University Charges $0 for Tuition?

Even a good democratic socialist like myself can get behind this version of “free college”.

This would seem to be an Elon Musk-level disruption of the US university-level education cartel if employers accept the credential.

How Can This University Charge Nothing for Tuition?
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/opinion/university-people…

Reshef isn’t your average university president. The University of the People, which he founded in 2009, is an online-only institution that charges nothing for tuition. Students don’t have to pay for textbooks because all the educational material is made available for free online, and there’s no room and board because there’s no campus. They do have to pay $120 for each final exam, which they must pass to earn credits. For 40 courses, that adds up to $4,800 for a bachelor’s degree — although for students who face severe financial hardship, even the exam fees can be waived.

How is it possible to make a degree so cheap? The instructors and many of the administrators, including Reshef, work for no pay. The chair of the President’s Council is John Sexton, president emeritus of New York University. Professors from top universities volunteer as deans. The instructors tend to be retired professors or recently minted Ph.D.s who are looking for teaching experience.

Man, you can do wonders if you strip out the “excessive Executive Compensation” and Division One Football and Basketball Coach salaries.

The University of the People website: https://www.uopeople.edu/

intercst

19 Likes

Even a good democratic socialist like myself can get behind this version of “free college”.

The instructors and many of the administrators, including Reshef, work for no pay.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs?

DB2
They may need to move to a very small town to lower their cost of living

Thanks intercst!

After using multiple online teaching services (Khan Academy) and being very impressed I have wondered how long it would take to reach a fully online teaching organization that went beyond mere courses. And there it is.

I suspect that the education reforms that should have been occurring starting over fifty years as tech changed work and society may now finally happen as things like University of the People gobble up undergrads and then put roots down into high schools and below. The younger kids will need much stronger socialization programs than what UofP model allows, but that is not a huge barrier. And the online learning model allows a much greater focus on teachers as guiding students into maturation via personal coaching and team building, which is what the current model (designed to create assembly line workers and the like) most lacks.

The biggest reform of all would be the adoption of an attitude that learning and working and recreating are all lifetime activities, and after a rudimentary period of elementary learning children wishing to work and labor should do so, and middle aged folk interested in an entirely new career should be expected master new skills and do so.

David fb

7 Likes

I think this is wonderful.

However, real-world experience shows that most students are not self-motivated enough to learn course material online without a classroom teacher. Even with class rooms, only 41% of bachelor’s degree earners graduate within 4 years.
https://educationdata.org/number-of-college-graduates

The great advantage of the free college is that it cuts down on the tremendous waste of “educating” students who pay tuition but learn very little. (There’s a book about this but I forgot the title.)

The great disadvantage is that students whose learning style requires social interaction with a techer and other students will wash out and their talents will be wasted.

Of course, only humanities courses can be taught online. Science courses with hands-on labs must still be taught in a physical lab. (Home labs are unsafe and the experiments are a joke.)

Wendy

2 Likes

DrBob2 asks,

Even a good democratic socialist like myself can get behind this version of “free college”.

The instructors and many of the administrators, including Reshef, work for no pay.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs?

Seems more like philanthropy to me. Retired professors donating their time to an educational platform with wide reach.

intercst

1 Like

Ia this place accredited by anyone? Would class credit transfer anywhere?

When the GSL gravy train was cut off from some for-profit trade schools, a few things were exposed: like the “accreditation” the schools claimed, was from an outfit that would grant accreditation for a check, was not recognized by anyone else, so no course credit transferred anywhere else.

Steve

steve203 asks,

Is this place accredited by anyone? Would class credit transfer anywhere?

It’s accredited by a number of agencies including the State of California. It’s in the process of being accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission, the folks that accredit Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, etc.

https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/regional-vs-national-accredita…

Whether another institution would accept credits would depend on the institution. No doubt it’s not as easy as doing your first 2 years at CalPoly, and then getting credit for everything when you transfer to UCLA or Berkeley for the last 2 years to finish your degree.

intercst

1 Like

It’s accredited by a number of agencies

Thanks. I learned about that accreditation thing the hard way, transferring from a Bell and Howell, now DeVry, electronics school to a state university. DeVry is now accredited by North Central, the recognized midwest accrediting agency, but it wasn’t fifty years ago. I wasted a year, and a non-trivial amount of money on them.

Steve

Of course, only humanities courses can be taught online. Science courses with hands-on labs must still be taught in a physical lab.

Lab science classes were done on-line during the epidemic. They watched videos.

IP