Here is another contender in the category of “social network unis” - previous mentions of similar(ish) ideas in this blog have included CCLearn, WikiEducator, ITunesU, Ebay Uni, Academic Earth, and P2P.

University of the People, a nonprofit organisation, “promises to open the gates of higher education to anyone in the world interested in attending college.”  Anyone, that is, who has graduated from high school, speaks English and has reliable internet access.  Teaching begins in September 2009.

UoP is the creation of Shai Reshef, who runs Cramster, which he describes as “the leading online study community of students, educators and subject enthusiasts … the 21st century answer to the traditional college study group, helping students anywhere, anytime.”  An online commentator shows it in a different light, pointing out that it provides answers to questions in popular textbooks and so “facilitates cheating.”

Wired Campus expresses some doubts about UoP, suggesting that it “will most likely have more symbolic significance than practical impact on the higher-education landscape.”

Filed under: Social Networks, Wikis by Agnes Bosanquet