University of the People: An Evidence-Based Review

University of the People: An Evidence-Based Review

University of the People (UoPeople) is an American online university established in 2009 by Mr. Shai Rashef. Since its establishment thousands of volunteers shown keen interest to work with UoPeople. So far by end of 2017 10,000+ students have admitted to UoPeople. The university gained popularity because of its unique and innovative education model and partnering with top universities. 

You may have read so many articles about UoPeople. There are several controversies against the university. This review may assist you if you're confused about UoPeople. 

Who am I?

I studied at UoPeople. Perhaps I'm a right person to write this review.  

Why am I interested to write this review?

I've read many articles and posts about UoPeople. I found some posts are biased and full of misconceptions. I feel to write my review for students, who want to know the truth about UoPeople. I'll share my experience and if you need any proof or assistance you can contact me at kh.rh2018@gail.com.

Myths and misconceptions about University of the People aka UoPeople: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

UoPeople is located in Israel

False: UoPeople is an American online university. All of its activities are online based. As I've seen teachers and students are from more than 200 countries, technical supports are from Japan, few administrative officers are from Israel. This doesn't mean the university is Israeli. 

List of administrative officers (Page 3): https://3w1fdw3g237j15p5421zov1f-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/UoPeople-Undergraduate-Catalog-AY2018-ADDENDUM.pdf

UoPeople is a fully online-based university.The address of administrative office:

225 S. Lake Ave., Suite 300

Pasadena, CA 91101

www.UoPeople.edu

info@uopeople.edu 

Tel. +1 626 264 8880

UoPeople never suggests you to post or call at the address. This is because all volunteers are from the different parts of the world. If you have any query just write an email. Within 24 hours you'll receive a response. 

University of the People (UoPeople) is not a tuition-free university

False: Tuition fees and exam fees are not same. If you study in a campus-based traditional university, you've to pay different types of fees:  tuition fee, exam fee, student service fee, administrative fee, library fee, parking fee and so many.

UoPeople only charges a little amount of money as exam fee. For undergraduate courses $100 per subject. This is needed to make the university sustainable. If you compare to other US universities the fee is almost ignorable. New York University is partnered with UoPeople. Check the following link to see how expensive a US university is:

https://www.nyu.edu/students/student-information-and-resources/bills-payments-and-refunds/tuition-and-fee-rates/2017-2018/college-of-arts-and-science-2017-2018.html  

There is no good statistical evidence that UoPeople is actually offering scholarships

This is the worst lie against UoPeople. Students who are unable to pay exam fee can apply for scholarships. I received four scholarships ($ 4,000) and each covered ten courses. Please keep in mind that all students may not be awarded scholarships. You should submit sufficient evidence that you need a scholarship. Your academic result may assist you to receive a UoPeople scholarship. 

You may find a list of scholarships here: https://www.uopeople.edu/tuition-free/our-scholarships/

Proof of my scholarships:

List of the scholarships I received

1. Western Union Scholarship - 2014

2. UoPeople Foundation - 2015

3. UoPeople Foundation - 2016

4. Foundation Hoffman - 2017

Please note that you may not be awarded same scholarship more than once. For me, it was a rare case I think.

The United Nations and its agencies do not have any partnerships with University of the People

False: UoPeople is partnered with UN-GAID. UN-GAID welcomed Mr. Rashef for his innovative education model and appointed him as a high-level adviser at UN-GAID. 

Mr. Rashef at UN (Part 1):

Mr. Rashef at UN (Part 2):