How do you offer affordable secondary education these days? Just ask the folks at Jones International University (JIU).

It provides low-cost, elite-level education to the average businessperson because there are no facilities to maintain, no fraternities to support, no football team to promote, and no tenured teachers to pay.

Founded in 1993 by Glenn R. Jones, JIU went live in 1995 and graduated its first class of masters-level students in May 2001. The university is 100% online, available to all students, 24/7, from anywhere an Internet connection can be made. In fact, Vicente Fox, president of Mexico, gave the inaugural commencement address via the Internet.

JIU offers degree programs--undergraduate through doctoral--that emphasize business, finance, the global economy, and leveraging technology as a competitive advantage.

Students benefit from world class instructors from such institutions as MIT, Stanford, University of Michigan and London School of Economics and a university accredited through North Central Association.

JIU is built on internally developed software, which is available at no charge to any education institution interested in offering its course work on-line. Essentially the software has become open source. The software provides course delivery and a management platform. By giving away the software, JIU’s goal is to increase the availability of online education to the general masses, including K-12, a particular point of passion for Glenn Jones, according to JIU.

Course content is developed through contracts with topical experts to obtain timely, relevant, market-leading expertise. Steven Shapiro, VP of marketing and communications at Jones Knowledge, said, "We look across the landscape for experts for content development. For example, our courses in negotiation were developed by Gabby Soloman, a renowned negotiator, recognized by organizations and leaders across the globe." The content is hosted with complete backup and recovery supported by JIU at its Greenwood Village, Co. facilities.

By using the Internet as a delivery mechanism, open source software, and contract professors, JIU is able to provide an outstanding education at a fraction of the cost of real estate-based institutions.

JIU outsources two critical components of its institution. The first component is the virtual bookstore, mbsbooks.com. This is similar to an Amazon or Barnes and Noble on-line store, except that it supports institutions of higher learning.

As an accredited university, JIU must provide access to a library to its students. This is accomplished through the second outsourced component, e-global library. This library offers students a collection of digital resources, e-books, and textbooks. JIU has a librarian who verifies the legitimacy of the materials compiled at e-global library.

— Martha Young