The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is giving Carnegie Mellon University a $1.5 million grant for the latest phase of the school's Open Learning Initiative, a program to develop online versions of high-demand courses in fields from biology and chemistry to statistics.

It is the second grant Carnegie Mellon has received from the Hewlett Foundation for the project. The introductory-level university courses are free to anyone with Internet access and, for a nominal fee, to colleges and universities that offer them for credit.