I stumbled upon Project Polymath while searching whether the concept of a specific "polymath degree" existed.
I've finished 6 years of college credit (BS in MIS degree, with lots of literature and science). 3.5 of those have been credit by examination, 2 by classroom, and 0.5 by online classes, and from 4 different colleges. I'd like to have a PmD (Doctor of Polymathy) degree someday because I love adding knowledge, but the thought of overspecialization doesn't really appeal enough to pursue traditional degree advancement beyond what I have.
I am a graduate of Excelsior College (http://excelsior.edu). If you're not yet aware of it, it might be worth looking into as an example of how Project Polymath could bootstrap itself.
Excelsior started primarily as a "credit aggregator". They started by accepting credit liberally from other universities and allowing students to get credit from the various test-for-credit programs like AP, CLEP, and DANTES. They also allow undergraduate credit for technical certifications, high GRE scores, and various other sources with a general philosophy of "it's not about how you learned what you know, only that you know it". They're an accredited university, and have been pretty successful, evolving into offering their own test-for-credit exams, online courses, and a pretty sizeable menu of degree programs. The most important thing is that they've managed to work with the accrediting folks to be sure that their degree programs and course requirements measure up to standards, and that's been a huge part of their success.
Following a similar path may be the surest route to success for Project Polymath. The strength would come from the various combinations that are used to build degrees. I'm not too sure how strict the accrediting boards are, but being able to meet the standards for a liberal arts degree would go far to establishing a base to build the real "meat and bones" of what the project is trying to achieve. It would let you start building your programs without having to put so much effort into building and supporting actual classrooms/courses at first.
Just a thought. Hope it helps generate some ideas/strategies.
