University of the People offers students a new and affordable college experience

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University of the People offers students a new and affordable college experience   The cost of a college education has been under scrutiny amid crippling levels of student debt. That's also true in some cases for online degrees of dubious quality and outcomes. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on an effort to create an accessible, affordable and global university that's getting attention as an online alternative. It's part of our series, Rethinking College.   Stay informed with the latest headlines and in-depth coverage from around the world — follow Global News Update for real-time news you can trust. Don’t miss a story — hit follow now!   #newsupdates #university #education #affordableeducation #news #EducationNews #StudentUpdates #SchoolNews #UniversityNews #globalnews #worldnews

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00:00The cost and value of a college education have been under scrutiny amid what can be

00:07crippling levels of student debt. That's also been true in some cases for online university

00:12degrees of dubious quality and outcomes. Special correspondent Fred DeSam Lazaro reports on

00:18one effort to create an accessible, affordable and global university, one that's getting

00:24attention as an online alternative. It's part of our series, Rethinking College.

00:30For millions of would-be students just about anywhere in the world, higher education feels

00:37out of reach. It is very upsetting to see how much college costs.

00:43Too expensive or scarce. I was in the refugee camp.

00:47Even forbidden. I was trying to hide it to keep myself safe.

00:52From very different worlds, all three of these young and younger people attend or attended

00:57the University of the People, an accredited institution not only based in California, but fully online,

01:04with more than 150,000 students in 200 countries and territories, about 20,000 of them in the

01:11U.S.

01:12We are the best alternative because they have no other alternative.

01:16Shai Reshef founded the non-profit in 2009, a time when the online education industry was

01:22dominated by for-profit schools.

01:24The technical institute can help graduates prepare for careers as a-

01:27Several were sanctioned or forced out of business for deceptive advertising and substandard academics,

01:33but also saddled students with crippling debt. Shai Reshef himself founded and later sold

01:39an international online education firm, one not mired in controversy, he notes. He says

01:45he wanted to use his experience to give back.

01:48Open source technology, open educational resources, professors who put their content on the net for

01:53the rest of the world to use for free. And the new phenomena were people who were willing,

01:59and especially professors, to help students with their homework for free. That's a university.

02:05The University of the People is tuition free, but it's not totally free. A variety of fees

02:10can add up to about $5,000 for a bachelor's degree. But that, the university says, makes it

02:17accessible to millions of prospective students who could not otherwise afford a college

02:23education. And besides, they have up to 10 years to complete their degree.

02:28The very first time, my impression was like, just like an online scam, something like that.

02:33You thought it was a scam.

02:34Yeah.

02:34Hi, everyone.

02:35A 23-year-old Hmong Sawya Dula fled Myanmar amid ethnic cleansing campaigns against that

02:41country's Rohingya minority. With his parents and five siblings, he found safety in neighboring

02:47Bangladesh, but in a refugee camp, not much more.

02:51No, I'm a student at University of the People.

02:54MILES O' Like more than half the University of the People students, Hmong received a scholarship,

03:00though attending was not easy.

03:01I do not have access to Internet in my home, so I needed to go to a top of a mountain.

03:07So you had to go up to this higher level to get a signal, basically.

03:11Yes, the Internet connection.

03:13If we can raise $100 million, we can educate one million students.

03:18MILES O' Rechef has relied largely on philanthropic funding and an occasional surprise,

03:23like the $3.8 million Yidan Prize awarded annually in Hong Kong for innovation in education.

03:30But principally, he's counted on volunteers.

03:32I'm a volunteer. I did not know how well it will work. I was shocked.

03:39There is a lot of goodwill out there.

03:43I wanted to reach a population that I wasn't reaching in my day job, so to speak.

03:50MILES O' Dalton Conley is a professor at Princeton University

03:53and leader in the emerging field of social genomics.

03:57Audra Watson works at a civic engagement institute in Princeton, New Jersey.

04:01Both are deans at the University of the People, among some 47,000 academics who volunteer to help

04:09students unable otherwise to afford college.

04:12I went to teacher's college, and at that time, years ago, it was at least $40,000.

04:21I'm still paying off my student loans. There are so many people that feel like they can't afford it.

04:26Students get a great education, but it's a very different experience than going to a

04:31brick-and-mortar institution where you get to have a lot more face-to-face interaction.

04:37MILES O' But offerings are limited, focused on degrees with strong job markets,

04:42associate and bachelor's in business administration, computer science and health science,

04:47master's in business administration, information technology and education.

04:52DR. ALFRED ALFRED We have a very lean budget.

04:55So we give the students everything that is a must for them to have great education,

05:00very little beyond that. So, you know, extracurricular activity, football teams,

05:06you know, we don't have all these.

05:07MILES O' Students must pass an entrance exam to assess their readiness.

05:12Classes are taught in English and, for Middle Eastern students, Arabic.

05:16They're small, 20 to 30 students, and demand a 20-hour weekly commitment per course.

05:22It's rigorous, but students can adjust their course load to fit their varied circumstances.

05:26I was in my sixth semester at university. The Taliban came to power.

