The world's first tuition-free online university University of the People
www.uopeople.edu
University of the people is a tuition-free online university for students from all over the world. Learn more about University at the People!

If you’re considering doing online college, check to see if they offer your program!

They also offer certificates!

So check it out, and make sure to let other folks know who are interested in these types of programs. At least in the US, it can save tens of thousands of dollars, so it’s worth researching!

EDIT: To clarify, their accreditation is national, which will mean you won’t be able to transfer credits to regionally accredited intuitions. This is not entirely unusual for online only college, but should be considered. So I will leave this as my parting word, if you are considering an online college that only has national accreditation, please consider this one instead of that one, as this one I will bet money is cheaper.

And here is estimated fees: According to the University of the People, they charge no tuition fees but students must pay some administrative fees to cover course assessments, ranging from $2,460 for an associate’s degree (two years) to $4,860 for a bachelor’s degree (four years). These include processing fees for applications and final exam assessments.

  • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
    18·
    1 year ago

    I have no horse in this race either way. According to wiki:

    Two years later, the university was accredited for degree-granting programs through the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC)

    Currently the DEAC is recognized by Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education as an accreditor of institutions of higher education.

    It looks like there are potential issues with transferring credits to more traditional schools.

    If I were a hiring manager, I would certainly raise an eyebrow to see that school on a resume.

    Edit: While there is no tuition, there are fees from a couple thousand for an associates up to slightly under five thousand for a master’s.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
      13·
      1 year ago

      Currently the DEAC is recognized by Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education as an accreditor of institutions of higher education.

      This is NOT a regional accreditation body.

      It looks like there are potential issues with transferring credits to more traditional schools.

      Without being regionally accredited, I would suspect a student would have major difficulties transferring any credits they received from UO People.

      • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOP
        1·
        1 year ago

        Okay I know I’m late, like very.

        BUT, while they are working on their regional accreditation, they do have agreements with several different schools to accept their credits.

        https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/transfer-applicants/articulation-agreements.html

        I am able to find forum posts of other universities accepting either all/partial credits in the US, but I can’t verify those so won’t bother.

        Some other institutions that recognize them are: https://www.uopeople.edu/about/partners/academic-partnerships/

        Most notably is probably Mcgill and University of Edinburg. So while it’s not great not being accredited regionally, it might be the perfect solution for some folks.

        • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 year ago

          Some other institutions that recognize them are: https://www.uopeople.edu/about/partners/academic-partnerships/

          Most notably is probably Mcgill and University of Edinburg. So while it’s not great not being accredited regionally, it might be the perfect solution for some folks.

          UO People claims it. With regard to University of Edinburg, as of the post in 2019 ZERO UO PEOPLE STUDENTS HAVE DONE IT. Its not a partnership between the UO People and University of Edinburg, is apparently the same process any non-student can apply to get knowledge recognized as credits.

          source

          Here’s the relevant part:

          Alongside the Berkeley logo is the logo of the University of Edinburgh. And like Berkeley, it’s an actual college. Also like Berkeley, it seems that its “partnership” with University of the People isn’t much of anything either. So far, exactly zero students have moved from UoPeople to Edinburgh – zero.

          “Although we have yet to welcome any students through our partnership, this track remains open and we look forward to collaborating with University of the People in the future.” Ranald Leask, the International PR & Media Manager at The University of Edinburgh, said by e-mail.

          Even further, it appears the Edinburgh/UoPeople partnership is limited anyway, a detail not disclosed on the UoPeople site. “Health Science graduates from University of the People can apply to Edinburgh to complete a bachelor’s degree in Health, Science and Society,” Leask said.

          So, it appears the arrangement is limited to health graduates and so far, no one has benefited from it. That’s some partnership. But the logo looks pretty.

          The more I look into UO People the more scammy it looks.

          • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOP
            1·
            1 year ago

            Berkely is no longer listed I will say, as for Edinburgh, Edinburgh announced their partnership so it is official.

            https://www.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/atoms/files/partnership_opens_doors_for_students_from_adverse_backgrounds_01.11.2017.pdf

            And as part of the agreement this gentlemen joined the UOpeople board.

            https://www.uopeople.edu/about/leadership-team/sir-timothy-oshea/

            So even with that post, all the people they claim they are partnered with, have released press releases that they do in fact have a partnership. If their courses were not up to snuff, I would hope those colleges would have taken those down and made a statement by now and had their names removed from the website. Again, that’s the hope.

            Honestly now I’m curious how many of the leadership team have active roles, because they have a pretty star studded cast. If people from top colleges are even semi regularly auditing courses that’s a big security. But it could be they’re on a yearly mailing list and they forget their name is on the UOpeople website for most of the year.

            But I suppose the real test will be in the next couple years as they currently have an open application to get regionally accredited. So fingers crossed that either they get accepted, or the regional accreditation office rips them a new one and sends them spiraling into bankruptcy if they are scammy. As either way that should be the end of UOpeople drama one way or another.

    • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      1 year ago

      Okay I know I’m late, like very.

      BUT, while they are working on their regional accreditation, they do have agreements with several different schools to accept their credits.

      https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/transfer-applicants/articulation-agreements.html

      I am able to find forum posts of other universities accepting either all/partial credits in the US, but I can’t verify those so won’t bother.

      Some other institutions that recognize them are: https://www.uopeople.edu/about/partners/academic-partnerships/

      Most notably is probably Mcgill and University of Edinburg. So while it’s not great not being accredited regionally, it might be the perfect solution for some folks. So just trying to bring awareness to people, because it might just be the perfect solution for them.

      Also you only pay the fees when you test to get credits for the class, so you can take your first semester for just 60$ and see if you’re learning anything from it.