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University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

uopeople.edu

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Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out Western Governors University, it's self-paced.

I'll just add that many UoPeople students in the US transfer to WGU to complete their bachelor's degree. (WGU is regionally accredited, so it carried more weight. And it accepts UoPeople credits.)

So the savvy move if you have the cash is to do your three years and then what transfer to your final year at WGU? That's so smart.

What more do you know about this strategy? Can you introduce me to anyone who has done this?

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#112
post #33

Hi. I attended this school and then got accepted to another more standard institution, which I applied at the same time to. The new institution, learning I had been attending U of the P, promptly told me that U of the P credits would not transfer. Universal transferability in question, I opted out. I did enjoy meeting people from all walks of life, all over the world. However, I also saw a grossly wide range of educa…

> could not grasp the idea of plagiarism being unethical I remember experiencing this at a private religious university. At the time, my hyper-religious mind was blown to see students outright cheating in the Testing Center. Since then I've been exposed to additional perspectives on plagiarism. It is an extremely deep and nuanced topic. A few years out of school, I ended up mentoring and then teaching college student…

I've seen this myself, and I think this sort of moral relativism is pretty bad for society in general. You can spin a story of victim hood or power dynamic to justify anything unethical. What should be a fair transaction becomes a game of who can backstab first and who is left holding the bag. This I think leads to a breakdown in the fabric that keep things stable eventually.

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#113
I like the premise and I believe education should be a basic right. Someone should be able to pursue knowledge to the highest level and receive recognition for having done that. Now so often large corporations will not hire someone unless they went to a very expensive school, or at least their chances are much lower. So I like the overall idea here and I hope it will grow in strength

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The new institution, learning I had been attending U of the P, promptly told me that U of the P credits would not transfer. Universal transferability in question, I opted out. Yes, many schools will not accept coursework from nationally accredited universities. This includes coursework from UoPeople. You will not be able to apply for many graduate schools as well. A degree from UoPeople definitely comes with limits…

This isn't restricted to untraditional schools. At least one of our local state universities have stopped accepting credits from the community colleges due to the practice of transferring for the final couple years. Might be something similar going on here. It might be that they want the degree to represent the full 4 year experience at the school or it might just be the money. The cynic in me prefers the latter.

one of our local state universities have stopped accepting credits from the community colleges

Do you remember which state and university?

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#117
post #13

Great, they made it tuition-free, accredited, and online; now take it all the way and get rid of the idiotic hoop-jumping of the admissions process! Edit: I know nothing about their admissions process, only that they have one . Somebody's unimaginative I see. "Admissions" should be filling out a form including contact info, bank info and so forth, and then verifying that it's all true. What could they (or you downvot…

Re: Your Edit (Note: Didn't downvote you.)

They can't "take it all the way." If they removed the requirements (e.g., English proficiency, high school diploma equivalent), they wouldn't be accredited.

See: Section VIII. D.

https://www.deac.org/UploadedDocuments/Handbook/Accreditatio...

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But is it enough to get me a visa to work in the US? I'm already a self-taught programmer, 5k is cheap to have the option of working in the US.

I would speculate no. It's not a well recognized degree and has little history or experience to back it up.

Presume that my accomplishments stand on my own, and the only thing getting in my way is that I don't qualify for a VISA under NAFTA. What I'd need would be a

> Baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate and three years' experience.

Now you and I know this is pretty much just a sheet of paper, but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper?

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with plagiarism isn't best characterized as some sort of power struggle between teachers and students via bullshit assignments. The purpose of learning to write is to make yourself a formidable communicator. If you can independently analyze a new topic to learn something new and apply the results of those learnings towards a particular goal, you can be amazingly effective in everything you aim for. But if…

This is under the assumption that you see college is a program of self-betterment and not busy work for receiving a degree that says you can have a middle-class job. It feels like even the universities themselves see it as the latter these days.

But if you can't do the middle-class job because you can't write, the piece of paper will only get you so far. It may get you an entry-level job, but you probably won't get much in the way of promotions. So even from that perspective, plagiarism isn't helpful.

Re: University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a subjective ethics problem. It's a competence problem. If you can't formulate your own thoughts into a coherent statement (the purpose of learning to write) then you'll be useless to anyone that needs new coherent arguments.

That's a bit of an overreach, isn't it, calling my writing incoherent and incompetent? (Edit: Parent clarified that "you" is meant to mean a hypothetical student, not me.) If more information is needed, as was the case here, we can ask questions. That's got nothing to do with author competence. It's not an essay contest. And why assume we know it all, filling in the gaps like that? In a discussion of ethics, this is…

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