California-based University of the People has embraced cryptocurrencies as part of its education revolution project. A report unveiled this news on December 15, noting that the university intends to accept donations in digital assets. Additionally, the institution seeks to let students across the globe pay down fees in crypto.
According to the , the University of the People became the first higher education institution to be non-profit, accredited, online, and tuition-free. With a track record of stepping out of the ordinary, the university said the decision to embrace crypto is pivotal in its operations because over 100,000 international students face financial and physical challenges when trying to transfer funds.
By embracing crypto donations, the university joins other higher education institutions that seek to transform how they accept payments. These include the Wharton School of Business, the University of California at Berkeley, Lehigh University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Adopting the currency of the future
While the University of the People is new to accepting crypto donations towards its endowment fund, it has already received $2 million (?1.50 million) in its mission to hit $10 million (?7.51 million).
Reportedly, the university got the donation from Albert Wenger, the managing partner at Union Square Ventures, and his wife, Susan Danziger, the founder of The Eutopia Foundation.
Explaining why the University of the People decided to set up its endowment fund to accept crypto, the institution’s president Shai Reshef, said,
As the university of the future, it makes perfect sense for us to create our endowment in the currency of the future. UoPeople has developed a new model of higher education and cryptocurrency is a new model of finance.
Crypto and blockchain-focused learning continues catching on
Apart from embracing crypto donations, the University of the People has vowed to offer learning and resources around cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and Ethereum (ETH/USD). The institution also seeks to integrate blockchain and crypto studies into its curriculum. Reshef pointed out that the university has a responsibility to educate its students on how cryptos are transforming the business industry.
The University of the People is also leveraging blockchain technology and cryptos to offer graduates tamper-proof digital diplomas in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In so doing, the university seeks to make the transfers of documents seamless and accessible, especially for refugees or graduates that need to provide proof of their education to employers abroad.
This news comes as crypto-based courses continue becoming popular. For instance, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies, a course offered by Princeton University on Coursera, became the 12 course Coursera students were most interested in this year.
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