University officials announced in a University-wide email the online video tutorial site Lynda.com is now available to all students and faculty at no cost. 

According to Lynda.com, the site provides more than 115,000 tutorials and more than 2,400 expert-led courses on topics ranging from leadership skills to
video editing. 

Erika Frahm, a senior program coordinator for Human Resources, said the University originally implemented a trial run of the Lynda.com services for staff member training. After a successful pilot program, Frahm said the Staff Council worked with Human Resources and the Office of the President to make Lynda.com accessible to students and faculty.

“This tool can help students in any major explore new topics, get immediate answers about a technology question simply by searching for their question, write a résumé, and learn presentation, time management and research skills,” Frahm said in an email.

Before making the announcement Thursday, the University agreed on a contract with Lynda.com to pay $435,600, or $2.20 per student per year, for the next three years of service, said Frahm. A basic membership to Lynda.com costs $25 a month, according to the website.

Radio-television-film lecturer Benjamin Bays said he plans to use Lynda.com tutorial videos as coursework for his classes on visual effects and motion in video, rather than standard textbooks.

“In the past, when I’ve tried to use a textbook, it gets outdated really quickly,” Bays said. 

Bays said Lynda.com can help students who may need more time to learn software programs.

“What Lynda offers is a better option for them because you can slow it down and rewind it — some of things you can’t do in a classroom,” Bays said. 

Jessica Diaz-Hurtado, a Latin American studies graduate student, said she hopes to use video editing tutorials available at Lynda.com for her thesis. 

Although she does not have a background in video production, she said she hopes the video tutorials will help her produce a short documentary.

“I don’t have the skills, but I have the ideas,” Diaz-Hurtado said. “These programs hopefully can help me communicate my ideas through video.”

Bays said Lynda.com can help all students who are presenting their work online.

“It is a digital world,” Bays said. “Regardless of whether you’re producing digital content or you’re producing something completely different, we still present ourselves online in a variety of different ways.”