Although it is hardly a new arrival on the university scene, College Unbound (CU), a start-up founded in 2009 for underserved adult learners, is increasingly being seen as a viable model for the future of flexible education in light of looming demographic changes and distrust in higher education.
Instead of a traditional degree programme, CU develops personalised lifelong degree plans for adults with some college credits but no degree.
Earlier this year, the organisation was granted full accreditation by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) – the governing body that recognises Ivy League universities such as Harvard.
Nicholas Longo, director of the Rutgers University Democracy Lab and a CU board member, said it was pretty much unheard of for a new accredited university to be created in New England through NECHE – particularly such a “radical” and “cutting edge” one like CU.
“But CU [achieved] it because they are providing something unique that’s desperately needed in higher education.
“I think what College Unbound is doing represents a new more collaborative paradigm, which is more about the co-creation of knowledge, as opposed to simply being more interactive in how you help students learn.”
“I think most people in higher education realise there is a need for some reforms and are looking for new ways of doing things, and so CU can be an incubator for new ideas and ways of learning,” said Longo.
Alexander said the organisation could face pushback from the more traditional parts of the sector because CU supports social justice; is democratically oriented, with students having significant say in their educational path; has no research agenda; and operates on a limited budget.
And although Longo believed that the campus life model would never be fully replaced, he said there was also room for places like CU to reimagine it.
“Places where people live and work, like barber shops, libraries and workplaces, can also be sites for higher learning. Learning was already happening in these places; CU is just helping to make it valued in a more formal way to make it work towards a degree.”