University of the People

Last updated

University of the People
University of the People seal.png
Type Private online university
EstablishedFebruary 2009;16 years ago (February 2009)
Accreditation WASC Senior College and University Commission, [1] DEAC [2] [3]
President Shai Reshef
Administrative staff
57 [4]
Students42,897 (2023) [5]
Location
Pasadena
,
California
,
United States
Website uopeople.edu
University of the People Logo.jpg
University of the People

The University of the People (UoPeople) is a regionally accredited private, nonprofit tuition-free online university based in Pasadena, California. Founded in 2009 by Shai Reshef, the university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). As of 2025, UoPeople serves 152,933 students from over 209 countries and territories. The university enrols 19,000 refugees from countries like Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Myanmar, and has pledged to educate 35,000 refugee students by 2030. The university uses an asynchronous online learning model and is dedicated to making affordable quality education accessible to learners from across the world.

Contents

History

University of the People President Shai Reshef and Provost Emeritus David Cohen UoPeople President Shai Reshef and UoPeople Provost David Cohen.jpg
University of the People President Shai Reshef and Provost Emeritus David Cohen

Shai Reshef started the University of the People in January 2009. He was inspired by his previous attempt at building an online University in the Netherlands in the early 2000s and his experience at Cramster. The intent of the University of the People was to provide a free online alternative for students who would not be able to afford tuition at traditional institutions. [6] The university has no campus due to its online distance learning nature; it uses a shared office in Pasadena, California as an office of admission. [7] [8]

The first UoPeople students began classes in September 2009, studying for associate and bachelor's degrees in business administration and computer science.[ citation needed ]

In 2016, the university began offering an online Master of Business Administration (MBA). [9]

In 2017, the University of Edinburgh (UE) partnered with the school so that health science graduates of UoPeople could complete a bachelor's at UE. [10]

In 2018, the university announced the new online Master of Education (M.Ed) in Advanced Teaching in collaboration with the International Baccalaureate. [11] This new program started taking in students in 2019. IB started to offer 80 scholarships for eligible M.Ed. students in 2020. [12]

UoPeople in Arabic, announced in the World Economic Forum [13] in April 2019, launched in September 2020; it uses a different website in Arabic and does not require proof of English knowledge. [14] [15]

Accreditation

In 2014, the university was accredited for degree-granting programs through the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). [2] [3]

University of the People received "candidate" status in June 2021 with WASC Senior College and University Commission. [16] In late February 2025, University of the People received "Accredited" status. [17]

Organization

University of the People Education Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary [18] which provides support services to the institution. [19] The subsidiary is registered with the Israeli Corporations Authority [20] and maintains an office in Tel Aviv, Israel. [21]

In February 2012, the Gates Foundation awarded the University of the People a grant of $613,282 for the purpose of helping the university earn national accreditation. [22]

Fees

According to the University of the People, the university charges no tuition fees but students must pay administrative fees to cover all course assessments. The listed estimate is $3,260 for an associate's degree (60 credits) and $6,460 for a bachelor's degree (120 credits). These estimates are the sum of a $60 application fee and a $160 fee for each course assessment. Fee estimates range from $5,260 to $5,460 for their three master's programs. [23]

The university does not participate in federal financial aid programs, [24] but it does offer some scholarships. [25] [26] [27] [28]

References

  1. ↑ "WASC accreditation" . Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Accrediting Commission - Grant of Accreditation, DETC, February 13, 2014; Report from the Accrediting Commission - Renewal of Accreditation Archived September 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine , DEAC, February 27, 2017,
  3. 1 2 "Directory of Accredited Institutions". October 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ "University of the People's Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, 2019" (PDF). IRS.gov (Form 990). July 23, 2021. p. 1 (PDF page: 27). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  5. ↑ "National Centre for Education Statistics" . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ "It's Time to Give Back". Inc. April 20, 2009. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  7. ↑ Sanchez, Claudio (August 27, 2012). "Online University For All Balances Big Goals, Expensive Realities". NPR.org. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  8. ↑ "University of the People," WASC Senior College and University Commission, retrieved December 9, 2024
  9. ↑ "Here's how you can score a tuition-free MBA". make it. CNBC. September 18, 2017. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023. The university later introduced a health science track and then a graduate business degree in 2016.
  10. ↑ "Partnership opens doors for students from adverse backgrounds". The University of Edinburgh. University of Edinburgh. October 31, 2017. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  11. ↑ "University of the People and the IB partner to announce tuition-free Master of Education program". October 4, 2018.
  12. ↑ "University of the People M.Ed. In Advanced Teaching". March 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ "WEF meeting in Jordan to address 'new platforms of cooperation'". April 5, 2019. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  14. ↑ "هل تريد أن تصبح طالباً؟" [Do you want to be a student?]. ar.uopeople.edu (in Arabic). Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  15. ↑ "In Brief". UoPeople. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  16. ↑ "June 2021 Commission Actions". wscuc.org. July 13, 2021. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "University of the People". WSCUC. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  18. ↑ "University of the People's Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, 2018" (PDF). IRS.gov (Form 990, Schedule F, Part IV). July 17, 2020. p. 2 (PDF page: 38). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  19. ↑ "University of the People's Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, 2018" (PDF). IRS.gov (Form 990, Part I). July 17, 2020. p. 1 (PDF page: 37). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  20. ↑ "University of the People Education Ltd (CC) - 514228139". Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  21. ↑ "University of the People's Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, 2018" (PDF). IRS.gov (Form 990, Schedule R, Part IV). July 17, 2020. p. 2 (PDF page: 38). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  22. ↑ "University of the People". Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. January 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Our fees". April 28, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  24. ↑ "University of the People". WSCUC . Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Report of the WSCUC Visiting Team: Seeking Accreditation Visit 1". WSCUC . Retrieved November 20, 2021. While the UoPeople does not provide federal financial aid, it does provide scholarships to support as many students experiencing financial difficulty as funds allow.
  26. ↑ Coughlan, Sean (July 19, 2016). "Refugees study at online 'university of anywhere'". BBC News. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  27. ↑ Malo, Sebastien. "Between shelling and displacement, Syrian students seek degrees online". U.S. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  28. ↑ "UoPeople Fees | Low Cost, High Quality | University of the People". www.uopeople.edu. April 28, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2025.

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