Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the one of the most expensive traditional learning institutions in the world, but it offers free courses, more than 1,800 of them, through their online project known as OpenCourseWare. Courses are spread over 36 fields of study, including Economics, Engineering, History and Mathematics among others. The courses are provided with state-of-the-art multimedia and are also available in a number of languages. A very high percentage of students have recommended MIT to other people as one of the best online universities.

Open University is the largest educational institution in the United Kingdom. Its online project, OpenLearn offers free-for-all courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. Courses are offered across 15 fields, and students can be assured that they will be able to advance in their chosen field of study. Course materials from the Open University are provided for free on its website and makes it one of the best options when choosing from a list of online universities. Arts, History, Business and Mathematics are some of the courses offered by the Open University.

Carnegie Mellon University operates a program called the Open Learning Initiative, which offers free courses to students. Students can choose from 13 different programs, including Statistics, Biology and Economics. Students can learn without any formal instruction using the course material.

Tufts University (tufts.edu)

Tufts University also has OpenCourseWare like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and supports the initiative that education should be free-for-all. With the same material being offered as the MIT, Tufts is one of the best online universities to choose from.

Stanford University is one of the world’s leading academic institutions. The race for admissions is always tough, and only a few lucky students are able to gain admission. Stanford University too has joined the bandwagon of free online universities by collaborating with ITunes U to provide free material from their degree courses, which can be accessed easily through ITunes.

University of California, Berkeley is recognized as one of the best academic institutions in the United States. Their course material is now available through webcasts and podcasts. 46 courses are currently offered by UC Berkeley covering subjects such as astronomy, engineering and philosophy. Its reputation as a leading traditional learning institution has made it one of the well-known and credible online universities.