and path to employment.
The new “Georgia Tech Massively Online Master’s Degree in Computer Science” will make courses
available free to anyone with a broadband connection, while also providing skills certifications and a full
degree program (12 three-credit courses) at extremely reasonable rates. The first classes will be offered
in the Fall of 2013 through Udacity, which currently has more than 850,000 students worldwide enrolled
in its online courses. Qualified, degree-seeking students will be able to receive a master’s in computer
science from Georgia Tech for $5,000 or less – about one-tenth the cost of comparable on-campus
offerings. Affordable skills certifications will be available for students who complete designated
coursework and take proctored exams. For learners not pursuing a degree or certification or who do not
wish personal services such as project feedback, the courses would be free.
Georgia Tech will provide academic oversight, instructors, curriculum, instruction, exams, certification,
and degrees. Udacity will support the underlying technology, assist in the creation of the online
instructions, and provide student services (helpline, grading support, proctored exams). Initially the
program will be limited to 300 students, with 150 slots assigned to AT&T. Funding for these AT&T slots is
not included in this proposal. It is expected the program will be self-funding by the conclusion of the
pilot program.
The program will bring tangible benefits to US corporations by providing new pathways to identify and
educate future and present employees, providing these students with high-quality contemporary
education at a minimal cost. AT&T will (1) offer to provide for-credit project opportunities, curricular
content and guest instructors (subject to approval by the Faculty Governance committee overseeing the
program); (2) provide communications connectivity, hosting products and other technical capabilities in
concert with Udacity and Georgia Tech; (3) provide program marketing counsel; and (4) have the
opportunity to interview interested graduates for potential AT&T employment opportunities.
Project Timeline
3/1/2013 – 3/1/2014
Project Milestones
Phase I: Initial Program Development (March -- September 2013).
• Development of 4 to 6 Courses in Computer Science:
• Recruitment of independent evaluator for quality control
• Milestone Ia (September 2013): 4 to 6 courses fully developed and ready for launch; evaluator
recruited
• Milestone Ib (September 2013): Program launch
Phase II: Continued Program Development (October 2013 – April 2014)
• Development of 4 to 6 additional courses
• Milestone II (April 2013): Program development complete
Phase III: Open Enrollment and Rolling Admissions
• date still TBD
Publicity Plan
This announcement, currently scheduled for April 24, 2013, has the potential to spark a transformational
disruption in higher educational delivery, initially for students of computer science but possibly leading
to many more degree areas affecting millions of students worldwide. Once fully realized, the OMS CS
will re-define a number of cornerstones of traditional higher education, including access, admission,
cost, delivery and path to employment.
Georgia Tech Communications, led by the College of Computing and GT Institute Communications, will
be the lead agency in planning and executing the public announcement of OMS CS, working in close
collaboration with Udacity’s PR agency and AT&T public relations staff.
Broadly speaking, shared communications objectives among the three collaborators include:
• Framing the Georgia Tech OMS CS as a first-of-its-kind opportunity for students worldwide to obtain a
fully accredited degree in computer science from one of the world’s elite universities
• Demonstrating a commitment by all three collaborators to make a top-quality university education
scalable and accessible to audiences with limited opportunity to obtain such an education through
traditional delivery methods
• Positioning all program collaborators as leaders in the 21st century transformation of higher
education.
OMS CS will be co-branded using the Georgia Tech and Udacity names with equal prominence. AT&T
branding and appropriate credit will appear, along with the brands of Georgia Tech and Udacity, on
appropriate program materials available to the student population, as well as to the external market
and media.
Sustainability Plan
AT&T funding will provide $2M in support. Georgia Tech and Udacity will provide the other resources
needed. The program is expected to be self-funding at the conclusion of Phase III of the project.
Project Evaluation/Measurements
Georgia Tech will establish assessment criteria for students, collect the assessment data, and will share
them with the advisory board.
Project Outcomes
The primary outcome of this project is the development of a degree program by which students acquire
proficiency and competency in computer science that equals the level of achievement for present-day
on campus Master’s students. When graduates enter the workforce, they should have the knowledge
and competency typical for a top-notch Master’s student in computer science.
For students who enter the program and pass some classes but do not wish to complete the degree, we
will create a credential that shows they have acquired some subset of knowledge that may advance
them in their professional careers.
A major outcome will be the identification of new talent. This will be done through monitoring student
progress in the program. The College of Computing assessment office will establish learning outcomes
and criteria for assessing students that will include traditional measures (e.g., exam performance) but
also an assessment of collaborative skills and “soft skills” (e.g., ability to work in teams; ability to
communicate). We will share the assessment data with the program advisory board, and, with students’
consent, we will connect talented students to the program sponsors.
