"We made the announcement only this morning and already I have received so many e-mails from people all over the world thanking me-they're really touching-saying this is the most wonderful news in the world and asking, 'Where can I make a tax-deductible contribution?'" she said.
The response at Harvard has been equally positive. Harvard faculty members have previously expressed interest in using the Internet to disseminate the academic resources Harvard has to offer, and many said they are intrigued by the promise of MIT program.
"I think it's phenomenal," said McKay Professor of Applied Physics Eric Mazur. "If you look at my own course website, I've always insisted on making it available to everyone. I think this is really the way to go. I'm just saddened that we didn't do it before them."
Fineberg would not say whether the Harvard administration would approve of a program like MIT’s initiative. Last year, Harvard turned down an offer to join a distance learning alliance among Princeton, Yale, Stanford and Oxford.
"Harvard hasn't decided to jump on the distance learning bandwagon, but clearly MIT hasn't either," Mazur said.