On the Internet, a university without a campus

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/25/technology/university.4-415520.php

by ph0rque • 17 years ago

10 8 17 years ago

ph0rque3• 17 years ago

This is very similar to the (eventual) grand vision I had for ezLearnz, a project I worked on for a while. What is interesting is the revenue model: $15-$50 for enrollment to a given course, and $10 to $100 for the exams. (I assume this is on a per-course basis.) With my project, we were considering a $9.99/month tuition, regardless of the number of courses one takes or how long it takes to finish a given course.

tokenadult2• 17 years ago

That is an interesting business model. Because my oldest son is in the Stanford University EPGY Online High School

http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/

at the moment, I'm curious about the social model of the online college even more than I am about the economic model. The article refers to

http://www.cramster.com/

as an example of a successful online community. I get the impression that any online education provider will be successful or not largely to the degree that it builds a student community (and, for minor learners subject to compulsory instruction laws, a parent community too).

ph0rque3• 17 years ago

> I get the impression that any online education provider will be successful or not largely to the degree that it builds a student community (and, for minor learners subject to compulsory instruction laws, a parent community too).

Very much agree. One feature we thought up was (partially) refunding tuition fees for those students who create content to help fellow students (or those a class/chapter/unit behind them).

omouse• 17 years ago

Does it have to be a non-profit?

ph0rque3• 17 years ago

From another article, this is the website of the venture: http://www.UoPeople.org

apstuff• 17 years ago

Why is it a good idea to charge the 2B+ people around the world earning $2 a day the equivalent of a week's wages to enroll in a class and the equivalent of a month's wages to take a test?

Shamiq• 17 years ago

A relatively equivalent question to ask is why does my University costs are equal to nearly 1.5x the Avg US yearly salary?

It's an investment, like property, that can't easily be foreclosed on.

On the Internet, a university without a campus

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