Ivy League universities across the nation are offering affordable alternatives to students who may be unable to afford full tuition. The schools, which include 16 institutions around the world, have partnered with education start-up company Coursera to provide free online classes. The classes are known as massive open online courses, or MOOCs. However, some students are not sold on the venture since Coursera does not hand out academic degrees or college credit. In addition, they say the MOOCs being online eliminates crucial classroom interaction. A similar edX system between MIT, Harvard and Cal-Berkley launched earlier this year.