Free University Project

Q: How are you going to make any money with this site?

A: When I start going on and on about the Free University Project to anyone who will listen, I am always astonished that this is the first question asked. The answer is -- I don't intend to make any money with this site. It is a gift, offered as a public service. It is in the tradition of the free schools that sprung up in the late Sixties and early Seventies, whose core ideas were eventually coopted by mainstream higher education with all of the altruistic spirit carefully wrung out.

Q: How long will this site be maintained?

A: As long as there is Cyberspace. Funds are being set aside to maintain this site in perpetuity. (With a tip of the hat to Masayoshi Son who built a fortune with Softbank in Japan and then proceeded to buy out the COMDEX shows and Ziff Davis among many others. I heard him tell about the start of his company -- he and two employees -- how he turned his dreams into reality and, now that he was 40 and raising a family, was thinking ahead 300 years. Benjamin Franklin thought far ahead, too when he endowed the Franklin Institute, which is still thriving.)

Q: Why are there no cool graphics?

A: Because at the present stage of development of the Internet the use of graphics which do not directly enhance the subject matter increase download time. While for some people with superfast machines this is not a problem, for others with older machines, slower modems, or limited access to the Internet, decorative graphics cost them time and money. Time also being money they are penalized twice. In addition, I want to make sure these pages are readily accessible using web tv devices.

Q: What are your qualification/credentials?

A: A couple of degrees from UCLA, a graduate year at the London School of Economics, a seminar leader and producer in adult continuing education, an active interest in the alternate education movement of the Seventies. I do not have a terminal degree. (Don't you just love that term.) I have also paid my dues to the computer industry as a software developer, systems integrator, and technical writer.

More importantly, I have put the site together. I have demonstrated that it can be done. I was hoping some college or university would take this initiative, but their administrators are more interested in collecting fees for Distance Learning than providing anything free. (Even though I think they are being short-sighted and would benefit in the long run.)

Q: Who do you think will benefit most from this project?

A: Hopefully all current or prospective students and their cash-strapped parents. Part of my motivation for this project came when I heard horror stories of the amount of debt graduates are carrying; part of it was out of frustration that institutions of higher learning were constantly wringing their collective hands about the rising costs of tuition, but not taking this simple step to control them. But more particularly, when I learned that a high percentage of students were no longer graduating within four years. Financially, the extra time spent is a double whammy: 1) they have to pay to attend an additional semester, or two or three, and 2) they lose the income they would have derived if they graduated in four years. Using a credit-by-examination strategy combined with guided independent study, students can pick up most, if not all of the credits they need to graduate within four years; and many could cut a full semester, or two, thereby cutting their debt load substantially.

(With thanks to Eugene M. Lang of REFAC, who I met in the late Sixties when I was bureau chief in Milan, Italy for McGraw-Hill World News and he was peddling low-tech American know-how overseas. A few years ago he was in the national spotlight for his work with high school students. When I called to congratulate him, he told me about the number of students who take five years and more, and I have been tracking it ever since. And also a nod to George Soros, who is using some of his wealth to promote higher education internationally, and, of course Walter Annenberg, whose foundation, working with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, provides rich course material carried on many -- unfortunately not all -- PBS stations.)

Q: Why did you choose the CLEP exams to start?

A: Because I don't like to reinvent the wheel. College-level proficiency exams, such as the CLEP, DANTES, PEP, TECEP are well established, well recognized and accepted by thousands of colleges and universities. Some external degree granting state colleges, like Regents College of the State of New York and Charter Oak in Connecticut also give substantial credits for successful completion of subject-specific Graduate Record Exams. They are also cheap. They lend themselves to the ethos of the Internet -- open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Students are not bound by college calendars as exams are offered many times during the year at many sites across the country, as well as overseas.

Q: Why do you think there will be enough lecture material posted on the Web to meet your goals?

A: At the present time barely one-tenth of one percent of the universe of college professors are using the Web as an instructional medium. As non-tenured faculty discover that as they demonstrate their capability to use the Web their employment opportunities will improve, they will post more course material. As senior faculty realize that their lectures need not fade away after retirement, more of them will also participate. (We offer free help and Web space to encourage them.)

And, of course there are those institutions (museums, corporations, libraries, government agencies, publishers, for example), and students, and a whole range of individuals, who post educationally-related material. Their numbers will increase dramatically. In addition, there is the entire English speaking faculty around the world to consider, not to mention faculty who post in other languages.

In the famous words of Al Jolson: "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

Your questions and comments are always welcome.