What is the value in a free degree?

what has happened with the graduates of the University of the People?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/education/edlife/where-are-the-graduates-of-university-of-the-people.html

 

I would say their value is equal to about what you paid for them.

 

In that article, I took notice of the story of the American dad who is struggling to pay off student loans from Brigham Young and Penn State World Campus. Apparently, he thinks University of the People is his only option to finish a degree on his budget. To the annoyance of some people, with the fees American students have to pay at UotP, he could have taken CBEs and gotten an RA degree from the Big 3. You have to pay $100 per end-of-course exam, so you might as well take CBEs that are actually recognized by thousands of colleges. This guy is looking to advance and his boss straight up said their organization only recognizes accredited degrees.

 

I'd say their value is equal to what you learned.

They may be worth much more, in money terms, if their DETC application is approved. They're on the DETC's consideration list now. Being listed as an applicant there means they've completed the self-assessment phase, etc. DETC requires successful preliminary spadework before putting them on the new applicants' list.

Distance Education and Training Council: Applicant Schools

Johann

 

Wonderful sentiment, but without much to reflect it in the real world.

As has been hashed over many times in these parts, value is usually associated with utility which in turn is associated with actual/perceived investment. That's why people still blow money on (sometimes) ridiculously overpriced Ivy League programs-- the perception is still (in some cases): if you spent a lot of money on it the program must have educated you well. Therefore, some people will look at a "free" degree as worthless, thinking you got little education in the deal.

I think times are changing though. People are now so hooked on the notion of using technology to lower delivery costs that someone will sooner or later come up with an accepted "free" degree, especially if there's some way to indirectly monetize the process. Remember the promotion where you could get reduced tuition for signing up on some social media site? Wasn't that AJU (now New Charter)?

It will happen in North America someday. It's just that the barriers to successful entry into the education market are so high, it's tough to get started. Someone has to find a way to fund the effort to the point where costs like accreditation are covered early.

 

I was kidding!! Admittedly, a bad joke, but a joke nonetheless.

 

Kidding or not, SD, I believe you are correct in your assessment.

 

Education always has a value to self, but when it's time to get a job an unaccredited degree will pretty much get you shut out. Sure, there are cases of fake degree holders and unaccredited degree holders getting big-time jobs, but the risk is great and the fall is usually massive.

 

What is the value in a free degree?

It can be very high, if it is from one of the conventionally accredited B&M schools that has a no-tuition policy. Examples include:

- Webb Institute (probably the most prestigious school in the world for ship design and engineering)
- Cooper Union (USN&WR #1 regional university in the north)
- Berea College (USN&WR #76 nationally for liberal arts colleges)
- Deep Springs (probably the most prestigious junior college in the US)

The catch is that these schools are all small, with relatively low acceptance rates. Cooper Union was tuition-free from 1859 to 2013, but plans to start charging tuition next year.

The US Military Academies are also cost-free, and their degrees are generally perceived to have value. It could be argued that they aren't really "free", since graduates must fulfill military service obligations. On the other hand, it seems likely that most students who attend military academies are interested in military careers anyway, so maybe this isn't really an "obligation" for them.

And let's not overlook the fact that many students get full academic or athletic scholarships to schools that ordinarily do charge tuition. If a student gets a full tuition scholarship at Stanford -- and some students do -- nobody is going to look down on their degree just because it was "free".

So "free" is not necessarily a problem. The problem for a school like UotP is the absence of recognized accreditation. And it may be difficult for a school like UotP to get accreditation, because one of the things that accreditors look for is financial stability. Obviously any school needs some continuing source of income to keep operating. UotP presumably gets no income from tuition, no income from an endowment, and no income from wealthy alumni donors -- yet it hopes to enroll large numbers of students. Does this make financial sense over the long term?

The accreditors have to ask that question. UotP may not have a good answer.

 

If they can make it work with exam fees, then great. But is that sufficient ?

The UotP bachelor's is a 4-year program, so a full-time student will pay $1,000 per year in exam fees. As a point of comparison, let's look at the cost to operate Charter Oak State College during fiscal year 2012: about $12,812 per full-time equivalent student.

So I have to agree: $1000 per full-time equivalent student per year doesn't seem like a lot.

 

Sadly, I have to admit - no value at all in the employment world - so far. However, some (probably) crazy people do undertake degree studies for reasons unrelated to the job world. ( I did. :smile: ) To some of us admitted nut-bars, a UOTP program might give exactly what we're looking for. If we learned what we wanted -- it'd be a good return.

UOTP founder Shai Reshef did exactly that. He sold his very successful education-related company (Kidum) to Kaplan Inc. for a pile of money and used some of those funds to start UOTP. Anyone who can find a new way of funding a school to the point of accreditation without such resources -- well, that person will certainly be able to offer a marvellous program in financial management! :smile:

Johann