With the growing expanding scope of Massively Open On line courses you can study almost anything for no cost.  This education is of value to you personally as a way to enhance your knowledge and skills.

So far, the impact on your employment/ carreer is relatively negligible.  Organizations still look at the documented degree or certificate as the value piece.

If an institution with a recognized brand (e.g. Harvard) issues you a degree or certification it can be leveraged to raise your professional standing.

If you take a free series of on line courses, which were created by the same recognized institution (and are the same as those taken by the paying students) , you obtain the knowledge and skills, but not the certificate.

Sadly without the documentation, the free learning won’t earn you more status or money, but the knowledge is what counts, right.

Business Model

Post secondary education is a big business in most countries we classify as developed and just a important in all the other areas of the world but generates less revenue in the less developed regions as there is less funding available.

Free education, in regions with less money to allocate to education works in providing skill and knowledge that get put to use by the populous whether that can prove it with a piece of paper.

The action is the proof.  If you have the skill and put it to use, how you got it and being certified as having it are not critical factors.

Education for the public good

Over time we can only hope that education will migrate from a profit model to focus on improving the human condition, worldwide.  It’s a dream.