ARTICLE - SHELTON - ONLINE EDUCATION

SHELTON: ONLINE EDUCATION CAN COME CHEAP
(Daily Chronicle) - By Kay Shelton

Does a college education have to be expensive? Over the next couple of weeks, the topics in this column will explore nontraditional ways of approaching the costs of a college education. I’m beginning with the University of the People, which offers free tuition.

In the United States, the cost of a university education can be expensive. Even a state university’s tuition, fees, room, board, books and other expenses for one year may exceed what one parent may earn in annual income.

But imagine being a bright, young kid in a place far away from the U.S., such as Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda or Haiti. Can children living in places with heartbreaking poverty dream about growing up and attaining a college education?

According to the 2009 New York Times article, “Israeli Entrepreneur Plans a Free Global University That Will Be Online Only,” Shai Reshef founded the University of the People after decades of leading successful educational businesses. Reshef’s previous endeavors were no doubt profitable, as he used about $1 million of his own money to found the university.

All classes are offered online, so there are no expenses with building and maintaining classrooms, and no need to spend money on athletics or places to host social activities. According to the University of the People website, volunteer instructors provide online learning materials and monitor small numbers of students organized into study groups who work together online. Many of those volunteers are retired professors and administrators with previous experience at many of the top universities in the United States. A few paid faculty members develop the curriculum – primarily business and computer science – and lead the volunteers.

After beginning completely free, the University of the People started charging fees for applying and final exams a few months ago. A sliding scale based upon a student’s home country determines the cost of an application fee, ranging from $10-$50. The exam processing fee ranges from $20-$100. A student living in Uganda, Afghanistan, Kenya, Somalia or 35 other countries could earn a four-year education for $730 total while a student in the U.S. would pay $3,650. The University of the People offers a special program for students living in Haiti that is completely free.

Is there a “catch” to the University of the People? Yes, the classes are in English.

Potential students in countries where English is not prevalent are at a disadvantage. Somehow, students would need a childhood education that included English to be able to keep up.

Secondly, because the university is so new, it does not have accreditation. In very simple terms, accreditation is a type of quality review, and the process often takes several years for new institutions to complete. No accreditation means no federal financial aid can be offered to American students, and credit hours will not transfer to another university in the United States.

But at a cost of less than $1,000 a year, American students should not need federal financial aid; living at home and having a part-time job should suffice.

To students outside the U.S., not being able to transfer credit hours to an American university may not matter. The University of the People offers an education they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Kay Shelton has two decades of experience teaching at Kishwaukee College, works for Northern Illinois University, and is a doctoral student in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. Reach Kay at kayshelton@hotmail.com.