I wonder if there's any reason that Straighterline couldn't cut a deal (probably with Excelsior) and develop all the courses required for an A.S. degree. You know how they have "your freshman year for $1000". Well, imagine "your A.S. degree for $3000". I say three thousand because EC will want its cut, but I'm hoping they would lower the cost a bit if they literally had to do nothing and were getting a bunch of students through SL. Consider it a bulk discount, so basically your degree for $2000 to SL + $1000 to EC, both companies win, big time, due to their low overhead (no reviews required, etc). This would put Straighterline in the amazing position of being able to essentially grant degrees at a price that is mind boggling while still turning a huge profit. Could this happen? I'm sure they've already thought of it, the question is, are they going to try it, or is there some reason they can't or won't. I would die of happiness if something like this was successfully implemented! What would be even better? Your B.A. for $5,000 (I'd also settle for $6,000 or even $7,000). Sure, it would be limited in scope, some degrees don't suit themselves to strictly online study with no dedicated instruction, but surely a well-tailored B.A. could be developed someday?
I don't see that happening but a Straighterline course is no different than any other self-paced distance learning course. Due to the nature of how they "write" their courses they are in serious trouble of being compromised completely but hopefully they fix that in the future.
There really isn't any reason why you couldn't earn an associate's degree right now for the amount of $$ you're talking about. You can do this with a combination of Straighterline, CLEP and DSST.
@AV8R: Well, sure you could, but not everyone wants to participate in testing. I think that one of the disadvantages to our preferred system at DI is that it is fragmented and generally requires several different types of programs. Some people will only want to participate in a certain type of learning. It would be desirable to have a simple, cheap, class-based method of earning a degree that does not require testing for those who are uncomfortable with it or perform poorly on tests. I'm not suggesting it is superior in price or outcome to CLEP except in certain cases concerning the individuals attitude and aptitude. Also increased simplicity will increase those who learn enough about the program to actually take a shot at it. I also suspect that publicity will spread like wild-fire if a program like this is interested. I'm not so much interested in just having a method, I want a wide range of people to know about it, succeed in performing, and benefit accordingly. @lawrence: This has not come up on my radar yet, thanks for sharing! This is great news! @JB: Let's hope they can stay trusted and credible or this whole conversation is moot. I am sure they will.
