Or is it “The best things in life are free”?
Personally, I tend to go with “You get what you pay for”.
What got me thinking about this is an article in USA Today, “Tuiton-free, online education? Try University of the People”.
At first glance, I thought, “Finally! The internet is going to make a difference in education!” I mean, it seems as if every single sector has been completely transformed by the internet, social media, and all that jazz. But the education system still seems locked in some ridiculous (and expensive) time block. So now, we have The University of the People which is the brainchild of “higher education entrepreneur”, Shai Reshef.
To sum it up, The University of the People is a free university that uses all the advantages of modern technology to educate people in every corner of the earth as long as they have access to a computer.
And obviously, there are doubts to the quality of education being offered at the University of the People (hate the name). How can they offer quality education without revenue from tuition?
Well…for starters, they use free syllabi, webcasts, and materials from open college courses from institutions like MIT. At the moment, the university only offers two programs, Business Administration and Computer Science. They do, however, charge the students to take exams. It can cost anywhere from $10 to $100 depending on the student’s country of residence. Also, there are admission fees which can also run $10 to $100.
So read the article and see what you think. Is an almost-free education worth anything? Is this a case of too much distance between a good intention and a good outcome?
I just can’t decide.
