I would like to share with you a new model of higher education, a model that, once expanded,

can enhance the collective intelligence of millions of creative and motivated individuals
that otherwise would be left behind. Look at the world. Pick a place and focus on it.
You will find humans chasing higher education. Let's meet some of them.
Patrick. Patrick was born in Liberia to a family of 20 children.
During the civil war, he and his family were forced to flee to Nigeria.

There, in spite of his situation, he graduated high school with nearly perfect grades.
He wanted to continue to higher education, but due to his family living on the poverty line,
he was soon sent to South Africa to work and send back money to feed his family.
Patrick never gave up his dream of higher education. Late at night, after work, he surfed the net, looking for ways to study.

Meet Debbie, Debbie is from Florida, her parents didn't go to college, and neither did any of her siblings.

Debbie has worked all her life, pays taxes, supports herself month to month, proud of the American dream,
a dream that just won't be complete without higher education. But Debbie doesn't have the savings for higher education.
She can't pay the tuition. Neither could she leave work.
Meet Wael. Wael is from Syria, he's experiencing firsthand the misery, fear and failure imposed on his country.
He's a big believer in education. He knew that if he could find an opportunity for higher education, an opportunity to get ahead of the rest,
he has a better chance to survive in a world turned upside down.

The higher education system failed Patrick, Debbie and Wael, exactly as it is failing millions of potential students millions that graduate high school,
millions that are qualified for higher education, millions that want to study yet cannot access it for various reasons.
First: financial. Universities are expensive; we all know it.
In large parts of the world, higher education is unattainable for an average citizen.

This is probably the biggest problem facing our society.

Higher education stopped being a right for all and became a privilege for the few.
Second: cultural. Students who are qualified for higher education can afford --
want to study -- cannot, because it is not decent, it is not a place for a woman.
This is the story of countless women in Africa, for example, prevented from higher education because of cultural barriers.
And here comes the third reason: UNESCO stated that in 2025, 100 million students will be deprived of higher education,
simply because there will not be enough seats to accommodate them, to meet the demand.
They will take a placement test, they will pass it, but they still won't have access, because there are no places available.

These are the reasons I founded University of the People, a nonprofit, tuition-free, degree-granting university to give an alternative,
to create an alternative, to those who have no other; an alternative that will be affordable and scalable,
an alternative that will disrupt the current education system,
and open the gates to higher education for every qualified student regardless of what they earn, where they live, or what society says about them.
Patrick, Debbie and Wael are only three examples out of the 1,700 accepted students from 143 countries. Thank you.

If the Internet has made us a global village, this model can develop its future leadership. Look how we do it.

We only offer two programs: business administration and computer science, the two programs most in demand worldwide,
the two programs that are likeliest to help our students find a job.
When our students are accepted, they are placed in a small classroom of 20 to 30 students,
to ensure that those who need personalized attention get it.
Moreover, for every nine-week course, they meet a new peer, a whole new set of students from all over the world.
Every week, when they go into the classroom, they find the lecture notes of the week, the reading assignment,
the homework assignment, and the discussion question, which is the core of our studies.

Every week, every student must contribute to the class discussion, and also must comment on the contribution of others.
This way, we open our students'minds, we develop a positive shift in attitude toward different cultures.
By the end of each week, the students take a quiz, hand in their homework,
which are assessed by their peers under the supervision of the instructors, get a grade, move to the next week.
By the end of the course, they take the final exam, get a grade, and follow to the next course.