Is A College Class For $138 Too Good To Be True?

Launched in 2008, for-profit online college course provider StraighterLine, Inc. is starting to capture media attention with its offer of general education courses for as low as $138 per month -- or $999 for a first-year course load.

According to the Baltimore Sun, StraighterLine differentiates itself from other internet-only institutions because it does not offer degrees -- rather, it sells courses that most universities require, and encourage students to transfer credits earned via its website to more traditional institutions.

Because it does not confer degrees, StraighterLine cannot become accredited, but its courses have been reviewed by the American Council on Education. Still, for some colleges, an ACE recommendation simply isn't enough -- in the words of University of Baltimore Provost Joseph S. Wood, "It's just easier to do transfers with other accrediting institutions. The accreditation is what gives me the assurance of the integrity of the academic program."

Students who choose to take a class through StraighterLine commit to self-directed, self-paced study, with the help of online tutors and course advisors. Those who enroll in StraighterLine courses can transfer credits to the 22 partnered institutions, or can petition a different university to accept StraighterLine class credits.

In a February interview with the Washington Post, StraighterLine Founder Burck Smith explained that the types of courses are a "commodity" at traditional colleges.

According to the Sun, the Smith affirms that StraighterLine can act as an academic scaffold for students who would like to pursue traditional degrees. "The academic validity of our courses is a kind of a moot point at this point. There's nothing that we're doing different from an academic perspective than what colleges are doing themselves," he said.

Would you take a course offered by StraighterLine, or a similar company? Have you?

Comments

[mollypot]

11:04 AM on 11/03/2010

Clovis Community College of New Mexico offers 2 courses (6 credits) for $136.00 and they are accredited; they confer associates degrees and they have an honor society that leads to scholarships; they have relationships with accredited 4 year institutions for students who wish to pursue a bachelors degree. They are a traditional community college who also offers online coursework. This StraightLine, Inc. sounds just like another rip off to me.

[Burck Smith]

10:45 AM on 11/03/2010

Thanks! A few updates. Our courses are more affordable than what's listed. We charge $99/month plus a one-time $39 fee per course. Also, we have 22 colleges -- including public colleges in 9 states -- who have agreed to award credit for our courses. Further, our courses are recommended by the ACE Credit service. There are 1200+ colleges that say they award credit for such courses. A list is on the ACE website. However, we tell students to check with the college where they plan to enroll if they are using ACE. Colleges will often award credit, but not make it meaningful. For instance, a student may not be able to apply credit toward their major or a decision may not be made until after a student has enrolled.

Lastly, we are finding that many colleges are echoing some of the comments in the Sun article. Colleges want to award credit on a case-by-case basis and point to the administrative ease of using accreditation (or the lack thereof) as a basis for course integrity. This allows colleges to admit students who navigate the maze of credit transfer, but not make it widely known that a more affordable option exists. While this is common, it is an untenable. First, colleges shouldn't be able to award credit for a course to one student but not to another. Second, the ACE process is also a proxy for course-level quality, and a better one at that.

Burck Smith, CEO, StraighterLine

[power1234a]

10:36 AM on 11/03/2010

hmmm.... but my community college offers more classes and they are only 175.50 (3 credit hour class). no transfer issues either.....

[Burck Smith]

11:20 AM on 11/03/2010

StraighterLine is less expensive that about 3/4 of the community colleges, and StraighterLine receives no state subsidies or access to federal grants. Further, given state and federal budgets, watch for even faster tuition growth among public colleges in the next year.

[ragtag]

09:40 AM on 11/03/2010

"There's nothing that we're doing different from an academic perspective than what colleges are doing themselves,"

Au contraire!

You're not charging an arm, leg and first-born child simply to take core classes...personally, I used CLEP for approximately 20 credits...

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

02:46 AM on 11/03/2010

Big deal......My community college offers a full complement of courses for less than this price per semester.....

[ragtag]

09:42 AM on 11/03/2010

Wow! What kind of fed/state taxpayer subsidized school is that!

I've yet to see a college that could compete with $999 a year.

[olddognewtrick]

10:58 PM on 11/02/2010

More Huff Puff...