Shai Reshef: Online universities are the future of higher education

“Everyone has the right to obtain higher education. But nowadays it is either expensive or there are no available seats for everyone. This problem can be solved with online education,” University of the People (UoPeople) President Shai Reshef told Mediamax in an exclusive interview during his visit to Armenia this week.

The main purpose of the visit was participating in Nas Daily’s new episode and meeting with UoPeople’s Armenian students.

University of the People (UoPeople) is the world’s first tuition-free, non-profit, U.S.-accredited online academic institution which provides access to collegiate-level studies to qualified individuals regardless of geographic, financial or societal constraints.

According to Shai Reshef, online universities are the future of higher education.

“What we are doing more than anything else is building a model to show that quality education can be affordable and accessible to everyone. By now we have 15,000 students. Some of our students are coming from very difficult backgrounds and have no other opportunity for higher education. So the university makes a big difference in their lives,” he told.

Reshef revealed that around 20 Armenian students have studied in the university in the nine years it has worked.

“We are a tuition-free university. All we ask of the students is to pay only a USD 100 assessment fee at the end of each course (USD 200 in the MBA). One year of study (10 courses) costs USD 1,000, and a four-year bachelor’s degree is only USD 4,000. For students who have financial difficulties, the university offers a variety of scholarships, because our mission states that no qualified student will be left behind for financial reasons,” Shai Reshef added.

You can read the full interview here.