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.
First, education, in any form is valuable. I knew nothing about this UO People before seeing this post, and if they are offering free or very cheap educational curricula, then there is inherent value in just the ability for people to learn. HOWEVER…
When most people, in the USA at least, think about college and university it is with the understanding that it is an accredited institution. UO People makes many claims on their website about being accredited, but I could find nowhere on their site where they say which accrediting body they are under. This is a huge red flag. Any properly accredited college or university would proudly display who they are accredited with. Further, in the USA at least, when a student is looking for an accredited college or university they are looking for a regionally accredited one. UO People doesn’t NOT appear to be regionally accredited.
So if you’re signing up with this organization to learn free or cheaply, it maybe a great way. Again, I’d never heard of them before this post so I can’t speak to their offerings or education. If you’re looking for a college or university degree as recognized by most people, organizations, and employers, this isn’t it.
EDITING TO ADD: Lots of discussion has occurred on this place, and I encourage any reading this to form you own conclusions. The more I look at the place the more scammy it looks. Here are two sources. One apparently to be an actual former UO People student detailing their difficulties and surprise extra fees.
sources:
University of the People uopeople.edu, also known as “University of the Scammers”
Another Odd University of the People “Partnership”
I wish I could upvote/boost this more than once each. I’m also amused by proud proclamations that
I mean, my company offered certificates, too, when you completed training courses. Our receptionist, Dawn, made them up real fancy on her computer, then printed them out on high-quality paper and our manager signed them. I suspect these “certificates” may be just as valuable as Dawn’s were.
I have no horse in this race either way. According to wiki:
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.
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.
Maybe I am wrongly interpreting your comment but
Source: https://www.uopeople.edu/programs/certificate/computer-science/
So, nationally accredited, which is considered a lower bar than regional accreditation.
As someone from abroad this reads incredible stupid and should be reversed in logic.
Not at all. Think like a national chain versus a regional one; or the federal minimum wage which is often superceded by a higher local minwage.
The local government, or organization, or community, is more responsive to local needs than the distant national government, or organization, or community.
You’re really telling me that if I move from Maine to Arizona I suddenly have to get a new degree, because mine is only valid in my region? That sounds ridiculously silly. The vast majority of professionals (lawyers excluded) don’t have to learn different information to be able to do the same job in different states, do they?
Surely it makes more sense to have a national accreditation for the vast majority of courses, right?
No, your degree is fine and respected everywhere the institution is. The institution is the one that gets accredited.