Free College Education.... Take that Sallie Mae

I was listening to Shai Reshef speaking about the cost of higher education on the TED channel this morning.  He is the founder of the University of the People (http://uopeople.edu/),  a non profit university that has free tuition for anyone wishing to get a B.A. or Associates in Computer Science or Business Administration.  The catch?  Students pay only for their exams.  The way he figured it, that number works out to approximately $4000.00 total for four years of college.

I went to a four year university and earned both my B.A. and my M.A., and while I will treasure every moment there, as well as the wonderful people I met during my time, the price tag was astronomical.  I should have been a doctor.  Reading the loan papers, by the time I am finished paying off my school loans, I will have paid them $300,000.00 in interest alone.

Yes, you read that right.  Three hundred thousand dollars in interest to pay off my student loans.  I am pretty sure the minimum payment is a thousand dollars a month, to go up as my pay increases over the years.  (In case the government hasn't figured it out yet, most people are broke, and even with the college degree won't make too much more than minimum wage.)

But, what if Mr. Reshef is correct in his dream of higher education?   What if a student could get a degree for next to nothing, online in their spare time?  What if the degree earned was looked on favorably by employers?   Yes, I know that there are plenty of online colleges, and that physically attending school is not the only choice any longer, even for kids as young as elementary age.   However, when it comes to higher education, it gets tricky.

The University of Phoenix charges $22,000 a year for their business program.  That is a huge difference from the $1000.00 a year Mr. Reshef is suggesting.  The Art Institute, Kaplan University, Walden, they all charge typical college prices, despite being online.

Coursera (coursera.com) is another free online site that allows anyone to take college classes taught by the actual professors from prestigious schools, and they only ask $45.00 per class if you want to get a certificate that says you finished the class and your grade.

I know that free education is going to be an uphill battle, but it is on the horizon.  Someday in the future, all higher education will be free.  This is a dream I share with many others.  What about the professors? Will they still be paid?  Will there be anyone left to teach if all the schools are free?  Will I be out of a job?  I think Mr. Reshef and Coursera  have fixed that by charging for the exams.  Professors still get paid, students earn a degree and the computer servers are well maintained with the monies collected.

Some day students will graduate with a four year degree without the mortgage sized bill hanging over their heads.

  Sallie Mae be damned.