Photo source: The Challenge for Haitian Higher Education by INURED
Since last Thursday, two shifts of students have been filtering in and out of the student computer center. The first group of eight comes from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The second group stays from noon to 4:00 p.m. Some of them travel as much as an hour and a half each way to attend, walking up to 30 to 45 minutes from their homes to get to a road where they can take a shared taxi or "tap-tap."
The students have all passed the same tests and application process as their 700 peers from 100 different countries who are also enrolled in University of the People, and when they log into their classrooms, it's with these peers -- not the other students in their physical proximity -- that they're learning with. Because of this global environment, all of the courses are taught in English.
University of the People currently offers associate and bachelor degrees in computer science and business. Courses are 10 weeks long, and they're each taught by one of more than 2,000 volunteers ("not a bad teacher to student ratio for a university," Reshef jokes). Students have weekly reading assignments, homework, and quizzes. At the end of each course, there's an exam that contributes to their final scores.
While these new students have always been eligible to enroll in the university, there were other restrictions before the center was built. According to Lubin Charles, the administrator at the center, Internet connections in Haiti can cost as much as $60 USD for one month.
The Impact of Online Study
A report that the Inter-university Institute for Research and Development (INURED) wrote about higher education in post-earthquake Haiti noted "brain-drain" as one of the biggest challenges for Haiti's future.
"An uncalculated number of professors, professionals and students have fled Haiti after the earthquake, contributing to the brain-drain of a critically needed people for the country," the report states. "Most of the fellowships and scholarships granted to Haiti will compound the emigration of Haitian scholars to foreign countries."
One of the advantages of online education is that the students can access quality education while in Haiti. "Unlike those who leave to the states to study -- which if they succeed in doing so, they never return -- we want to keep them [in Haiti],” Reshef says.
University of the People has partnered with the Haitian Connection Network, an NGO that has been in Haiti for more than a decade. The organization helped the university set up the infrastructure, and they will also help students find jobs in Haiti or internet jobs with international companies once they've completed their degrees.
“If you have [a] university diploma, you will find a job in Haiti," Reshef says. "That’s like a precious thing to have. Any one of them will find a job because there aren’t a lot of university graduates in Haiti.”
A Model for the Future
University of the People plans to open up more student computer centers in Haiti; hoping to accommodate 250 students. The organization is already talking with four additional partners.
One potential partner is a foundation that has built a program for students who weren't able to continue with their education after the earthquake. That organization would like to use University of the People to help students resume their studies. Another partner has talked about facilitating more student computer centers in other parts of Haiti.
Reshef says that University of the People intends to expand the centers to other parts of the world that, like Haiti, could benefit from online education if "online" were more accessible.
Charles, who found the job as the learning center administrator when one of the students needed a recommendation for his application, is optimistic about the model: "Sincerely, everything is going well. Students are really excited. They always come. And they are there on time... I am optimistic that this program will help Haiti. We really need that. We can't talk about rebuilding Haiti without good education."
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