just spoke with Peter Burns and he says the only one throwing deathblows will be him! www.PETER-BURNS.com

This would be a wonderful addition to any entrepreneur's warchest if it's done right. Sign me up!

Yes.Yes.. This would be great for all of us.....Sign me up....

I don't think this will hurt other online schools at all. People who truly want the knowledge from their degree program, go to school to learn. Others just want the credentials. Certainly I wouldn't hire someone with a surface level degree! I want the real thing!

My first reaction is to not trust an online university,. The combination of those two words devalues the second one immediately, to my way of thinking. I have no experience with this, that's just my initial gut reaction.
If I knew the background of how such a university came to be, that an entrepreneur bought it just to give out degrees his way, I'd also be cautious due to whatever I know about how one normally gains a degree and why. Again, no experience, just initial gut reaction based on whatever influences have put this mindset of mine in place.
Having said all of that, if I knew more about the man behind the mission, and what key players were involved and why, and I agreed with what they were attempting, I would be onboard and do my best to learn from them and help promote them.
The opposite is true. If I learned on my own, or from a trusted source already proven to me to be reliable, that they were to be avoided, I'd pass that on to anyone who asked my opinion of the school.
Currently, my time and energy is maxed out on projects I'm barely keeping pace with, so I wouldn't be interested in even researching this school, unless a mentor told me specifically to do so.
As far as hurting the online schools already in place? That brings into play, Zipf's (sp?) Law and Milgram's Law and I can never remember which is which. But the people will follow who they perceive to be the best already, and the one who does the best is the perceived expert to be listened to, sometimes against all reason. I doubt the current online schools have anything to fear. They already have the mindshare.

sound like a great debate. I always wanted to give something a deathblow.

in response to Jensen above, a name like Michael Gerber could definitely give an established school a run for it's money. and making it free... no contest!

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Anyone who would like to join our panel, we MAY have one seat left (that also means a free ticket to SXSW!)

Also if you just have ideas for discussion, or people I should talk to, let me know... call 1.877.777.2469 11am-11pm PST 7days. thanks! ~V

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Online anything, especially!!!! a University is easy, safe and free,; it's about time.

Joanne Victoria

if UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX makes $2.7 billion a year... they have enough to kill (I mean like assassinate) peter burns and michael gerber and get away with it.... so no, the free university won't compete... but I'd love to see them try... and I'll be rooting for the underdog!

I have worked for a long time in the for profit education sector, and am really excited to see this panel. The business world is ruled by innovators. U of Phx is a innovator in the education world and this MAY be the next step.
If you really think about how most kids get degrees at traditional universities (drinking beer, partying, and skipping class) an online school designed for professionals to share ideas in a collaborative virtual environment suddenly does not seem so bad.

There is a whole world of baby boomers committed to life long learning, and on line is the only way to go! if the degree is properly recognised, then always room for "great"!

I was at first taken aback by this article ... it's not my style to attack, as that is primarily a masculine energy, but ... "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" is suiting to the game being played here! the Donald is known for his attack strategy and it does make sense to meet him at this level in his own game. Good for you for having the guts, Victory, and the courage "to take a bullet for what you believe". Even tho it appears to be questionable in the grand scheme of "good v Bad" thinking of some, it also displays integrity - the backbone to stand up for what you believe - and an intention to take a winning but fairly exclusively unreachable idea and bring it out to the rest of the world.

i'm back... forgot to give you the 5 stars! ;)

sounds great. there's a lot of new entrpereneur universities starting up actually.. hope u get as many of these guys as possible!

Wow, this would be so GREAT!!! I'm a new graduate of a non-online degree program which I spent an arm and a leg for. . and now am currently looking at online degree programs. .they also cost an arm and a leg. I want this free university to happen! I'd sign up today!!!

A great idea! There are so many people out there who want to get a degree but are put off by the financing. This will help many people

I am all for online university's. I am a stay at home mom and being able to get my education from home would be helpful.

Online universities seem like a great idea, but I honestly don't trust they bring a lot of credibility to your resume/education . . . yet.

