Build your CORe as a global thinker

What is CORe?

I had the opportunity to be a part of the February 2017 Credential of Readiness (CORe) cohort. This online learning platform provides the benefit of experiencing Harvard courses on fundamentals of business on your own time, wherever you are in the world. The three courses, Financial Accounting, Economics for Managers, and Business Analytics, take an estimated 150 hours to complete.

Why is CORe different from other online courses?

One thing that stood out, and was the most valuable feature to me, was the ability to interact with other participants. Since your online classmates come from various parts of the globe, reading and responding to their perspectives greatly enriched my learning experience.

CORe offers real-world examples shared by company executives throughout the courses. These examples show you how to directly apply the concepts that are introduced.

What are some of the great features?

1. Irrespective of your background, these courses are for everyone. They explain core concepts clearly with the underlying assumption that the material is new territory for you.
2. CORe offers many different start dates and provides flexibility to complete modules at your own pace which is particularly helpful if you have other commitments such as a full-time job.
3. The short video format, combined with with interactive assignments, helps explain the course concepts.
4. Weekly deliverables ensure that you spend the required time on each module for better material retention instead of rushing through it all at once.
5. Peer feedback is encouraged consistently throughout the course since you are also graded on participation. Often, your classmates help you understand the concept better by explaining their thought process or by helping to improve your response.
6. CORe also offers financial aid. Further information can be found here.
7. Harvard has an unparalleled brand name. Upon completion, you receive a credential from Harvard Business School Online (except for pre-MBA HBS students). Through the undergraduate credit option, you can receive eight undergraduate credits from Harvard Extension School.
8. Right off the bat, one notices the detailed attention paid to the user experience. As a computer engineer and artist, I appreciate the UI design. The platform is intuitive to use and consists of many “cool” features such as an interactive map where you can see which part of the world your active virtual classmates are from. The platform enables you to interact through comments, answer “cold calls,” have discussions, take part in team assignments, and experience a virtual case study classroom.

Who is it for?

Irrespective of your background, if you are interested in learning and honing your business acumen, the CORe courses offer a great foundation. Though not a replacement for an MBA degree, CORe serves as a great refresher pre-matriculation.

As a business owner from a non-business background, CORe courses are invaluable.

For those debating whether to pursue an MBA, CORe serves as a great primer to test if an MBA is for you. The HBS MBA application asks for your grades in CORe courses and good grades could be a nice add-on in the application. However, MBA applicants are judged holistically and enrolling in CORe alone will not guarantee admission to HBS.

Final verdict

As always, opportunity is what you make of it and if you put in the work, you will find CORe courses practical, clear, and interactive. I personally found the course material quite challenging and hence, engaging and beneficial especially since I had no prior business education. With opportunities to make lasting connections with other like-minded participants and to gain real-world applicable knowledge, HBX has a lot to offer.

This post originally appeared in The Harbus, the news organization of Harvard Business School.