Tuition-free global higher ed institution World Education U adds Dr. Nelson Heller to its advisory board
World Education University (WEU, pronounced “we-you”), the world’s first tuition-free online global higher education institution, today announced the addition of the highly regarded Dr. Nelson Heller, to its advisory board.
Dr. Heller brings with him decades of experience in both the K-12 and higher-education worlds, including founding the business-to-business news and conferences service, The Heller Reports, in 1989. Nelson continued to lead The Heller Reports after its acquisition, including the EdNET conference (now in its 24th year) and webinars, by Scholastic in 2002. He became President of EdNET once the Scholastic unit was acquired by the MDR division of Dun & Bradstreet. At MDR he oversaw circulation of the weekly news publication, rebranded the EdNET Insight News Alert, reaches over 31 thousand education industry execs worldwide. As a result of his dedication to the Education Market place over the years, in 2001 Dr. Heller was awarded the Making IT Happen education industry award and, in 2009, was inducted into the Association of Education Publishers’ (AEP) Educational Publishing Hall of Fame. In 2011, Heller launched the HellerResults Group, a consulting firm that supports businesses in the Education Marketplace.
“It is gratifying to be a part of an undertaking such as WEU dedicated to the way the world thinks of higher education,” says Heller. “Imagine parents not having to tell their children that college is not an option due to tuition costs. From a historical perspective there haven’t been many paradigm changes in education delivery. We’re told that in 9th century England Alfred, the only English King to be called “The Great,” became the first ‘thought’ leader to promote widespread literacy amongst the masses. WEU’s vision to be the first offering tuition-free degrees to the world sets it apart. Massively Open Online Courses, so-called MOOCs, are becoming a hot item by recruiting thousands of students. WEU realizes the world demands not just courses but degrees and it’s exciting to be a part of the effort.”
WEU, which proudly leads the Education Should Be Free (ESBF) movement, recently announced the signing of its initial academic leadership team and will be opening its doors to students globally in late fall 2012.
“WEU is challenging the very basis of what the public has come to accept as the norm with higher education: that you will have to pay, and will most likely leave school with a mountain of debt to hang your degree from,” says WEU CEO Curtis Pickering. “It is the goal of everyone at WEU to offer its faculty and students the best possible experience. Dr. Heller’s deep-rooted influence and involvement in so many areas of the education industry will be invaluable to WEU moving forward. We are grateful to have such a mind on our advisory board.”
