Tuition-Free University Gains a Following | Hacker News Reader

Tuition-Free University Gains a Following

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50 pointsblhack19 comments

I have a duty to my namesake to bring this up :-) Peter Cooper (the 19th century industrialist and Presidential candidate - not me) pioneered the tuition-free education concept in the United States with the Cooper Union, which is still running today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper_Union - online universities are cool, but the Cooper Union is a full-on bricks and mortar college.

I went to Cooper Union for a year, and it's a freaking awesome school; besides having excellent classes (at least in engineering, don't know about art/architecture - it only has those three programs, so don't even think about it otherwise), it really is zero-tuition, no strings attached. I highly recommend that any engineering/art/architecture students apply, at least if you think you have a shot of getting in. They are not a "by-the-numbers" type of school, and they definitely have room for people with colorful backgrounds, even at the engineering school - just make sure your math is solid!

There is one hidden cost, though - you're going to be paying out the ass to live anywhere near the Village, and New York City is expensive. That was the main reason that I left. Well, that, and the fact that I realized after a year that engineering wasn't for me - it's not an engineering school in the MIT sense, where you're still going to be satisfied even if you're interested in pure physics or math, Cooper Union really is a school devoted to teaching you to be a practicing engineer.

Still, it beats the hell out of NYU or any of the other schools around, where you're paying both the exorbitant NYC apartment costs plus 40k/year for tuition, so it should definitely be on any engineer's list...

There is also Olin College, outside Boston. In fact that's what I thought this article was going to be about. It's only a few years old but it has a good reputation already.

Sadly, Olin's endowment took a rather major hit and is no longer tuition-free. It's actually almost $39,000: http://olin.edu/admission/costs.asp

That's quite pricy... The tuition-free thing served its main point though, which was to attract students before accreditation.

Despite that, it was cool to learn about Olin. They have some interesting practices and I enjoyed reading their Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_W._Olin_College_of_Eng...

Stanford, too, was founded as a tuition-free school. Sadly, they were forced to begin charging tuition in 1920.

The good news is that, a century later, the school is returning to its roots by offering free tuition to students whose families make less than about $100k per year.

And of course, there's the excellent free online material offered at Stanford Engineering Everywhere: http://see.stanford.edu/default.aspx

that would be free to students all over the world, one of just a handful of tuition-free universities.

One of a handful? All higher education in Sweden is tuition free for all students regardless of where they come from.

Maybe he means "one of a handful in the US", but the "students all over the world" part suggests he's talking worldwide?

Swedish schools won't be free for foreign students starting next year.

http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/12821/a/140013

Hm, I wonder what the opposition thinks about this. Currently it looks like they'll win the election this fall, and might reverse this (in my opionion) bad decision.

Hopefully the French government does not take inspiration from that... Some of the best students at my universities were from poor countries and would have a hard time paying a tuition.

This is a great concept and Shai is to be applauded for his efforts here. It is a bit of a bummer that they need 5 MM in funding to keep it going. Anyway, even here in the states, you can cut the cost of education significantly by testing out of courses. Through the College Level Examination Program you can test out of most of your freshman and sophomore year courses for $75/per test. Most private colleges are now b/n 30-50k/year, so saving can be pretty significant. If you go to a state school saving can be really considerable as well. e.g., 1200 vs. 8k. +++ you don't have to take 15 weeks of a course to test out of it. More info can be found here: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html. Education inflation is insane. We see this as one way to keep educational costs down.

My private college would have made me pay for the credits even if i tested out.

It's a great idea. However, until they become accredited here in the US, the education is pointless. I talked with the head of transfers at my university, and was told they wouldn't even accept these classes for credit. Also, I don't know how many establish companies would take you seriously if your resume education listed a Bachelors from The University of the People.

Might be fine outside the US, but it has some BIG hurdles to jump here!

Why do education and accredidation have to go together? I'd much rather learn on my own (through these online courses), then take a one-month intensive series of accredited projects and tests (a bit like a Google interview) to get a diploma.

I decided to go through the application process. I'm currently a student enrolled in a community college transferring to Baylor this Fall.

The question that really poked out to me was: "5 Please finish this statement: “When I think of Online Education I think…”. "

Well, of course, I think infancy. The internet as a whole is probably still in an infancy stage with nothing set in stone. I started thinking about it from a philosophy POV too. My Phil101 class consisted of 70% natural texans, 10% out of state, and 20% international students. There was an obvious amount of disgust from the natural texans not only to the international students but to the out of state students. I realized a major problem with discrimination and fear had to do with just plain lack of familiarity. I had always got along with the African transfer students because our stories were similar in a way. We were both just looking for a place to fit in where we were basically regarded as foreigners. The texans would criticize, laugh, and just be pure cruel to the transfer students. I would get questions and express my agnostic/absurdist opinion and get the same exact vibes. It wasn't because we were picked on that we could get along though. It was because we had experienced more than just what "texas" is. An online environment can not only teach students subjects but can teach students about one another if it is made interactive in some way. My countless hours spent on IRC in various networks has already contributed to my ability to be able to put myself in another's point of view.

Anyways, back to the point! Online education could pull off some things that a traditional college fails at achieving. "Its who you know and what you want to make!" Well... I haven't met anyone in my traditional college other than professors. I have the need to create, but there's really no intermediate for creating or place to talk to others who might be interested. An online community not only has the chance to create great contacts (how much easier is it when student A just gives you his email address?) but also allow for hubs of creation to spawn on sort a viral scale. Creation is limited in traditional environments that I've been a part of! If online institutions decide to stray from what we call tradition, maybe, just maybe, they will create what should be called higher education. Because, baby, this ain't it.

I think the biggest problem with any online university is letting the students network with each other. I took a grad-level class at UC Boulder last fall, and probably would've flunked it if it wasn't for my coworkers available for me to ask questions. That said, I've gotta look into UotP's social network thing.

Fun thought, it'd be interesting to teach/mentor techical knowledge (i.e. programming) in exchange for a business education. It'd let you organize the skills you've learned, learn how others approach technical skills through teaching, and learn formal business skills all at once.

The social/communal aspect of this looks interesting, especially as one of the questions is "what can you bring to your fellow student". A good study group is worth its weight in gold.

The selective admission process should also help: your social surroundings should be fairly fixed and you can be sure they're fairly motivated.

Part of me would like everyone to be included, but the aforementioned, and that the students will require time/effort from the teachers, means it's more or less required.

A great Mixergy interview with Shai Reshef not just but two weeks ago.

http://mixergy.com/shai-reshef/

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