University of the People partners with McGill

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by Dustin, Mar 19, 2021.

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  1. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    https://www.uopeople.edu/about/partners/academic-partnerships/mcgill-university/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mcgill_announcement&utm_content=mcgill_announcement

    https://reporter.mcgill.ca/mcgill-partners-with-university-of-the-people-in-a-canadian-first/

    Neat. They don't indicate whether the degree will come from McGill or UoP. My first (cynical) thought is that you'll attend on-campus classes at McGill at McGill tuition rates and then graduate with a UoP, NA credential, leaving you in somewhat more debt than bfore.

    But maybe not.
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I think they have a similar arrangement with Berkeley, but I've never heard how many of their students have gone through that particular pipeline.
     
  3. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    Isn't McGill University academic instruction in French?
     
  4. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    No, although located in Montreal the language of instruction is English, ditto for Concordia University. Students can submit written work in French.

    Universite Lavale in Quebec City has instruction in French, but a PhD student was briefly denied permanent residency despite being born in French and having all of her instruction in that language, because one chapter of her thesis was written in English. (It was submitted to an English-language journal.) https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2019/11/07/one-phd-chapter-in-english-prevents-french-woman-from-immigrating-to-quebec/
     
  5. SpoonyNix

    SpoonyNix Active Member

    I am a UoPeople student.

    I think this is basically saying "Earn your associates degree at UoPeople. Then apply to McGill for your bachelor degree." McGill, Berkelely, etc. may not accept transfer credits from NA schools that AREN'T UoPeople.

    The student body at UoPeople is quite diverse culturally/geographically (ONE of the reasons I am in the program). UoPeople "partnering" with other institutions is so that its degrees have more value and recognition, and perhaps this helps with the RA process? The partnering schools gets some "diversity" points and rep, and might snag some qualified brown students to add to their mix. I think the latter is the big draw.

    UoPeople has, IMO, some fairly impressive academic backing. A lot of highly-qualified academics, admin, and faculty want to see it succeed.
     
  6. Thorne

    Thorne Active Member

    They really just need to change their name. UoPeople is a really, really awful name for a legitimate university (as is "The Open University" even though its teaching quality is above reproach). Then again, maybe sticking with UoPeople is a good thing, since they're already a recognized name and can build on their existing reputation.
     
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  7. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I'm not a fan of the name, but it's not like it sticks out on the global scheme. Google showed me schools named like:
    • People's University of Amsterdam
    • University of the Free State, South Africa
    • ShareWORLD Open University, Malawai
     
  8. SpoonyNix

    SpoonyNix Active Member

    I would be rather disappointed with a name change.

    If people want some good, inexpensive schooling with some recognized credentials.... there it is.
     
  9. datby98

    datby98 Active Member

    I am also a UoPeople student, but I am fine with the school name.

    Although I do not tend to explore further opportunities there, it is glad to see UoPeople has more collaborations with Harvard Business School Online, Effat University, Long Island University, and McGill.
     
  10. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    In the Terrible Name Olympics among the world's legitimate universities, let me present Lovely Professional University of India as a contender. Yes, real school, and yes, sounds made-up.
     
  11. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    I imagine that even for students who do not go to McGill, this is a kind of news that enhances UoP's reputation in a very big way. As a resident Canadian (technically speaking), it's on me to point out that McGill University is ranked #1 in Canada by Macleans Magazine (Canada's national village newsletter), and is consistently in the top-3 in Canada and inside the top 100 globally by most legitimate rankings. In other words, this is the school that's up there with UC Berkley, just about as high as they go. And yes, it's Montreal's English-speaking university, Université de Montréal is the Francophone one.
     
  12. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Gotta love the Province (or do they prefer Nation?) of Quebec, as well as Canadian federal "best in the world" Public Service (of which I was a member until recently). I have to say, even with shenanigans like that, Canadian immigration law is still more reasonable to navigate than in most other countries (including US).
     
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  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    ...to Western ears, and Westerners are not the target market.
     
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  14. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    It was named after the founder's company, the Lovely Sweets company. In that light, it doesn't seem too out of place.
     
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  15. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Well, I'd argue that what is best name for a candy company is not the best name for a university. Ukraine was ran for a while by a chocolate mogul, so this makes me chuckle a bit.
    Still, it does not seem Lovely Sweets U. suffers for it's name much, It must be working for them.
     
  16. freddyboy

    freddyboy Member

    I'm a student at U of People as well.....test driving their MBA program. I wasn't sure what to expect but I must say that I am very impressed with the caliber of student in the program. Also, there is a very diverse student body. I have a good number of students from various parts of Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and of course a fair number from the U.S.

    The school has it's share of issues but has been around for less than 15 years. In that span of time, it made tremendous strides, most recently with the McGill partnership. It has world-class leadership and solid academic administration. If they play their cards right in the next few years, the University of the People will become a disruptive force for good in the world of higher learning. It will take some time to develop a legacy, but it's clearly on the right track. I am pulling for the U of People whether I stick with it or not; it does fulfill a wonderful mission.
     

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