User:Melanierdesilva/University Without Walls

University Without Walls The University Without Walls was a movement in higher education started by the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities (UECU) in the United States in 1970. The goal of the University Without Walls was to create a "utopian university" which made higher education accessible to a broad range of students, including non-traditional age students. The University Without Walls model was characterized by: involving students in the design of University Without Walls programs, giving value to and credit for experiential learning, and encouraging individualized degree planning. By 1972, twenty colleges and universities across the United States had created University Without Walls programs, with three thousand students enrolled. University Without Walls programs often served historically oppressed people, such as Native Americans, African-Americans, women, persons with disabilities, and inmates.

Today, University Without Walls programs still exist. Founded in 1971, the University Without Walls adult bachelor's degree completion program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has graduated close to 3000 students, including Julius Erving and Jeff Taylor. Consistent with the original University Without Walls model, the University of Massachusetts program supports students in created individualized degree plans and gives credit for experiential learning. Northeastern Illinois University, one of the original members of UECU, also continues to operate a University Without Walls program.