#10 Saylor Academy
Limited Transfer
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is not endorsed, evaluated, or approved by Saylor Academy in any way.
Official Website: www.saylor.org
What: 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that offers free and open online courses to anyone.
Who authorizes the college credit? Some of their courses have been evaluated by the American Council on Education as college credit eligible, while others are NOT worth college credit. Be sure to look for ACE designation next to any course you want to take for college credit. (What is ACE?)
Who accepts the credit? Saylor has a direct partnership with 23 partner colleges that have formal credit arrangements. Not all of their partners accept all of their courses for credit. Furthermore, the course equivalency list may be one or more semesters old. Confirm that your target college awards credit before enrolling.
How it works: You pay NOTHING to take these courses. They are completely free to start and stop on demand. Textbook passages are accessible through links in the class, so the program is completely free. There is no graded homework, no attendance verification, and no teacher. It is self-directed learning. The quizzes, exams, homework, and midterm exams are all open book. You can take some or all of the units, and you are free to jump around.
When ready, you have the option to take a proctored final exam via webcam on your home computer or in person if you can find a local proctor (librarians often do this). If you do not wish to pursue college credit, you simply stop the class at that time. Parents can award high school credit, but since Saylor doesn’t verify completion, the parent would need to make their own determination. Since you technically don’t have to complete the class; you can go straight to the final exam. As such, the exam alone determines whether or not you earn college credit in the course.
Proctoring: For those who want a completely free experience, follow their criteria and find a local proctor. If you don’t mind paying for web-based proctoring, you can use the third party proctor company called ProctorU to monitor you during your test. Saylor has set up the relationship already, you’ll simply pay $25. Note, to earn college credit, you must pass the proctored final exam with a score of 70% or better. If you passed the exam, you must complete a final step of adding your course onto your ACE transcript.
What is an ACE transcript? Create an ACE account Each of your homeschooled students needs their own ACE account with individual email addresses. I’ve made a short Youtube Video to walk you through the process. Save their login information, they’ll keep the same account for life.
Courses: Currently, Saylor Academy offers 30+ courses for college credit.
Potential: 90 college credits for $0 – $750 based on your proctoring fees.
Homeschooling for College Credit with Saylor Academy (8 pages) Saylor High School
Saylor Academy Course List (2018)
Business Law
Calculus I
Computer Communications and Networks
Corporate Communication
Environmental Ethics, Justice, and Worldview
General Chemistry I
Introduction to Business
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Introduction to Computer Science II
Introduction to Electromagnetism (Physics)
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Introduction to Mechanics (Physics)
Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology
Introduction to Political Science
Introduction to Psychology
Introduction to Sociology
Introduction to Statistics
Introduction to Western Political Thought
Management Information Systems
Managerial Accounting
Moral and Political Philosophy
Organizational Behavior
Principles of Finance (upper-level credit)
Principles of Human Communication
Principles of Macroeconomics
Principles of Management
Principles of Marketing
Principles of Microeconomics
Software Engineering
Strategic Information Technology
This content is reprinted from Chapter 2 of Homeschooling for College Credit 2nd Edition.
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Forms of ID when Homeschooling for College Credit
Sources of Free College Credits
