University of the People: Tuition-Free, Accredited Online Degree Programs • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by uopeoplestudent » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:22 AM UTC

non-entity wrote: post #18

aspenmayer wrote: post #5

The first question I always ask of these weird online universities is, are they regionally accredited? National accreditation is not really a high bar and isn’t considered competitive; all legitimate institutions of higher learning should qualify for and receive regional accreditation from an appropriate authority before considering such study in one’s best interest. This online learning site is eligible for regional…

> Not saying this is a scam, but it feels like a scam. Not directly related to your specific concern, but every attempt to make a open / democratized degree has felt like that to me, unfortunately. Example: There was an online degree program I saw that awarded a real, regionally accredited degree from a state university. The degree and course work were exactly the same, but the online program was basically open. No a…

I've attended several schools online at both the undergrad and graduate level including a for-profit school. I don't find much different between them because they've all followed an asynchronous approach.

However, UoPeople is different in that it's much, much less instructor led. They use a "peer learning" pedagogical approach. It's something I quite dislike about the school. I consider it to be poorly implemented and leads to problems like "revenge grading." However, I tolerate it because it allows me to study in a structured environment for less than I'd pay at my local community college.

It's not something I would recommend for weak learners and/or for many who need a regionally accredited degree.

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

#42

Post by dart600 » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:23 AM UTC

uopeoplestudent wrote: post #39

dart600 wrote: 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…

> 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…

Yes I was slightly piffed. Yet, the professor was notably intelligent and very professional. My comment was for others wondering if it was a scam. Its not a scam, it's real, but preferably for people seeking a multicultural experience along with their general educational knowledge, irregardless of the loss of highly guaranteed nontransferrability. Perhaps if one is retired, for example, it would simply be an amazing choice. :)

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

#43

Post by uopeoplestudent » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:27 AM UTC

dart600 wrote: post #42

uopeoplestudent wrote: post #39

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…

Yes I was slightly piffed. Yet, the professor was notably intelligent and very professional. My comment was for others wondering if it was a scam. Its not a scam, it's real, but preferably for people seeking a multicultural experience along with their general educational knowledge, irregardless of the loss of highly guaranteed nontransferrability. Perhaps if one is retired, for example, it would simply be an amazing…

Speaking on your comment about plagiarism, my second term there was a student who submitted their Java homework in a Word document. It contained two screenshots. The first was of the NetBeans IDE. The second was of their browser opened to a Github page that contained the answer to the assignment. They'd un-destructively cropped the second using Word. They made it look like it was typed into NetBeans. I was able to track down the original source.

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

#44

Post by cy_hauser » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:31 AM UTC

In looking at the CS curricilum this looks more like an extended bootcamp. Most regular university courses are not there, the credits/classes won't transfer to full universities, and you're left with a "degree" that pales in comparison to a "regular" degree. Plus you've spent about $5,000 to get their paper. I guess "accredited degree" just doesn't mean the same thing to as what I was thinking.

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

#45

Post by uopeoplestudent » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:34 AM UTC

Pmop wrote: post #22

DudeInBasement wrote: post #16

I can't wait for a fully online without human University. I'd like speed running to be a thing

Speed running comp. sci. in 6 months!

Some people do it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/g7h1qz/bscs_87_credits...

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

#46

Post by m463 » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:34 AM UTC

cy_hauser wrote: post #44

In looking at the CS curricilum this looks more like an extended bootcamp. Most regular university courses are not there, the credits/classes won't transfer to full universities, and you're left with a "degree" that pales in comparison to a "regular" degree. Plus you've spent about $5,000 to get their paper. I guess "accredited degree" just doesn't mean the same thing to as what I was thinking.

accreditation has varied levels of shenanigans:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accreditation_mill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_instituti...

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

#47

Post by notathinker » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:37 AM UTC

uopeoplestudent wrote: post #8

Current student in the CS program. Feel free to ask questions.

1. Does it feel worth the time you are investing? 2. Do you hope that the degree itself will be a valuable credential, or just (!?) that the learning is good value-for money? 3. What, to you, are the advantages of this over self-teaching using MOOCs or any of the other online resources (which are better for computer science than for any other field)?

Thanks for offering to take questions. I'm intriegued by UoPeople and other similar ventures. I have a son who will graduate in a few years who may have social trouble at a regular university.

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

#48

Post by dart600 » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:37 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #40

dart600 wrote: 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…

This detailed reply is fantastic. I want to paint a narrative in acrylic. (Perhaps just my mood today). It will have a plummer modeling on a catwalk as a moral war rages of cool fashion balconies meet the vision of the dog fights in a proverbial rotation of another fresh coat to the red carpet. See u in the concrete warehouse just short of arms reach, but certainly out of the limelight. Or in. Or out. Or in. Which is real?

You're welcome!

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

#49

Post by infogulch » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:42 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #40

dart600 wrote: 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…

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 you plagiarize every assignment you rob yourself of your own training of this critically important competency.

Plagiarizing some work doesn't really hurt the work, it hurts you.

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

#50

Post by throwgeorge » Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 1:47 AM UTC

infogulch wrote: post #49

themodelplumber wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

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…

>Plagiarizing some work doesn't really hurt the work, it hurts you.

and a job well done is its own reward right? i think it's very pretentious to say that to a person who's attending school in order to improve their lot in life (because credentials count for so much); that what's more important than the credential is some abstract notion of improvement. you might as well cast it in terms of sin and salvation.