This type of credit is “ACE Credit.” The companies/organizations in this category sell courses “for college credit” that have been evaluated by ACE. ACE (American Council on Education) is a third party credit evaluator that evaluates all types of learning programs that happens outside of a college. Officially, ACE advertises that there are almost 1,500 colleges that “may consider” ACE credit. Unofficially, this credit should only be used when you plan to use one of the partner colleges. Inside a partnership, credit transfer is guaranteed!
Using ACE credit requires creating an account with another third party, Credly to “hold” your teen’s credit until they’re ready to use it. HS4CC List of ACE Partners
Sophia’s courses are offered as a subscription-based learning platform. You can work on 2 courses at a time, but there is no limit to the number of courses you can complete in a month.
use this link and code HS4CC23 for 10% off the first month of membership in 2023
Prices as of 8/1/2022: $99/month, $299/4 months, $599/12 months
Sophia subscription works best when you can lighten your homeschooling load and focus on 1-2 Sophia courses exclusively. Since finishing 2 courses in a month is very cost effective, that is the recommended strategy.
What you need to know about Sophia:
(1) No photo ID required. For teens that have a driver’s license or passport, this might not be a big deal, but if your teen doesn’t have an official identification card of some kind, getting past the ID checkpoint can be a pain. Sophia doesn’t require a photo ID, so no worries.
(2) No webcam proctoring. If you’ve taken other ACE courses, you know that webcam proctoring is an expected part of the final exam process. There are always concerns regarding privacy as well as providing a space that meets the proctor’s specifications (nothing on the walls, no one else in the room, etc.) so by using their new technology, they’ve eliminated web proctoring entirely. They are using a product called “keyboard biometrics” that identifies a person by their typing style. My son used it earlier this year and liked it a lot!
(3) Course platform is excellent. The appearance, style, visual attractiveness, and ease of use, intuitive style, etc. are constantly praised by our audience as being “their favorite” online course.
(4) All lower level. Their college credits will come in at 100 freshman and 200 sophomore level. To date they haven’t developed any upper level courses, but we hope they do!
(5) Responsiveness. Their customer service is excellent! In addition, they are in regular communication with HS4CC offering promotions, deals, and coupons exclusively to our audience, and we love deals!!
(6) No labs. At this time, none of their sciences offer lab credit. It wouldn’t hurt to send them an email asking for them to add a lab. A lot of colleges want lab sciences, and there are other ACE providers already serving this market, so we hope Sophia jumps into this area too.
(7) Transcripts. You’ll need to set up an account on Credly to “house” any ACE credits (Sophia or others) as an official transcript. Partner colleges may ask for an official Sophia transcript or an ACE transcript – if they ask for an ACE transcript, they are asking for the one from Credly. EVEN IF your college does not need an ACE transcript, it is highly suggested that you go through the trouble of setting that account up. Having the ACE / Credly transcript holds your unused credits for 20 years. If a company goes out of business before you use the credit, this is your safety net.
(8) ADA Compliance. Sophia has a formal published policy.
(9) Homework. Most Sophia courses require homework (called Touchstones). Since Touchstones must be graded by a human, this WILL create a lag time in your schedule. The strategy for working through the lag is to pair 2 courses together: 1 with homework and 1 without. Work exclusively on the course with homework (course 1) until you submit an assignment and are forced to wait for it to be graded. During the grading lag, work on the course without homework (course 2). Once your assignment is graded, hop back over and continue on course 1. Repeat this process during each grading lag period. When you finish one of the courses, double down on the remaining course. That strategy will allow you to complete 2 courses in 1 month.
If most or all of your planned courses require homework, you’ll want to use the HS4CC Inactive Account Strategy: Sophia Like a BOSS!
HS4CC TIP: How to list Sophia courses on a homeschool high school transcript
Sophia Courses 2022
(3 credits each unless otherwise indicated)
*indicates a course with homework
- Ancient Greek Philosophers*
- Approaches to Studying Religions*
- Art History I
- Art History II
- Business Communication*
- Business Law*
- Calculus I, 4 credits
- College Algebra
- College Readiness
- Communication at Work*
- Conflict Resolution
- Developing Effective Teams, 1 credit
- Discover the Writer in You*
- English Composition I*
- English Composition II
- Environmental Science
- Financial Accounting
- Foundations of English Composition (not for college credit)
- Foundations of Statistics, 2 credits
- Human Biology
- Introduction to Business
- Introduction to Career Readiness, 1 credit
- Introduction to Chemistry
- Introduction to College Mathematics
- Introduction to Ethics
- Introduction to Information Technology
- Introduction to Java Programming*
- Introduction to Nutrition
- Introduction to Python Programming*
- Introduction to Psychology: Smarter Decisions Through Psychology*
- Introduction to Relational Databases*
- Introduction to Sociology: Embracing Diversity and Collaboration*
- Introduction to Statistics
- Introduction to Web Development
- IT Career Exploration, 1 credit*
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Preparing for the Future of Work*
- Principles of Finance
- Principles of Management*
- Project Management
- Public Speaking*
- Spanish I*
- Spanish II*
- Taking Charge of your Economic Future*
- The Essentials of Managing Conflict, 1 credit
- The Power of Persuasion*
- Topics in U.S. History: Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future*
- U.S. History I
- U.S. History II
- Visual Communications
Partner Colleges 2022
- Alabama State University
- American Military University
- American Public University
- American Sentinel University
- Art Institute-Atlanta
- Art Institute-Austin
- Art Institute-Dallas
- Art Institute-Houston
- Art Institute-Miami
- Art Institute-San Antonio
- Art Institute-Tampa
- Art Institute-Virginia Beach
- Ashworth College
- Athens State University
- Bay Path University
- Bellevue University
- Bennett College
- Bottega University
- Brandman University
- Capella University
- Charter Oak State College
- Cheyney University
- Colorado State University – Global
- DeVry University
- Excelsior College
- Franklin University
- Houston Community College
- Indiana Wesleyan University
- Interdenominational Theological Center
- Jarvis Christian College
- Johnson & Wales University
- Lane College
- Liberty University
- McDougle Technical Institute
- Morris Brown College
- National Paralegal College
- Peirce College
- Penn Foster College
- Philander Smith College
- Purdue University Global
- Regis University
- Southern New Hampshire University
- South Florida College of Nursing
- Southern University New Orleans
- Strayer University
- University of Maryland Global Campus
- University of Phoenix
- Upper Iowa University
- Walden University
- WGU College of Business
- WGU College of Health Professions
- WGU College of Information Technology
- WGU Teachers College
- Wilberforce University
- Wilmington University
- The Workshop School