It seems like a good idea. IT has some real potential. I would like to see how well it works.

I think it is a wonderful idea! The world is still full of great ideas. It should be fun to watch this take shape!

Sounds great to me. There are always new ways to try different things. I think it would be wonderful to have this kind of debate !!!

Definitely a good topic. The Internet seems to be the way of the future.

Are online U's really accredited??? Jobs I have applied for seem to require accredited university degrees. This type of university concerns me.

I think it would be wonderful to have this kind of debate !!!

A free online university is no doubt a novel experiment in the field of education on the part of Entrepreneur Lord Peter Burns and all students will overwhelmingly welcome and appreciate this generous initiative. If the University website is able to provide quality degrees of value in the job market then it will get huge traffic and can also be sustained through online advertising. All in all it is a nobel venture and should be supported by all. My personal view is that this topic should get its due attention and evaluation at the event.

The world is still full of great ideas. It should be fun to watch this take shape! Sounds great to me.

A Superb idea! There are so many people out there who want to get a degree but are put off by the financing. This will help many people. The world is still full of great ideas.

this is a fantastic idea.. keep it do the good work. surely you will get the support of the people.

I think its a great idea. Offer some options to education. Also the competition will be good for all.

It was just a matter of time before someone came up with this idea and I think that it is WONDERFUL!!!! Let's get this idea going!

I don't think this will hurt other online schools at all. People who truly want the knowledge from their degree program, go to school to learn. I'm sure that other people will still attend those schools.

I am kind of on the fence. And here is why:

Of all the online universities out there, the cheapest that I could find for a simple medical billing associate's degree was 10,000 a semester. Why? Because it was a growing trend and in demand. However, my local community college offers the exact same courses and degree and would only have cost me around 1,000for books and all. I believe that a little friendly competition would help to get these Big Box U's to come down a little on the pricing.

But on the flip side, I believe that offering it totally for free is not a smart idea. To begin with it would make the work and time invested out to be a joke. Subsidizing the cost however would be very beneficial. And making it no more than a community college charges would be a huge relief. But allowing those with low income to go for free would be a big help for those who weren't born with a silver spoon in our mouth to get a real education and be able to compete with those who have thier degree. Leveling out the playing field.

In summary, offering it totally free would damage the reputation. Allowing thier competitors to totaly make a huge joke of the whole deal. Thereby giving them the death blow they want. Staggering the cost will effectively hold its credibility. Offering the online courses will be a totally awesome thing. I would be the first to sign up.

********** THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT COMMENTS!!! ***********
really appreciate your time to register and comment... PLEASE REMEMBER TO RATE ME (5 stars!!!)

******** UPDATE ******** we will have a new Arizona U joining the debate who is reportedly spending $74 million on a new campus. They are an online U that is moving into the offline, so interesting to find out WHY they are doing that. Also Jon Ward from Trump University staff says he has a BOMB to drop about a totally new project. ...gonna be a hot debate... but where is Steli Efti from SuperCoolSchool???
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The point behind a degree- be it earned in a traditional or non-traditional setting- is to provide prospect employers with the knowledge that this person has been vetted to a certain point. I don't know how I feel about this, but it sure is interesting fodder for debate!

This sounds like an interesting choice for a debate topic. With the costs of campus universities continually rising, this would provide opportunity to those less fortunate to increase their education and public status. I like the sound of it.

This is an amazing idea. Would love to hear more.

Offer some options to education. Also the competition will be good for all. This sounds like an interesting choice for a debate topic.

I think this could be a successful enterprise however online universities will face alot of diffuculties since there is already ample free courseware on the web such as the open courseware project of Harvard...

Could be successful but when people aren't paying for it some will take it for granted and not perform as well. I am also skeptikal about these online degrees. So many out there are just basic course work. If the curriculum is good and the education received then obviously it could be successful.

My biggest question is would this university be accredited, or would it end up tricking people into thinking they got an education, and then not be able to use it.

This sounds good in theory, but I'm not sure if it can get off the ground. I do hope it works, its a great idea for those of us who are less fortunate.