COVID’s Delta Variant Disrupting College Enrollment Plans for Fall

Many Students Are Opting for Online Universities Instead of Studying on Campus

PASADENA, CA (August 19, 2021) – The persistent impact of COVID-19 and the rapid spread of its Delta variant are making college students rethink their plans to attend in-person classes on campus this fall. With most brick-and-mortar colleges in the U.S. planning to reopen their campuses for the start of the new academic year, students are increasingly concerned about potential coronavirus outbreaks, vaccination requirements and mask mandates.

College students are not the only ones concerned about contracting the coronavirus. More than one-third of parents, or 37%, said their child’s post-high school plans have changed because of the pandemic, according to a recent report by Discover Student Loans. As a result, many are searching for online alternatives which have become increasingly popular since the start of COVID outbreak.

During the past year, University of the People (UoPeople), which is a virtual university offering only online classes, saw its enrollment jump 107% from 36,526 to 75,390 students from more than 200 countries. During the same timeframe, most higher education institutions in the U.S. experienced significant declines in their enrollments due to the pandemic. According to the latest report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, undergraduate enrollment experienced a 4.9% drop overall with community colleges hit the hardest with a 9.5% decline.

“Much of our growth during the past year came from students who enrolled at our university specifically because of COVID, they feared catching the virus by attending in person classes or as a result of job loss,” said UoPeople President Shai Reshef. “In the past several weeks, we have seen a substantial uptick in applications and are now on track to surpass 100,000 students by this fall – making us the fastest growing university in the world.”

Founded in 2009, UoPeople is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American-accredited, online university dedicated to providing access to higher education globally to help qualified high school graduates overcome the financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from university studies.

“I learned about UoPeople on social media,” said Ashiana Ali, a student from California who is studying health science. “I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to study and keep myself and my daughters safe from COVID as well as stay home and take care of my responsibilities as a mother of a special needs child.”

When 27-year-old Cody Hug lost his job in the tourism industry in San Diego due to the pandemic, he decided to enroll at UoPeople to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration. “I wanted to be able to provide a better life for my family and University of the People offered me an easy and affordable opportunity to advance my career.”

“Due to the pandemic, traditional brick-and-mortar universities had to switch to remote teaching almost overnight. For most college students, it was their first time taking online classes and they soon came to appreciate its many advantages – easy accessibility, flexible schedules, and affordability,” said President Reshef. “Many of these students soon realized that traditional universities did not specialize in online education and many of their professors did not have any experience teaching remotely. As a result, students started flocking to UoPeople, which has been completely virtual since it first opened.”

According to the 2021 Online Education Trends Report from BestColleges.com, which collected data from 1,800 college students in the fall, 74% called online learning better than or equal to on-campus learning and 49% said they were likely to engage in online learning even after colleges resume normal operations. In addition, 93% students said they have had or expect to have a positive return on their investment in online education.

UoPeople does not charge any tuition or enrollment fees and all course materials are available online for free. The university does charge some fees, however, to help keep its operations running and to maintain its academic quality and high level of services to its students. The university charges a nominal assessment fee of $120 at the end of each undergraduate course and $240 for its graduate-level courses. That means a student can earn a bachelor’s degree for $4,860 and an MBA or master’s degree in education for around $3,000. To fulfill its mission that no qualified student be left behind, the university offers a financial aid for those who cannot afford the modest course assessment fees.

About University of the People

University of the People (UoPeople) is the Education Revolution. It is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American-accredited online university. Currently there are over 75,000 students from more than 200 countries and territories. Designed to open access to higher education globally, UoPeople helps qualified high school graduates overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from collegiate studies. The university offers associate and bachelor’s degree programs in business administration, computer science, and health science, as well as an MBA and M.Ed. program. Graduates of UoPeople can be found working at such companies as Deloitte, Amazon, Apple, Pfizer, Google, Microsoft and IBM. UoPeople collaborates with Harvard Business School Online, New York University, University of California Berkeley, McGill University, and the University of Edinburgh and is supported by foundations such as the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation and Hewlett Foundation. Learn more at www.uopeople.edu.