University of the People: Something New, or Deja Vu?

Press releases today announcing the University of the People, which promises to provide universal access to college studies. I would like to believe in the intent, goodheartedness, and prospects of this venture. I really would. Unfortunately, all I hear in my head is a '60s song -- "we have all been here before, we have all been here before..."

The University of the People is a non-profit venture which promises to revolutionize higher education by providing universal access to college studies—even in the poorest parts of the world. How could anyone criticize such a noble cause? Here's how: they may be building a field of dreams, they haven't done anything yet, and they may be raising false hopes.

Field of dreams: It's not as if the idea itself is new. So the main question is, how will they do it? The UoP website is skimpy on details. Yes, distance learning is powerful; yes, the need is great. And? It appears that they plan to rely a lot on volunteers. They'll start with serving a few hundred students, serve thousands over the next five years, and eventually help reach millions. And gain accreditation, while only charging nominal fees for admission and certification. And peer learning. How does volunteers + peer learning + no revenue stream add up to accreditation? Field of dreams...

A colleague told me that they have lots of venture capital. I could find nothing to that effect on their web site -- but there is no business model here. Even if they're starting by creaming academic disciplines (Business and IT) the way that other UoP did (Univ. of Phoenix), where's the revenue going to come from? And pure volunteering wears thin really fast, especially if there's venture capital, which means that someone is trying to make money off of others' goodwill.

And, as Stephen Downes notes in today's OL Daily, they haven't actually done anything yet. UoP is "purportedly the 'the world's first tuition-free, internet-based academic institution.'... The term "tuition-free" is just a nicety; students will still have to pay to register and take tests. The term "university" is also a misnomer; it still seeks accreditation. None of this means that the venture won't work. It's just you don't get to call yourself "first" until you've actually done what you say you've done."

False hopes: what this venture reminds me of most is CitizenRE, a "pure-play renewable energy provider...positioned to deliver renewable energy to the marketplace on a cost competitive basis." In late 2007, I explored this company as a possible provider of easily accessible solar energy for my home. They had a model; supposedly they had lots of "venture capital." They were signing people up for contracts for nine months out, just as soon as they got their factory built, which was going to happen "soon." I refrained from joining up until I saw something more tangible there. A few months later, still no factory. Soon, the press releases stopped being updated. Eighteen months later, there's still a shell of a web site, some ill will in the industry, a lot of ill will from would-be customers left stranded, and no there there.

Ventures that promise good with a splashy entrance and fail to deliver leave things worse off than when they started. I hope there is more there there than meets the eye besides another breeding ground for future cynicism...