ON "UNLOCKING THE GATES"

The Chronicle of Higher Education: Why Some Elite Colleges Give Away Courses Online

"I have been on record for some time as being skeptical about the likely effects on productivity in higher education of various new technologies. . . . But the evidence that Walsh presents about the work at Carnegie Mellon has caused me to re-think my position. . . . Unlocking the Gates is a splendid introduction to a fascinating and fast-changing world. Unless I am badly mistaken, over time all sectors of higher education will be affected in one way or another by what are truly transformational changes in the way knowledge is created and disseminated. Now that increasing numbers of universities, including some of the most prestigious, are using technology to let the world into their precincts, it will never again be possible to lock the gates." 
— from the foreword by William G. Bowen

"New technologies and budget austerity have increased the urgency to experiment with online learning in higher education, both on campus and distance learning. It is extremely timely that Taylor Walsh presents and analyzes case studies of selective universities' attempts to develop online courseware. There is very much to be learned about business models, the hopes and fears of faculty and administrators, and the organizational structures and cultures of the universities involved from these clearly written and always provocative studies of Yale, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, Columbia, and a program in India. Unlocking the Gates will be essential reading for those interested in online learning, indeed for those thinking about the evolution of higher education in the United States and globally." 
— Henry Bienen, president emeritus, Northwestern University

"This book tells an interesting and important story. The research is fabulous and probing, and the storyline is wonderfully focused on leadership and the decisions it makes in circumstances that are constantly evolving and uncertain." 
— Daniel Greenstein, vice provost for academic planning, programs, and coordination, University of California

"Unlocking the Gates tells the story of how a number of selective universities are venturing into the world of online education. Taylor Walsh explores the motivations, successes and failures, and prospects of these projects, asking whether they are worthy in their own right and whether they are the right moves for these universities."
—Saul Fisher, associate provost, Hunter College, City University of New York 

Chronicle of Higher Education: An Indian Experiment in High-Quality Online Education

Inside Higher Ed: Online Courseware’s Existential Moment

Higher Education Management Group Blog: Unlocking the Gates: An Interview with Author, Taylor Walsh 

ON OPEN COURSEWARE

The New York Times: Education Life - Higher Education Reimagined with Online Courseware

Business Week: Tuition-Free University Gains a Following

"What the University of the People is offering to do is make education time- and space-neutral. They have a lot of ingredients there to be successful, and they certainly have quite a few superstars on their advisory board," Schonfeld says. Among them: a former dean at INSEAD and the current U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh. "I think that their success from a business perspective may turn on their ability to become accredited," Schonfeld notes.

Forbes Higher Education in the Digital Age: Are online courses making inroads at elite institutions?
Editorial by Taylor Walsh

New York Times: Online Courses, Still Lacking That Third Dimension