As a new business owner, it is critical that you remain on top of your game. Open courses are an excellent way for entrepreneurs to get top-shelf training from some of the best institutions in the country, completely free of charge. An open course is a collection of notes, audio/video lectures, and other materials from degree courses at a college or university. Anyone interested in learning about a particular subject can access and download the open courses, and many can even be taken portable with an iPod or similar multi-media player. Those taking the online courses may also access testing materials to gauge their learning as they move through the course. Although the courseware is offered by a university, no degrees are awarded for completing the program courses. Instead, the open courses are offered with the goal of supplying knowledge to those who need it. Below are some of the best open courses for business owners.
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
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Kutztown University not only maintains an excellent business and management open courseware collection, they also run a small business development center with extensive resources for new business owners. In order to access the materials, you must first register for a free account with Kutztown here. Once you have logged in, you can select from free online courses in the fields of accounting, marketing, finance, management, planning, sales, and much more. These courses come with lecture videos available 24/7 for your convenience, as well as tests to gauge your learning as you proceed through the program. Premium materials and personal workshops are also available for very reasonable fees. A popular premium workshop offered by Kutztown teaches new entrepreneurs how to contract a top-notch business plan, including profit projections for the investment, and pitching it to investors.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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MIT is widely regarded as one of the very best technology and engineering schools in the country, and it comes as no surprise that their open course program is also one of the most expansive and user friendly. Entrepreneurs in tech-related fields can enjoy an entire library of open course materials from over 1,900 classes at the school. New business owners will especially enjoy the extensive lectures, exams, online text books and and online multimedia content from the Sloan School of Business management, including full course work from the undergraduate and graduate programs. You can access this material from the MIT website located here. If you are satisfied with the course work offered, you can sign up to be notified when new material is added. In this way, you can always keep up to date on the latest offerings from MIT.
Yale University on iTunes
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World-renowned Yale University is an ivy league institution that is home to some of the brightest minds in modern business. Fortunately, for those who are not able to attend the college, you can now take advantage of select free business school lectures, presentations, and open discussions via “iTunes U” at this link. Topics covered range from management and marketing tactics to early-stage business training. Yale also offers lectures on special interest topics, such as conscious capitalism and investing. Many new business owners will find the material from the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute most helpful. This collection of courseware contains lectures and training on business plan construction, negotiation, basic management principles, and more practical lessons for entrepreneurs without a ton of experience.
HP’s Online Business School
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HP offers dozens of free online business classes that are led by actual instructors. Anyone interested in learning the basics of business management, negotiation, and marketing can enroll for free by registering with HP at this link. Each course comes with a full description of what you can expect to learn, as well as reviews from other users who have taken the classes before. These reviews can be quite helpful in determining if the course is worth your time and dedication. Additionally, HP courseware users have access to hundreds of classes ranging from graphic design to network security, and much more. Many new entrepreneurs do a lot of their own design and programming work in the beginning, and HP’s coursework in these areas can be incredibly helpful to those looking to keep their chops sharp.
University of California, Irvine
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UCI hosts some of its best and most popular business courses on its website inside of an easy to use course navigator. This unique format makes it incredibly simple to browse through lecture notes, multimedia inclusions, and independent assignments. Current courses cover such important topics as business analysis, training and human resources, basics of capital markets, and e-marketing. The open coursework can be accessed at this link. Additionally, the UCI offers courses in Spanish and Portuguese to accommodate entrepreneurs from different ethnic backgrounds. DegreeDirectory.org notes that the University has plans to beef up its open courseware even more in the near future, making a variety of new business and management courses available in its distance learning center.
US Business Administration Online
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The US Business Administration offers a great open course program for new business administrators and managers. The course provides materials in every sphere of business, training interested students in everything from the analytical and numbers-based side of the corporate world, to marketing, sales and consumer behavior. The course pulls heavily from various colleges that offer free, self-paced coursework in the relevant areas. You can view all the courses and get started with your free online education here.
Nonprofit Micro-eMBA Program – Managementhelp.org
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The Nonprofit Micro-eMBA is a collection of resources and training materials for business owners working in the nonprofit sector. The course does not aim to replace the need for an MBA, only to augment existing knowledge and training with further specialized information pertaining specifically to nonprofit organizations. The training modules can be accessed here and contain information ranging from legal training and information to fund-raising and management training.
