University of the People
File:Seal of UoPeople.jpg University seal | |
Latin: Universitas Populi | |
Motto | The Education Revolution |
---|---|
Type | Private, DEAC accredited,[1] approved by BPPE,[1][2] non-profit |
Established | 2009 |
Endowment | US$1.3 million (2013)[3] |
President | Shai Reshef |
Students | 15,000 (2018)[4] |
Location | , , |
Campus | Online |
Colors | Eggplant |
Website | UoPeople.edu |
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/UoPeople_President_Shai_Reshef_and_UoPeople_Provost_David_Cohen.jpg/270px-UoPeople_President_Shai_Reshef_and_UoPeople_Provost_David_Cohen.jpg)
University of the People (UoPeople) is an American non-profit[3] distance learning institution of higher education that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It was founded by entrepreneur Shai Reshef in 2009.[5]
History
University of the People was launched by educational entrepreneur Shai Reshef in January 2009.[6] Although the university has no campus[7] due to its online distance learning nature, it uses a shared office in California as an office of admission.[8]
The first intake of UoPeople students began studying in September 2009, studying for associate and bachelor's degrees in business administration and computer science. At that time, the school had no accreditation and did not charge any fees or tuition.[7]
In September 2009, Yale Law School's Information Society Project (ISP) entered into a research partnership with University of the People, for the study of education over digital networks and social software platforms.[9] In 2011, the university formed a partnership with the New York University at Abu Dhabi. [10] In February 2012, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the University of the People a grant of $613,282 for the purposes of helping the university earn national accreditation.[11]
In 2013, the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) Association and MasterCard Worldwide announced that the University of the People was the winner of the 2013 ISIC Award.[12] [13] In August 2013, Microsoft launched its 4Afrika Scholarship program in collaboration with its 4Afrika Initiative and University of the People was the first participating higher-education institution.[14]
In 2014 University of the People gained accreditation for degree granting programs through the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC),[15] which is recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA),[16] and is approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).[1][2]
In March 2016, the university began offering an online MBA, with the course itself beginning in September 2016.[17] The MBA is not accredited by any business school accreditation bodies (e.g. AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS).[2] In April 2016, the university signed an articulation agreement with the University of California, Berkeley regarding top associate degree graduates. [10]
In 2017 the University of Edinburgh partnered with the school so that graduates of the University of the People could complete a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree at the University.[18] In September 2017, the South African government warned its citizens of a fraudulent university called UoP (not to be confused with the University of the Pacific) that was a scam to trick prospective students into confusing it with University of the People.[19] In 2018 Olympian Simone Biles became a student and a spokeswoman for the school while also setting up a scholarship fund to help financially struggling students.[20][21][22]
Criticism
In September 2017, the South African educational department stated that UoPeople is unlicensed to operate in the country and does not have the authority to grant degrees within South Africa because UoPeople is not registered with the Department of Education as required by law, and has no campus.[19]
University of the People is a nationally accredited online university, which does not guarantee that its degrees, courses and credits will be recognized by regionally accredited institutions in the US.[23]
Tuition
University of the People claims to be tuition-free, but students must pay some administrative costs.[24] These include processing fees for applications and final exam assessments; however, students who cannot afford the administrative costs may be eligible for scholarships.[25][20]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "University of the People". California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. August 31, 2015.
- ^ a b c "University of the People is accredited, not just as you might think". March 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ a b High, Peter (March 3, 2014). "A Conversation With The President Of The World's First Non-Profit, Tuition-Free, Accredited University". Forbes. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
- ^ "Shai Reshef: Online learning is the future of education". mediamax. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
- ^ Lewin, Tamar (January 25, 2009). "Israeli Entrepreneur Plans a Free Global University That Will Be Online Only". New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "It's Time to Give Back". Inc. April 20, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "An online university - with no fees". theguardian.com. October 6, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ "Online University For All Balances Big Goals, Expensive Realities". NPR.org. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ "Yale ISP and University of the People Partner for Digital Education Research". September 22, 2009. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016.
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(help) - ^ a b "U of the People, Berkeley Sign Articulation Agreement". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ "University of the People". Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. January 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Bringing Free Online Education to the World". Mastercard Newsroom. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ "2013 ISIC Event". ISIC. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Microsoft introduces the 4Afrika Scholarship program". Microsoft. August 11, 2013. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017.
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(help) - ^ Accrediting Commission - Grant of Accreditation, DETC, February 13, 2014
Report from the Accrediting Commission - Renewal of Accreditation, DEAC, February 27, 2017 - ^ University of the People, Council for Higher Education Accreditation/CHEA
- ^ "University of the People Launches MBA | AACSB BizEd Magazine". www.bizedmagazine.com. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ "Partnership opens doors for students from adverse backgrounds". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Republic of South Africa: department of higher education and training (September 21, 2017). "Media High Alert: DHET WARNING ON CLONED AND FRAUDULENT ONLINE UNIVERSITIES" (PDF). dhet.gov.za. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Simone Biles speaks out about Nassar verdict in emotional interview with Hoda Kotb". Today. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ University of the People (February 4, 2018), Simone Biles on BuzzFeed News (AM to DM Show), retrieved July 30, 2018
- ^ "AM to DM by BuzzFeed News on Twitter". Twitter. January 31, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "Transferability of Postsecondary Credit Following Student Transfer or Coenrollment" (PDF). National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). August 1, 2014.
- ^ "University of the People Online Tuition Free Degrees". Scholarships For Development. November 27, 2017.
- ^ Parr, Chris (March 21, 2013). "University of the People on course for stability | News". Timeshighereducation.co.uk. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
External links
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