Thread by @designmom

A little story: “Everything you need to learn to be a rocket scientist is available online, right now, for free."

Several years ago, @BenBlair (my husband) and @JoshStanley (my brother) learned that premise and it stuck with them.

If that premise was true (and they could see it clearly was true), then tuition rates should be falling — and falling fast. But they’re not. U.S. College Tuition is outrageous, and it gets worse every year!

theatlantic.com/education/arch…

In response, they set out to build the Most Affordable, Accredited, U.S.-based, Degree-Granting University possible — and make it available to students all over the world. And they’ve succeeded.

Permit me to brag a bit about what they’ve built and why it's so cool.

It’s called Newlane University @NewlaneU and big news: they just received International Accreditation from ASIC. The accreditation process is intense and lengthy and expensive. Building a university from scratch, and achieving accreditation is a BIG deal.

newlaneuniversity.com

The pricing: Each Newlane degree is $1500, payable at $40/month. If you want to earn an Associates Degree & Bachelors Degree, that’s $3000 total—again, paid at $40/mo. If you already have an Associates Degree, and want to earn a Bachelors Degree, it would be $1500, at $40/mo.

For reference, the next most affordable 4-year degree I’ve seen offered is $5000.

#edtech #studentloans #highereducation #affordablecollege #onlineuniversity #debtfree

They welcome Transfer Credit. Maybe you started college, but didn’t get a chance to finish? You’re not alone! It's actually very common. You can typically apply those credits when you sign up for Newlane, and that can cut your time to graduation significantly.

They welcome U.S. students and International students, and currently have students in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Italy, Zambia, UK, US, and more. Their professors and subject experts are also found worldwide.

Being an Intl student and earning a US-degree is out of reach for all but the world’s wealthiest. Just getting a student visa is a complicated and expensive process. Pre-paying tuition+living costs is even more expensive. So Newlane is an ideal option.

mbacrystalball.com/blog/2017/11/1…

One of the primary goals at @NewlaneU is helping students graduate debt-free. In fact, they are so affordable, they don’t offer student loans at all.

#moneytips #onlineuniversity #ADHD #collegemom #lifehack #studentloans #debtfree

The university is new and small. They currently have about 40 students. Their intention is not to limit enrollment — they just didn’t want to focus on marketing/outreach until they achieved International Accreditation. Which has now been achieved!

There is no set schedule of classes, so you can start any time, and go at your own pace. And every course is Competency-Based — passing a course means mastering all the course goals, not just sitting through lectures.

#competencybasededucation

Newlane launched with an Associates Degree in General Studies, and a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy. They had their first graduate last April and she went on to be accepted to a prestigious graduate program at the University of Nottingham.

Why Philosophy? Philosophy is one of the oldest degrees and signifies a true interest in learning. It gives you skills in critical thinking, being able to read well, write well, how to construct and critique arguments — skills that are valuable beyond earning your degree.

Also because Ben was charged with creating the first degree and his background is in philosophy. He earned two Masters and a PhD from Columbia in Philosophy & Education. He wrote the Newlane University Manifesto:

https://twitter.com/NewlaneU/status/1357018920503435268?s=20

#philosophytwitter #edtech

When you sign up, there's a one-time $249 registration fee. Try the program for 30 days and if it's not a good fit, no worries, they'll refund the fee. And you can pause the $40/mo at any time — like if there's a family matter that prevents you from studying for a few months.

If you have questions or would like to talk to them about Rising Tuition Costs, the Student Loan Crisis, Competency-Based Education, or Online Higher Ed, they would love to hear from you. They’re up for podcasts, Q&A, interviews, anything you like. DM them at: @NewlaneU

Want to know more? Here’s a Q&A I did with @benblair last week. It gives a good overview of Newlane University and answers the 25 most frequent questions they receive:

#moneytips #onlineuniversity #collegemom #lifehack #studentloans #debtfree

designmom.com/introducing-ne…