A Free Online University Tests the Waters

After a lifetime in business and academia, Shai Reshef finally found something he could not do: retire.

So in 2009, Mr. Reshef, an Israeli-born entrepreneur, founded University of the People, an online school offering a four-year U.S.-style undergraduate education for free. The institution, based in Pasadena, California, has admitted 1,500 students from 132 countries.

While most of its initial financing came from Mr. Reshef, it has since drawn the support of organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and corporations like Hewlett Packard.

The teachers, many from top universities, are all volunteers. The provost, David Harris Cohen, was vice president of Columbia University. Last year, New York University agreed that students who successfully finished their first year at University of the People would be eligible to apply to N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi, where they would complete their education free if accepted.

Mr. Reshef described his campaign to “open the gates of higher education to those who cannot afford it.”

Read More Here