University of the People (UoPeople) is an American non-profit distance learning institution of higher education that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It was founded by Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef in 2009.
Video University of the People
History
University of the People was launched by educational entrepreneur Shai Reshef in January 2009. Although the university has no campus due to its online distance learning nature, it uses a shared office in California which is its headquarters.
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.
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. In 2011, the university formed a partnership with the New York University at Abu Dhabi. 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.
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. 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.
In 2014 University of the People gained accreditation for degree granting programs through the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and is approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).
In March 2016, the university began offering an online MBA, with the course itself beginning in September 2016. The MBA is not accredited by any business school accreditation bodies (e.g. AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS). In April 2016, the university signed an articulation agreement with the University of California, Berkeley regarding top associate degree graduates.
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. 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.
Maps University of the People
Criticism
South Africa Education department warned that University of the People is fraudulent because it is not registered with the department as required by law, and, according to South African authorities, there is no evidence that it is accredited with the US education department; therefore, UoPeople does not have the authority to enrol students or grant degrees. Despite Shai Reshef's statements, DEAC accreditation is considered irrelevant and UoPeople is not a recognized institution.
Besides, in the United States, UoPeople's DEAC accreditation, which is only valid for online degrees and is not regional, does not guarantee that degrees granted qualify students for state licensure, nor does it guarantee that courses and credits are recognized by major colleges or universities.
Tuition
University of the People claims to be tuition-free, but students must pay some administrative costs. These include processing fees for applications and final exam assessments; however, students who cannot afford the administrative costs may be eligible for scholarships.
See also
- Cooperative learning
- Cooperative education
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments