This Community College Boasts Ivy League Professors and Receives Support from Sam Altman
With the turning tide in higher education, 18-year-old Josie Lenter found herself in a familiar yet challenging situation: aspiring for further education but confronted by the hefty price tag. After a brief stint in pre-med, she had to drop out due to financial constraints. Then, she stumbled upon Campus, an innovative online community college offering quality education at an affordable cost.
Campus, the brainchild of Tade Oyerinde - a 30-year-old education tech entrepreneur - aims to revolutionize higher education. Backed by significant investments, including Bloomberg Beta, Precursor Ventures, City Light Capital, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Discord CEO Jason Citron, Campus seeks to address two significant issues in education: the scarcity of well-paying teaching opportunities and the astronomical cost for students to learn from top-tier faculty.
Oyerinde's vision is simple yet resonant. By providing opportunities for talented instructors from top 50 universities to teach in a low-cost, distributed online platform, Campus bridges the gap between excellent teaching resources and financially constrained students.
The online college's enrollment has grown steadily, now boasting above 2,000 active students. Initially offering only one degree – an Associate in Business Administration – Campus now includes an optional concentration in Applied AI. The cost is a budget-friendly $7,200 per year or $200 per credit hour, which is lower than the maximum Pell grant award. This effectively makes Campus a tuition-free option for low-income students.
While the number of graduates is still relatively small, the future potential of Campus's alumni pool is high. Campus graduates have enjoyed seamless transitions into four-year degree programs, a testament to its reputation and quality of education.
Oyerinde's fit into the higher education landscape is a byproduct of his previous venture, Campuswire – an all-in-one platform for professors to host discussions, online classes, and messaging. He quickly identified the adjunct faculty crisis, which Campus now seeks to address by offering competitive pay rates of $8,000 per class per quarter, attracting an impressive roster of faculty from world-class universities.
The success of Campus's faculty hiring strategy is reflected in the growing number of top-tier scholars onboard, including experts from Princeton, Stanford, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and Brown University. Devoted to both teaching and research, these professors bring real-world experiences and cutting-edge perspectives to the online classroom.
The unique blend of affordable education, top-tier faculty, and a convenient online format has attracted students like Josie Lenter. The platform's accessibility and affordability provides students with the opportunity to expand their horizons while maintaining a balance between personal and academic responsibilities.
Campus's innovative approach to education marks a significant leap forward in accessibility and affordability, offering students from all backgrounds the chance to reap the benefits of a high-quality education. With its focus on student success, competitive teaching opportunities, and commitment to providing a secondary education at an affordable price point, it is no surprise that Campus is gaining traction in the digital age of higher education.
- Josie Lenter was inspired by Campus, an online community college founded by education tech entrepreneur Tade Oyerinde, which aims to make quality education affordable for students.
- Jason Citron, the CEO of Discord, along with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, have invested in Campus, an online college offering an Associate in Business Administration for as low as $7,200 per year.
- Shaquille O'Neal, the famous basketball player, has shown his support for Campus by offering scholarships for eligible students, recognizing its impact on making higher education accessible to everyone.
- Under the leadership of Sam Altman and Jason Citron, Campus's mission to revolutionize education by providing affordable education and competitive pay rates for adjunct professors is gaining traction in the higher education community.
- Campus's online format and focus on entrepreneurship, as shown by courses taught by entrepreneurs like Sam Altman and Sam Lessin, makes it an attractive option for students interested in pursuing a career in business administration or entrepreneurship.