Third Party Evaluation
We agree to cooperate with the 3rd party evaluator that the AT&T Foundation may retain to analyze
the data we provide under this funding:
We Agree
We Disagree
Population Served
3
5
3
* Ethnicity:
(percentages must equal 100%)
Enter zeros where necessary
1
21
0
% ($60,000.00) African-American *
% ($100,000.00) Asian *
% ($60,000.00) Hispanic/Latino
% ($20,000.00) Native American
% ($420,000.00) Caucasian
% ($0.00) Other Minority
67
% ($1,340,000.00) International
100% Percentage Totals
(enter either total Youth or the split between
Children and Teens)
0
0
* Age:
0
(percentages must equal 100%)
Enter zeros where necessary
0
% ($0.00) Children (Infant - 5th Grade)
% ($0.00) Youth (6th - 8th Grade)
% ($0.00) Teens (9th - 12th Grade)
% ($0.00) Senior (People 50 years and
older)
100
% ($2,000,000.00) Mixed-Ages (All of the
ages above together)
100% Percentage Totals
* Community:
0
% ($0.00) Rural (Places of less than
(percentages must equal 100%) 2,500 persons) *
Enter zeros where necessary 0
% ($0.00) Urban Cluster (Places of more
than 2,500 persons but less than 50,000) *
100
% ($2,000,000.00) Metro (Places of more
than 50,000 persons) *
The community definitions are provided by
the U.S. Census Bureau.
100% Percentage Totals
* Other:
Enter zeros where necessary
0
% ($0.00) Disabled *
0
% ($0.00) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and/or
Transgender *
0
% ($0.00) Military / Veteran *
0
% ($0.00) Low Income
*
* Gender:
* Geographic
Impact
Country, State,
and City:
Everyone
Country
State
United
States
National
City
Female
Dollar
Percentage
Edit
33%
International International
67%
Total:
100%
Additional Information
* Does anyone from AT&T sit on your organization's Board of Directors?
Delete
Yes
No
Please answer the statement(s) below to determine if your
organization is E-Rate eligible. You can learn more about E-Rate
eligibility at
http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/beforeyoubegin/definitions.aspx:
1) Is your organization (a) a public or private school that provides
elementary or secondary education, (b) a public, academic, or
research library, or (c) an organization formed to support a public
or private school that provides elementary or secondary education
or a public, academic, or research library?
YES (if yes, click the radial button and read and affirm the
statement listed below in #2)
* E-Rate
Acknowledgement/Attestation:
NO (if no, click radial button, skip #2 and continue on with
application)
2) If yes, you attest that if you receive funding as a result of this
Application, no portion of the funding shall be used for, or offset
the price of, telecommunications services or equipment described
at http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/beforeyoubegin/eligibleservices/default.aspx.
You also acknowledge that you may purchase such equipment or
services from any provider and that this funding, if any, is not
conditioned upon your purchase of such services or equipment
from AT&T or any of its affiliates.
YES (you attest that the foregoing certification is true and correct)
NO (you attest that the foregoing certification is not true and
correct)
Click "Add Funding Source" button below to add additional funding source.
Other Funding
Sources
* Organization:
* Amount:
$
Comments:
* Status:
Organization
State
Funding
Pending
Amount
Committed
Comments
$1,400,000.00
Status
Edit
Delete
Committed
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Organization Financial Data
For funding requests $50,000 and greater, the prior three years of audited financial data
are required. Later in the application process you will be asked to fax a copy of your
audited financial data to AT&T.
The column to the right of the financial data below titled Unqualified Opinion indicates whether
or not an auditor has issued an unqualified opinion on the financial data for that respective year.
Please provide below your cash revenue, cash expenses, assets, and liabilities for the past three
years.
Year
Revenue
Expenses
Assets
2012
$74,081,000
$115,560,00
$1,631,650,
$502,177,00
Yes
No
2011
$266,401,00
$95,503,000
$1,626,835,
$455,883,00
Yes
No
2010
$219,831,00
$110,953,00
$1,438,430,
$438,376,00
Yes
No
* In 2012 (line 1) expenses exceeded revenues. Please briefly explain below.
Liabilities
Unqualified Opinion
The main component of revenue for the Georgia Tech Foundation is investment earnings (or losses) on
its endowment (realized and unrealized gains and losses, and investment income). The investment
return on the endowment was +19.6% in fiscal year 2011 and -0.8% in fiscal year 2012. The
endowment has a significant allocation to equity investments, and thus, it is not unusual for revenue to
fluctuate significantly from year-to-year.