A college education is one of the most expensive purchases many of us make today. There are students across the globe who do not have enough money to even apply to college, let alone afford tuition. This can leave students feeling helpless and wondering if they will ever have the opportunity to study at the college level in their lifetime.
Luckily, it looks like the model for higher education is slowly beginning to change. The University of the People, is the first university in the world to offer complete degrees, free of charge. Not only are the degrees open to anyone for free, they are provided in an online learning environment, which means that any student, anywhere in the world can study and earn a degree for free. This sounds too good to be true, but this university is completely legitimate, the degrees are accredited, and the courses are taught by some of the top professors who have volunteered their time to the cause.
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Shai Reshef, and activist and entrepreneur from California, founded the University of the People in 2009. He wanted to create an opportunity for all citizens of the world to have access to education: one of the most important human needs in the modern age. The university functions on a non-profit basis and relies on new technology and donations of time and course materials by teachers in a global scale. Not only are courses taught by teachers from across the world, the system also utilizes peer-to-peer learning, social networking, and video and chat collaboration. Students often work together to discuss new ideas and figure out how to solve important problems within their disciplines.
The only charge for students is the application fee, which is nominal. Sometimes the application fee is greatly reduced or waived completely for students from disadvantaged homes or countries.
The University of the People only offers degrees in two disciplines to date: Business Administration and Computer Science. Students can choose associate or bachelor’s programs within the two fields. Enrollment has grown strongly since the university first began offering degrees in 2009. They started with an enrollment of 180 students from 49 different countries in 2009 and have since expanded to over 1,300 students from 126 countries.
Look for more information about the University of the People here.
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This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes for online universities blog. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: [email protected].
