University of the People Offers Tuition Free Online MBA

Tuition for elite MBA programs regularly tops $120,000. Similiar to government and banking, American academia has been undergoing institutional shifts that have given rise to innovative approaches to education, particularly in the realm of distance learning.

Tell Me More about Distance Learning

Two examples that immediately come to mind are MIT’s OpenCourseWare initiative — which “makes the materials used in the teaching of almost all of MIT’s subjects available on the Web, free of charge,” — and Sal Khan’s Khan Academy, which is underwritten by the Gates Foundation, The Broad Foundation, and Google, among others. The Khan Academy produces short Youtube lectures covering a wide swath of material with the aim to provide a “free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.”

 

University of the People

University of the People, “the world’s first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited, online academic institution,” according to its site, emerges as part of this exciting trend of free or affordable web-based educational platforms. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, the DEAC (Distance Education Accrediting Commission)-certified University of the People (UoPeople) was founded in 2009 by Israeli-born educational entrepreneur Shai Reshef in response to “dropping technology costs and rising tuition fees.

In a New York Times interview conducted around the time of UoPeople’s inception, Reshef spoke enthusiastically of his concept: “The idea is to take social networking and apply it to academia.” Reshef previously served as CEO and Chairman of test prep company Kidum Group between 1989 and 2005. He grew Kidum from a $100,000 company to over $25 million in annual revenue before selling it off to Kaplan, Inc. in 2005.

UoPeople’s model is surprisingly straightforward, with limited operating costs—the school boasts that there are “no buildings, trees or grass to rest on between classes.” Education is based on “peer-based and collaborative learning. “Students share resources, exchange ideas, discuss weekly topics, submit assignments, and take exams…within online study communities.” Exams are administered online.

The school’s FAQ elaborates: “Active and retired professors, master’s level students, and other professionals, participate and oversee the assessment process.” In return, UoPeople asks that students cover ”the cost of processing applications and examinations, as well as a $100 per end-of course exam.”

UoPeople also has a variety of scholarship funds set aside for students who demonstrate financial need.

Free? Give me a Break. Nothing is Free Right?

The notion of a tuition-free university is not without its fair share of skeptics. Mark Garrison reported on the school for NPR’s Marketplace, “The question is whether an MBA from an untested new program will be worth their time, as many employers may be skeptical of a new degree from an online program.”

University of the People has responded to the naysayers with a press release explaining its partnership with NYU Abu Dhabi campus and UC Berkeley, which “will take on qualified, top-performing graduates from UoPeople’s associate degree program who wish to complete bachelor’s degrees.”

Partnership with UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks wrote of the partnership, “UoPeople’s mission is closely aligned with the mission of Berkeley, to open the gates to a quality higher education to every deserving student – with priority given to residents of California.” Reshef commented, “This recognition is the ultimate endorsement of the value of our degrees and it offers a great opportunity for our students.”

In addition to Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Computer Science, UoPeople just announced a brand new 15-month, 12-course, $2,400 MBA cohort. Reshaf wrote in a press release, “The cost of an MBA today is so expensive that many people who are qualified to achieve it cannot afford it.”

Current NYU Stern marketing professor Dr. Russell S. Winer will act as Dean of Business Administration of the UoPeople MBA. Professor Winer writes:

“I’m extremely proud to have led a stellar team to develop this groundbreaking MBA program over the past few years. It would not have been possible without the amazing work of esteemed volunteers, such as Dr. Gabriel Hawawini of INSEAD and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Stephan Chambers of Oxford Saïd Business School, and Dr. Alex Tuzhilin of NYU Stern School of Business, who have all helped envision and contribute to the world class standard of this exciting MBA.”

UoPeople’s MBA program will accept 100 applicants to its inaugural class in September 2016. Candidates must possess a minimum of 2 years’ work experience, an undergraduate degree with a CGPA of 2.5, a letter of recommendation, and English proficiency.

As more and more organizations like University of the People find willing partners in venerable old-guard institutions, the predatory for-profit model (e.g. DeVry, University of Phoenix) will most certainly become obsolete, opening up higher education to a diverse array of previously under-served demographics in the process.