Not a bad idea, eh? Well, don't try selling this concept unless you want to check out our massive prision-industrial complex, because the University of the People is already here, and will be open for business in April :-)
It will be online, of course. No bricks and mortar, or forcing students to come to class when it is convenient for lazy faculty like me!
According to insidehighered.com,
Shai Reshef has a big goal for his new venture: He wants to offer low-cost, quality higher education all over the world, and particularly in countries where options are limited and students have relatively little money. His solution is the University of the People, which would offer free online degrees. ....From what I read up more at the "university"'s website, I am not too keen on this particular idea, because it seems to be less about "education" and is more about helping people gain a "degree". But then, hey, let us face it: most of the students we deal with day in and day out are less interested in educating themselves, and are far more concerned about having a good time and getting a diploma in the process. I don''t like it, but then I don't want to be a Don Quixote tilting at the windmills!!!
The University of the People plans to start with bachelor's programs in business administration and computer science, with more programs (and associate degree offerings) in the works. The university is starting the process to gain accreditation.
Meanwhile, the sound of silence on all these important topics of the day is quite deafening here at WOU :-( Apparently we are far more interested in designated parking spaces for faculty, which, is so retro! Yes, asking for parking is nothing but reliving a comment by Clark Kerr, who was the president of the University of California system in the 1960s; he is reported to have said that a college administrator's job is to provide "parking for faculty, sex for students, and athletics for alumni."
Oh well!
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