Offering an educational experience at no cost is an amazing idea and works great for those that are yearning to stimulate their brain cells. MIT, among other institutions, have been offering open course ware education for years via online technology. It has been a wonderful opportunity and they have helped to educate the masses (one free online course at a time).
Last September The University of the People was established with the same intent; to bring diverse groups of people together with one common goal.. to learn. Their meager beginnings started with a cross-segment of 180 students representing 50 different countries. Fast forward 9 months and they now have close to 500 hundred students from 87 countries. I would not say that their growth is viral but it is certainly noteworthy and extremely respectable considering they are the “new kid on the block”.
The main difference between University of the People and MIT’s open course ware model is purely structural. For example, MIT offers it’s lecture series, class notes, presentations, reading materials, tests, & examinations for free on their site. Students are able to come and go as they like and study the material as much or as little as their interest dictates. Basically, all the learning potential but without peer evaluation or instructor guidance. U of P provides the exact same product but what they bring to the table is everything that MIT does not. They have actual classes of 15 to 20 students. The courses are led by an instructor and each student is held accountable for the work they complete not only by the instructor but also by their peers.
Another distinct difference between an open course ware model and U of P is the accreditation aspect. Currently U of P is not accredited (as is most open course ware organizations), however they are strongly working to achieve accreditation (which OCW will never attempt). If and when the school receives accreditation, it promises all of it’s current and former students that they will receive proper education credits for the courses they successfully completed and they will be able to transfer those credits seamlessly to other institutions or apply them toward a degree at University of the People.
Certainly sounds like an intriguing opportunity but only if you are willing to take a gamble regarding U of P’s ability to gain accreditation. However, if you are just looking to further your education and don’t have a need for a diploma, I would think U of P’s program would probably fit the bill. And of course.. the price is right! (free)
If you found this information intriguing and would like to learn more about the University of the People, you can visit their website here to see their mission, leadership, partners, and answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Thanks a lot for the blog.
University of the People is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing universal access to quality, online post-secondary education to qualified students.
We invite you to visit our website to read more about University of the People.
I am a student of UoPeople.
I like this University. It is really an opportunity.
University of the People is a wonderful concept, but its implementation leaves much to be desired. I know this first-hand–I am currently enrolled at the university. There are many problems with the de facto learning experience at the university:
1. No enforcement of the Academic Honesty and Integrity policy. Plagiarism is covered in the first two required courses at the university, yet it is the rule rather than the exception in the discussion forums. It is also commonplace in assignments that require explanations (e.g. non-computational questions/problems). In fact, plagiarism is so prevalent that if one brings up the fact that a fellow student’s submission is completely cut-and-pasted from Wikipedia, he is likely to be told that “this is the way we do it in all our classes.”
2. Flawed assessment model. Courses consist of discussion forums, learning journals, quizzes, assignments, and a final. The final, usually a multiple choice test of 5-10 problems to be completed in one hour (and usually completed in 20 minutes), is worth 40% of the student’s grade. At no other university I have attended did any course place so much weight on an exam that did not challenge the student nor represent the material covered throughout the quarter. The discussion forums are of questionable worth for the reasons stated above. On top of these issues, the lowest one or two scores is dropped from among the graded areas (DFs, assignments, etc.), allowing a student to forgo 1/9 to 2/9 (or more) of a quarter’s worth of work (excluding the final) and suffer no penalty. Such non-participation would likely reduce a student’s grade by one or two letters at a real university. This is related to the courses’ inadequate and un-enforced Participation policy.
3. Lack of uniformity in grading. Peer assessment is part of the learning model. Unfortunately, you are just as likely to have a student who himself does not understand the material grading your assignment (this makes a huge difference, even though solutions are provided) as you are another student whose assignment received a 20 and is now out for blood. This is also a problem in the discussion forums.
I want the university to succeed, but more than that I want a degree from this university that actually means something. As I note the lack of quality in my fellow student’s work, the lack of effort put into plagiarized posts and assignments that will, regardless, likely get an A, I find it hard to believe that even 30% of UoP’s students could cut it in a real university. I don’t see how, with things the way they are now, University of the People could possibly become accredited. Sad thing is, there are UoP students that are now more than half-way done with their four-year degree who have no notion of what an actual education is and who would probably flunk out of their first year at any two-year college.
I can only hope that someone at UoP wakes up and appreciates the sad state of its affairs, the joke that UoP, in practice, has become and decides to do something about it.
I believe that S.F. is fixed on the traditional university approach, and sees that because “big brother” is not watching every movement that we make; we will be by large a group of dishonest (cheaters) students.
Like any other university there is always the good and the bad student mix. The quality of the education is not only the responsibility of the “University”; it is a combination of our individual effort, our study group effort, and our mentor(s) guidance. Together, we can evaluate our weakness, nurture our strengths; and experience what higher education is all about.
The University of the People is a revolutionary concept emphasizing that higher education is avalable to all. Like anything new, it may create fears and misunderstandings; but again it is up to you to decide what you wnat to achieve. Do you want quality skills that you can apply to any job with ease; or do you just want a degree to show-off and nothing more? The choice is yours, no matter where you pursue your education.
The True University of the people are the public colleges.
university of california
university of michigan
university of texas.
All tax-paid colleges… with student fees and tax-money…
Public colleges should give All courses away for free free free on web.
People with tax-money paid for All this… Give it All back to the people…
The irony is the entry requirement of a High School diploma yet you won’t get a diploma from UOP. This should tell you something.
I do not have a US High School diploma but was able to earn a BA at a top British university because they provided entry-level coursework so that anyone could earn a degree based on merit, not based the crumbling institution that is the American High School.
UOP is a good idea but poorly implemented. I would be surprised to see them get accredited. Even and if they did, how would they afford to issue degrees and maintain records?
Most importantly, there does not seem to be much progress in the three years since UOP opened. By today’s business standards that’s already a fail.
I would love to see a truly free university but I suspect this attempt is doomed.