Credits through StraighterLine

Before we even get started with earning credits through StraighterLine, I want to hammer something home - You always, always, always need to check with your school to see if they'll accept these credits BEFORE you attempt them. Not doing so will only waste your time and money, and we don't want that!

Simply put, StraighterLine is another alternative to CLEP and DSST credits. Certain StraighterLine courses are accredited by ACE, and with a little bit of work can be transferred to other colleges. For some subjects, earning credits through Straighterline may actually be a better choice than the exams. For example, their accounting classes are a viable alternative to the CLEP and DSST Financial Accounting exams, and at some schools even covers the Managerial Accounting that you can't test for anymore. If you're worried about attempting the Micro and MacroEconomics CLEP exams, Straighterline provides an alternative to those as well.

It's actually a pretty ingenious system. The courses are all automated, so you work whenever you have the time. Each course has multimedia modules that walk you through each subject.

You're then tested periodically throughout the course with quizzes and exams. You are graded on those quiz's and exams, and at the end of your course that's the grade that determines whether you're awarded the credit or not. Usually it's anything over 70% total, though they do have a course or two that's higher (75% I think?)

How much does it cost?

There are two options. The first is a flat $399 for a single course. That's pretty steep, but thankfully there is another option. For the last year or so, StraighterLine has been running a $99 a month special. For that $99, you can take as many courses as you want for an additional $39 each. So you're looking at a total of around $140 for a month of one course. Obviously the break-even point for one course is around 3 months. As long as you can finish your course in three months, the $99 option is probably your best bet.

Now I know a few of you are saying,"Three months!?!" Well, nobody said you had to take that long if you don't want to. What I did (and plenty of others have done the same) was sign up for the $99 option, sign up for the course, immediately cancel my monthly subscription, and then get busy finishing that course in one month. It's absolutely possible as long as you dedicate the time to it. One of the InstantCert forum regulars has a son who took (and passed) four courses in one month. Now that's motivation!

StraighterLine actually offers quite a few courses, but not all of them are accredited through ACE. If you're looking to earn credits through Straighterline in order to transfer them to another school, I'd stick with the ACE accredited courses.

At the time of this writing, those courses are:

• Accounting I
• Accounting II
• Business Statistics
• College Algebra
• Macroeconomics
• Microeconomics
• English Composition I
• English Composition II
• Pre-Calculus

In case you want to check for updates (or if your school requires proof that they're accredited by ACE) you can point them here - ACE College Credit Recommendation Service

This is where it gets interesting. StraighterLine has relationships with a set number of partner schools. Right now those are:

• Charter Oak State College
• Fort Hays State University
• Jefferson Community and Technical College
• Kaplan University
• Lake City Community College
• Potomac College
• Western Governors University

If you're already enrolled at one of those colleges then this is easy. To get your credits through Straighterline, just ask the StraighterLine staff to send your transcript to your college when you're finished.

If you're enrolled in another school (like I was at Excelsior), you'll need to do a few extra steps. First of all, I'd suggest talking to StraighterLine about your plans. Let them know what college you're looking to transfer to, and they'll probably be able to tell you the cheapest and fastest way to make it happen. See if you can get in touch with Jennifer. She seems to be the one most involved with transfer credit, just call up and ask for her.

The basic breakdown is going to be this - You'll need to pick a partner school and have your credits through StraighterLine transferred there. You'll then get the credits transferred from that partner school to your actual college.

Now each of the partner colleges has different requirements to transfer credits. Some (Like Charter Oak) require that you pay around $500 to enroll with Charter Oak before they'll accept the credits. That kind of defeats the point of transferring them elsewhere though. Fort Hays seems to be the current favorite. For around $30 at the time of this writing, they'll transfer the credits in and assign it a grade based on your StraighterLine score and their grading scale. That grade will go on your official "Fort Hays" transcript. You can then transfer those over to your school of choice.

In terms of price, it's hard to beat the CLEP and DSST exams. After all, that's why we like them so much! However, if those aren't an option then credits through Straighterline may be your best bet. Either way, I'll caution you again - Check with your school, Straighterline and the partner school to make sure everything's kosher BEFORE signing up. The question to ask your school is, "Will you accept credits from *insert partner school here* to fill *whatever* requirement?" If they say yes, then you're on your way!

Another tip - While taking the course, give the MathWay Tool a try. It's free to use as long as you don't need to see the explanations and is a great way to check your answers.

If you have any other questions about earning credits through StraighterLine, or how it would work for your particular school, run a search in the InstantCert forums. Chances are good that someone has asked the same question and already gotten an answer. If not, give StraighterLine a call. They're a friendly bunch and have always been willing to help me out.

Go get those credits!