University of the People - pending RA

[Petey43]

I know I've previously seen lots of threads discussing UofPeople (https://www.uopeople.edu) and while it seems like a decent enough place, the fact that it is only nationally (DEAC) accredited has been negative for many people.

Well, I just noticed today that as of this year, it is now a regional candidate for accreditation (meaning they've applied and passed the first round of reviews), so they have undergone the process to become regionally accredited. If they do that would be quite impressive for a university that costs ~$2k for a degree.

[rachel83az]

Yeah, they've been pending RA status for a few months now. Personally, I would prefer to go with UMPI over UoPeople, because UMPI doesn't have have unqualified people grading your paper in peer grading.

[MNomadic]

https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2...m4ag726ypu

They're scheduled for another visit/review in the fall(2022), so if that goes well, RA status could soon follow.

[bjcheung77]

For the cost (only reason they're an option), they may be a good idea when they get RA, but they won't be very useful for the ease/speed to finish the degree. The only program that really isn't offered anywhere is the MEd in Advanced Teaching. The rest are available if you can "splurge", otherwise, I would wait for them to get RA before you take their courses, you can start with the 90 ACE credits they will accept into their Bachelors programs with the main providers we use...

[Petey43]

Here's the page where you can see the current status
https://www.wscuc.org/institutions/unive...he-people/

[gams007]

Here's the page where you can see the current status
https://www.wscuc.org/institutions/unive...he-people/

I think they will get this accreditation also they start a new Master degree in computer science the good thing is that you can get a cheap degree with them. Most international student will benefit of this opportunity.

[durain]

From https://www.wscuc.org/institutions/unive...he-people/
The "Seeking Accreditation Visit" is scheduled for Fall 2024.

The "Commission Action Letter, Seeking Accreditation Visit 2, February 2023 action"  is a pretty interesting read.

Link : https://wascsenior.box.com/s/us0xokaj80f...sr9zoud4f4

[ashkir]

I pretty much agree with what the accreditation board said. University of the People is not yet ready and has more work to do. Especially on their faculty, the fake degree PhDs they have, and the hostility of some of their staff. In addition, their entire HR department is outsourced and doesn't really understand the American university system and that is an issue.

100% agree that the accrediation board told them to move away from peer grading. That's such a hot mess. Faculty should have more control over their classes, versus being just graders.

At this point UofP is just a fancy Sophia.org for college credits. It's a miracle they can award degrees.

[Vle045]

I pretty much agree with what the accreditation board said. University of the People is not yet ready and has more work to do. Especially on their faculty, the fake degree PhDs they have, and the hostility of some of their staff. In addition, their entire HR department is outsourced and doesn't really understand the American university system and that is an issue.

100% agree that the accrediation board told them to move away from peer grading. That's such a hot mess. Faculty should have more control over their classes, versus being just graders.

At this point UofP is just a fancy Sophia.org for college credits. It's a miracle they can award degrees.

A little harsh, but I kind of agree.  When I gave them a try a while back, I wasn't crazy about peer grading.  I saw a lot of students complain about it.   I also follow them on LinkedIn.  I noticed that everyone they hire other than instructors is located in India.  At least, those are what the "congratulations" posts indicate.  It is definitely an interesting model that they have.  I am very interested to see how they continue to develop.

[jsd]

the fake degree PhDs they have

Literally fake degrees (as in hiring from a diploma mill type situation)? Or like, ABDs? I hadn't seen this before.