Like many young people around the world, Emmanuel dreamed of getting a university education in the United States.
像世界各地很多年轻人一样，伊曼纽尔(Emmanuel)梦想着在美国接受大学教育。
The 26-year-old only told VOA his first name because he is an undocumented immigrant. This means he does not have the official documents needed to enter, live in, or work in the U.S. legally.
这位26岁的年轻人只告诉我们他的名字，因为他是非法移民。这意味着他没有获得合法入境、居住或在美国工作所需要的官方文件。
Emmanuel came to the U.S. from Mexico five years ago. But, when he arrived, he discovered that his dream was much more difficult to achieve than he thought.
伊曼纽尔五年前从墨西哥来到美国。但是当他到了之后，他发现自己的梦想比他想象的更难以实现。
"First I had to learn English and realized that there were very few opportunities for me to really study into formal education in the United States."
他说，“首先我得学习英语，并认识到了我难有机会在美国真正接受到正规教育。”
But then Emmanuel read about University of the People. University of the People is a university that has no tuition costs. The university's classes and teaching materials are all free online. Also, all of the teachers are volunteers.
但是后来伊曼纽尔了解到了美国人民大学。美国人民大学是一所没有学费的大学。该大学的所有课程和教材都在网上免费提供。此外，所有的老师都是志愿者。
Federal laws in the U.S. do not prevent undocumented immigrants from going to college. But laws do ban undocumented immigrants from receiving government financial aid.
美国联邦法律未禁止非法移民上大学。但是法律禁止非法移民获得政府财政援助。
The Pew Research Center is an organization that studies social issues around the world. The organization recently reported there were 11.3 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. in 2014. Of those, 49 percent were from Mexico.
皮尤研究中心是一家研究世界各地社会问题的机构。该机构最近报道称，2014年有1130万非法移民居住在美国。其中49%来自于墨西哥。
Many undocumented immigrants like Emmanuel come to the U.S. with little money to pay for things like higher education. College Board is an organization that collects information and resources to make higher education more available.
许多非法移民像伊曼纽尔一样只带了很少的钱来美国，没法支付高等教育之类的费用。美国大学理事会是一家收集信息和资源让高等教育更容易获得的机构。
The organization recently reported on the average cost of a four-year degree at both public and private U.S. universities.
该机构最近报道了获得美国公立和私立大学四年制学位的平均学费。
The average cost at a public university is $9,410 for a resident of the state where the university is located. The average cost at a private university is $32,405.
公立大学对学校所在州的居民收取的平均学费为9410美元。私立大学的平均学费为32405美元。
College Board also reported that 69 percent of financial aid came from the U.S. government in 2014.
美国大学理事会还报道称，2014年69%的财政援助来自于美国政府。
Emmanuel had no other choice, so he chose to study at University of the People. Quickly, he said, he believed that the university would give him the skills for a future in computer science.
伊曼纽尔别无选择，所以他选择了在美国人民大学就读。很快他就表示，他认为这所大学能给予他在计算机科学这个行业开创未来的技能。
Shai Reshef is the president of University of the People. He was born in Israel. Reshef made millions of dollars as the chief executive officer of the Kidum Group. The Kidum Group was a company that helped students prepare for tests.
沙伊·瑞希夫（Shai Reshef）是美国人民大学的校长。他出生在以色列。瑞希夫作为Kidum集团的首席执行官赚了数百万美元。Kidum集团是一家帮助学生准备考试的公司。
Reshef decided to create a tuition-free university after visiting several poor countries. People in those countries had limited higher education opportunities.
瑞希夫决定创办一所不收学费的大学是在访问了几个穷国之后。这些国家的人们鲜有机会接受高等教育。
"We built a model to show universities, to show governments that the issue of higher education can be solved. Higher education can be accessible, can be affordable, can be high-quality and shouldn't leave anyone behind."
他说，“我们建立了一个典范，向各个大学和各个政府表明高等教育问题是可以解决的。高等教育可以轻易获得，可以负担得起，可以高质量，而且不应该抛弃任何人。”
Currently, the University of the People only offers degrees in computer science and business administration. Though tuition is free, the university does require students to pay a $50 application fee. Also, the university requires students to pay a $100 test fee when they complete a class.
目前，美国人民大学只提供计算机科学和工商管理的学位。虽然学费全免，该大学确实要求学生们支付50美元的申请费。此外，该大学要求学生们在完成一门课程时缴纳100美元的考试费。
The total cost for a four-year degree is $4,000. But the university does offer scholarships.
该大学的四年制学位的总学费是4000美元。但是该大学不提供奖学金。
Students must be at least 18 years old. They must be highly skilled in English. Students must also have completed high school.
学生必须年满18岁。他们必须熟练掌握英语。学生们还必须高中毕业。
The university has students from 170 countries. Refugees are among the university's student population. Reshef also said that almost 25 percent of the students are undocumented immigrants.
该大学的学生来自170个国家。难民也是该学校的学生群体之一。瑞希夫表示，将近25%的学生是非法移民。
To help these students, the University of the People works with other schools such as New York University, Oxford University and Yale University.
为了帮助这些学生，美国人民大学同其它大学，例如纽约大学、牛津大学和耶鲁大学展开合作。
University of the People also works with companies like Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. Some of these partners provide students with financial help. Other partners offer students internships.
美国人民大学还同微软、惠普等公司合作。其中一些合作伙伴给学生们提供经济上的帮助。其它合作伙伴则为学生们提供实习机会。
The Distance Education Accrediting Commission or DEAC is a U.S. organization that reviews the quality of online schools and schools without physical classrooms. The DEAC approved the University of the People's quality of education in 2014.
美国远程教育认证委员会（简称DEAC）是一家审查网校和没有实体教室的学校的质量的机构。美国远程教育认证委员会2014年承认了美国人民大学的教学质量。
Emmanuel said he misses seeing and working with other students in a classroom. But he does love working with students in many countries online.
伊曼纽尔表示，他没有在教室中看到其他学生并共同合作的机会。但是他很喜欢同许多国家的学生在网上合作。
"It helps me to realize that I'm not limited to just staying in one country."
他说，“这帮助我认识到，我不仅仅限于呆在一个国家。”
There are more than 2,500 students studying with the University of the People. The university expects that number to double next year.
目前有超过2500名学生在美国人民大学就读，该校预计明年该数字将会翻番。
Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs are free online classes that universities all over the world provide. Stanford University began offering free MOOCs in 2006. Oxford University began offering free online classes in 2009.
大规模开放网上课程（简称MOOCs）是世界各地大学提供的免费网上课程。斯坦福大学从2006年开始提供免费的大规模开放网上课程。牛津大学于2009年开始提供免费网上课程。
But, these classes are not part of a degree program.
但是，这些课程并非学位课程的一部分。
I'm Pete Musto.
我是皮特·穆斯托。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)