05:3123-year-old Maliha was studying civil engineering at the University of Kabul, Afghanistan,

05:36when everything changed.

05:38MALIHA MALIHA MALIHA MALIHA MALIHA The first thing that they did was that

05:41they said that women are not allowed to go to schools and universities.

05:45MILES O' To continue their education,

05:47she and more than 4,000 other women began studying in secret with the University of the People.

05:53MILES O' On those dark days that I

05:55was at home and couldn't do anything for my future, University of the People was

06:00like light in my darkest days.

06:02MILES O' If we have this online education that can reach people wherever they are,

06:08we should embrace it and bring the education to them, because

06:12they cannot afford higher education. The U.S. is the best example.

06:15TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS EVERY YEAR TAKE THE GED.

06:18HALF OF THEM GO ON TO SOME KIND OF POST-SECONDARY, AND PRICE IS REALLY POWERFUL.

06:22PAUL LEBLANC RECENTLY RETIRED AS PRESIDENT OF SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY, A TRADITIONAL

06:27SCHOOL THAT HAS ALSO BECOME A LEADING PROVIDER OF ONLINE EDUCATION.

06:31THE BUSINESS HAS COME A LONG WAY, HE SAYS, WITH IMPROVED ACADEMIC RIGOR AND STANDARDS.

06:37UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE FILLS AN IMPORTANT VOID, HE SAYS.

06:40THESE ARE SOME OF THE LEAST WELL-SERVED LEARNERS ON THE GLOBE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANOTHER

06:46CHOICE.

06:47AND SHI CAME UP WITH A MODEL THAT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE A TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITY, BUT GIVES THEM

06:52THE ESSENTIAL PIECE OF WHAT THEY NEED, WHICH IS THAT EDUCATIONAL PATHWAY.

06:56IT'S REALLY UPSETTING TO SEE THAT EDUCATION IS KEPT BEHIND A PAYWALL.

07:01CHRIS BURGESS GREW UP IN A POVERTY-STRICKEN HOME WHERE SURVIVAL TOOK PRIORITY OVER EDUCATION.

07:07TWO YEARS LATER, HE OPENED A HEALTH FOOD RESTAURANT IN ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY, BUT STRUGGLED

07:12DURING AND AFTER THE PANDEMIC.

07:14WE WEREN'T RECEIVING RESULTS.

07:15WE HAD NO WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHY.

07:18TWO YEARS INTO A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE, HE SAYS

07:22HE'S ALREADY GAINED INSIGHT INTO WHO AND WHERE EXACTLY HIS CUSTOMERS ARE, AND MARK IT ACCORDINGLY.

07:28IN DOCTOR'S OFFICES, TREATING DIABETICS, FOR EXAMPLE.

07:31WE PARTNERED WITH LOCAL DOCTORS AND CREATED SPECIFIC FLYERS FOR THEM TO SHOW THEM, IF YOUR

07:36CLIENT HAS BAD NEWS, IF THEY CAN ORDER ONLINE, YOU JUST HONE IN ON THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY

07:40GOING TO CONTRIBUTE BACK TO THE BUSINESS AND CREATE A RELATIONSHIP.

07:42AND YOU CAN TRACK THIS TO YOUR EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE?

07:46100%.

07:47MALIHA AND MAUNG SOYODULA ALSO CREDIT THEIR UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE CREDENTIALS FOR A HUGE BOOST

07:53TO THEIR ASPIRATIONS.

07:54MALIHA WAS ABLE TO FLEE AFGHANISTAN LAST FALL AND, ON SCHOLARSHIP, NOW ATTENDS GRADUATE SCHOOL IN

08:01THE U.S.

08:02SO DOES SOYODULA, WHO ARRIVED LAST AUGUST AND IS NOW ENROLLED IN A SECOND BACHELOR'S PROGRAM

08:07AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY.

08:09BOTH HOPE TO RETURN SOME DAY TO HELP BRING STABILITY TO THEIR DISTRESSED HOMELANDS.

08:15I SAW THAT YOU ACTUALLY TAKE PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM THE EDUCATION, THEIR FUTURE IS TOTALLY

08:19DIFFERENT.

08:20IT'S A TRUE HONOR TO ADDRESS THIS GRADUATING CLASS.

08:23HIS UNIVERSITY'S DEGREE COMPLETION RATE IS AROUND 25% AND RISING, HE SAYS, TRACKING WITH

08:29ONLINE UNIVERSITIES OVERALL, LOWER IN PART BECAUSE STUDENTS, MANY IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES,

08:36HAVE UP TO TEN YEARS TO FINISH.

08:38SO FAR, ABOUT 18,000 HAVE GRADUATED, EIGHTY PERCENT OF THEM EMPLOYED IN FIELDS RELATED TO THEIR

08:44DEGREES.

08:45FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR, I'M FRED DE SAN LAZARO IN NEW YORK CITY.

09:14AT ONLINE UNIVERSITY has sangled PRODUCTION, ABOUT 3 GENO norte missions.

09:15WHEN THE VOLUN étaitWhere the

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