How Low Can You Go? The Tuition-Free Business Model of the University of the People (original) (raw)
This paper presents the recent emergence of organizations that offer tuitionfree academic education by leveraging various online tools. The feasibility of such offers is analyzed by exploring a variable cost minimization (VCM) approach created by the California-based nonprofit The University of the People (UoPeople). This approach cuts undergraduate tuition to US$4,000 or less per program, by replacing instructors with peer-to-peer learning processes, and by charging students only for admissions and for examination. An analysis of the VCM approach as implemented by UoPeople shows that it fails on two fronts. Firstly, it is based on an unsubstantiated assertion that peer-to-peer learning can replace, altogether, the need for a skilled and trained online instructor. Secondly, even if it is possible for some students to teach themselves without the involvement of an instructor, an economic analysis shows that the cost of instruction is only one of several line items in the budget of an accredited online academic program. Academic programs that remove critical variable cost services such as teaching and student advising, fail students by neglecting to provide them with the minimal support they are entitled to. The risks, as well as the significant promise of the VCM approach are discussed.
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