College's $99 online courses could signal shift in cost trend - NorthJersey.com For $99 you can earn 3 credits from TESC using Saylor free courses.
I think they're free unless you attempt to take an exam or something for credit with them, at least that's how I was told about it by Saylor concerning their partnership with Straighterline, so this could be somewhat different.
This is really not anything amazing or truly new. The best part is that TESC is developing new tests to go with the wide array of Saylor courses. Basically, you're just studying for a TECEP by using Saylor courses. TECEPs have been around for awhile. Excelsior also recommends Saylor courses to study for ECEs.
And rightly so, since they offer a lot of stuff that's useful. I'm particularly pleased with their textbooks initiative.
Saylor is free- it's a site like Khan Academy (sorta) as a collection of 200+ online self-enclosed courses. We use the in our homeschool. They are 100% free- even books are ebooks and linked into the courses. The issue, is that people WANT college credit, so TESC is working on this. I think it's essentially a way to prepare for a TECEP exam. That's not a huge deal, since you can use Saylor to prepare for any other exam too.
Interesting marriage there. Saylor does have "free" for credit courses available. You do have to arrange for a test proctor which can be anything from free to whatever the market will bear ($25 seems to be the going rate for a librarian or college test center proctor). National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors And ...here's the kicker...the courses are National CCRS (old PONSI) reviewed. They are sort of like ACE courses and the receiving college has to be down with receiving them.
I had heard of Saylor before, but never really looked into them. I know this topic has been beat to death, but it really would be nice for someone with an advanced degree, like a master's level or beyond, to be able to take these courses and apply them for things like certain major pre-reqs. Of course, I'm talking about med school, nursing, etc. You would take these courses, successfully complete them, and then pay a relatively inexpensive fee to sit and take an equivalency examination. You pass and the school gives you credit for that pre-req course. It's not a new concept or anything, but a way for someone looking to change careers (hint hint) to be able to receive credit without breaking the bank again. This is just one of many that would work, or could work with some minor revisions. BIO302: Human Anatomy « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors
I think they're too loose for that. Meaning, there isn't any accountability. It's really just an organized collection of indy learning in a sequence that makes sense. My 9th grader just finished the music appreciation course. It's totally on your honor, there is no record and no admin feature to verify anything. (unlike ALEKS or Khan) BUT, for what it offers, I think it's fantastic. The music course was really interesting (or so my son says). It only took him about 8 weeks, and that was light. He did a few lessons a few times per week. Again, it is what it is. And, for the price, it's a win. I think you can use this for homeschooling and REALLY get use out of it. I don't yet know how well it prepares you for exam credit.
I will no doubt use it for home schooling in addition to regular school. It's a great resource. :beerchug:
That's kind of how it works for Microbiology with Straighterline. You go through the Saylor course for free and pay the fee for the proctored exam. However, you have to be a paying subscriber to Straighterline in order to receive ACE credit. Of course, it's up to the school if they'll accept ACE credits. University of Texas' Alternative-Entry PhD in Nursing actually recommends Straighterline for several prerequisites.
