World Education University: Disruptive New Player in Free Online Higher Ed Movement

Unlike others in the low-cost/no-cost online education movement, WEU goes the extra mile toward ensuring educational equity by offering comprehensive post-secondary programs, not just surrogate hosting of individual coursework and certificate programs from others' schools.

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World Education University

Aug 01, 2012, 12:19 ET

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Aug.1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- World Education University today announced itself as the newest player in the free online, global higher education movement. Unique to the space, WEU (pronounced "We You") aims to become a comprehensive, degree-granting institution designed to offer unprecedented access to college diplomas and a better life for the growing millions of underserved, both nationally and around the globe.

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New Hope for the Disenfranchised
Founded by seasoned entrepreneurs WEU Chairman and CEO, Curtis Pickering and President and COO, Scott Hines, WEU is committed to a vision of free, global, high-quality education for all, with the core belief that education is a human right and an educated world is a safer, wiser, and more peaceful world. WEU offers a second chance for those to whom a higher education has been economically out of reach. It not only provides new access to historically underserved populations in high-poverty communities and developing nations, but also to the newly disenfranchised middle class who cannot afford the burden of debt associated with a university education.

"Scott and I are both from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds and products of free college education," says Pickering. "It was only because of an athletic scholarship in my case and the Air Force Academy in Scott's that we were both fortunate enough to have access to higher education. We profoundly believe that everyone should have this same opportunity."

Adaptive Learning Model Personalizes Instruction
WEU upends the traditional one-size-fits-all instructional model with its proprietary Pinpoint Adaptive Learning System (PALS), designed to meet each student where they are in terms of learning strengths and interests. PALS guides individual student learning paths by continually shifting content in response to ongoing feedback on real time learner data. Self-paced and accessible 24/7, course material and assessments are individualized and the platform is also designed to facilitate online collaboration that promotes communities of learners where students communicate, teach and assist each other. Students begin their individual learning journeys by taking a proprietary Cognitive Learning Assessment, which determines one of sixteen learning styles based on cutting-edge neuroscience. PALS then adapts learning content and modalities based on how each WEU student's brain best processes, stores and recalls information.

It's Not About Paying, But Paying it Forward
WEU wants to inspire an entire movement of socially conscious global citizens who will take the gift of a free WEU education and find ways to give back to their communities on both local and global levels. With a "Pay it Forward" button, WEU asks that all students agree to use their education to assist others in improving their life situations and to generally help shape a better, healthier, more just world. This honor system encapsulates the WEU vision and dedication to social entrepreneurship and social equity in today's world of "haves" and "have nots."

WEU plans to launch in Fall 2012 with a range of 21^st century course options, including programs and degrees in Business Administration, Computer Science, Chemistry, Fine Arts, Paralegal Studies, Mathematics, and much more.

About WEU
World Education University represents a game-changing paradigm shift in the American and global education model by providing free education to all. Aiming to be a comprehensive education ecosystem with programs from "Pre-K to Gray," WEU first seeks to be an accredited provider of high-quality university degrees and credentials that are offered to anyone, anytime, anywhere . . . free of charge.

With the education system as we know it broken, high schools failing students in masses and post-secondary programs offering varying levels of instructional quality at extraordinarily high cost, the time is ripe for WEU. WEU brings a completely fresh perspective to the education model from the outside looking in, building content and programs around the needs of learners and the industries that will eventually offer them jobs.

WEU reflects a disruptive and transformative business model that will forever alter the landscape of post-secondary education to embody the next "big idea" that will change the world. We believe that free university programs and degrees will have massive worldwide appeal, breaking down traditional economic, geographic and cultural barriers for students domestically and internationally. WEU aims to meet the growing demand of the current market, and projects millions of consumers clambering to sign up, login and learn.

Education Crisis Facts:

Every 26 seconds a student drops out of high school in America, and of those dropouts under age 24, 44% are jobless.
For many who can access post-secondary education, the costs associated with a four-year or graduate degree can leave them crippled with debt, with loan payments beginning nearly immediately upon graduation.
Student loans outstanding today — both federal and private — total some $829.785 billion. Some estimates have student loan debt in America exceeding one trillion dollars by mid-2012, a figure which surpasses the nation's credit card debt, which the Federal Reserve put at some $826.5 billion in June 2010.
Only 37% of students are able to pay school loans back in full and on time.
The federal government is reaching a funding cliff, meaning the amount of loan guarantees, rising costs of education and growth of default rates will soon converge into a crisis point, leading many economists to predict this as the next financial bubble to burst.

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SOURCE World Education University