Tuition-Free University of the People’s Enrollment Surpasses 100,000 Students

Providing Opportunities To Those Who Thought College Education Was Impossible

PASADENA, CA (September 7, 2021) – University of the People (UoPeople) is now providing educational opportunities to 106,042 students from 200 countries and territories around the world – more than twice the number from a year ago. Whether they are working adults, disabled persons, refugees, undocumented students, or simply those who don’t have the money to pay exorbitant tuition costs, they all found the answer to their educational dreams at UoPeople.

UoPeople is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited online university designed to provide affordable and accessible higher education opportunities to any qualified student. The university offers high-demand undergraduate and graduate degree programs. In the last year alone, the number of students skyrocketed from 43,826 students to 106,042 – an increase of 142%.

“University of the People was founded with the belief that education is a fundamental right for all,” said UoPeople President Shai Reshef. “We started the university so that every high school graduate, regardless of their financial, geographic, political or personal situation, can have the opportunity to earn a college degree. We could not be prouder to serve more than 100,000 students that would never have had the opportunity to earn a college degree if it was not for UoPeople.”

From its inception, UoPeople has focused on providing opportunities for those who have no other recourse for higher education. Most of its students are non-traditional and include working adults with children, DACA students, disabled individuals and asylum-seekers, including more than 7,000 refugees – mainly from Syria. Following the Taliban’s recent takeover in Afghanistan, the university is providing 1,000 scholarships to Afghan women to ensure they can obtain a college education safely online.

Although students from the United States make up the largest percentage of its enrollment, UoPeople’s students come from more than 200 countries and territories. The university’s Arabic division, which offers degrees taught entirely in Arabic, nearly doubled in size this year to nearly 10,000 students. What all these students have in common is the burning desire to get a college education and improve their lives and those of their families.

Take for example, 32-year-old Chan Bath Pektek, an orphan from South Sudan who was kidnapped and forced to be a child soldier for three years, who never thought he would be able to go to college until he heard about UoPeople. Or Stephanie Stump, a 31-year-old student from Tennessee who is working full-time and raising two autistic children. When she learned about UoPeople, she jumped at the opportunity to earn a college degree online.

“One of the main reasons students are coming to University of the People is because there is a tremendous unmet demand for affordable higher education programs that are of high quality and easily accessible online from anywhere in the world,” said UoPeople President Shai Reshef. “UNESCO estimates that by 2025 there will be nearly 100 million young people seeking seats in universities that do not exist. Our goal is to provide the opportunity to get a college education to as many people as possible.”

The university does not charge any tuition or enrollment fees and all course materials are available online for free. UoPeople does charge a $60 application fee and a nominal assessment fee of $120 at the end of each undergraduate course and $240 for its graduate-level courses. To fulfill its mission that no qualified student be left behind, the university offers financial aid for those who cannot afford the modest course assessment fees.

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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 106,000 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, 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