Credit for ALEKS Corp (McGraw Hill) Online courses in College Algebra & Statistics

[gus]

This may be of interest to all of us who are looking to fulfill the Math and Statistics requirement. I had previously posted some info in another thread but I thought I'd expand on the subject here.

ACE had evaluated a few ALEKS online courses for credit:

1. Beginning Algebra (ALEK-0001)
2. Business Statistics (ALEK-0008)
3. College Algebra (ALEK-0003)
4. College Algebra with Trigonometry (ALEK-0004)
5. Intermediate Algebra (ALEK-0002)
6. Introduction to Statistics (ALEK-0007)
7. PreCalculus (ALEK-0005)
8. Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (ALEK-0009)
9. Trigonometry (ALEK-0006)

Excelsior had confirmed that ALEK-0003 and ALEK-0008 would fulfill the Math and Statistics requirements of the business degrees.

To access the independent online courses you pay $20 a month (you can use the subscription to access all of their online courses without paying extra fees). You can even try it for two days for free. I was getting really excited about the whole thing after signing up, I was instantly hooked to their learning system. OK, I kept thinking this is too good to be true, getting college credit after completing the learning requirements (and perhaps completing a final assessment with or without a proctor)

Now for the catch. I contacted ALEKS corp to inquire about the process of getting transcripts/college credit for course completion as their website had no details about this. A few emails later I find out that you can't get college credit from ALEKS directly instead you have to take ALEKS assisted courses through college. While that makes sense, it still doesn't explain why ACE would evaluate the ALEKS online courses if they're going to be part of a college course. I was unable to get a complete listing of institutions that use ALEKS, only two examples (University of Phoenix and San Joaquin Delta College).

I was thinking maybe one could take a proctored exam using ALEKS in order to get college credit. A quick search on the internet shows that this may be possible. Take a look at the following example:

http://jti.ladwp.com/view/layouts/docs/a...amInfo.pdf

This is from the Joint Training Institute - Los Angeles Department of Power, Water & IBEW Local 18 Joint Training Institute

The PDF document states "If you have completed an ALEKS/NetTutor course and are interested in receiving a college credit recommendation, you are eligible to sit for a proctored final exam. Students who score a 70% or better on the proctored final exam will receive a certification for college credit recommendation."

Now I wonder if anyone knows how or has been able to get credit through ALEKS. I will try and see if the advisors at Exlcesior have more information on this.

[gcalvin]

It still seems like the ALEKS program is a good and inexpensive method of preparing for a CLEP/DSST/ECE exam. $20/month is much cheaper than a college-level textbook, and competitive with other test prep materials. And since the same $20/month covers all the different courses, it becomes a really good deal if you are taking more than one covered exam. (Gee, I wonder if there are any other sites that give you access to test prep covering multiple subjects for $20 a month? hilarious )

-Gary-

[gus]

Actually Gary, I was thinking InstantCert 2.0 should be a little like ALEKS features wise. If you think about it, it shouldn't be all that difficult to implement, and I'm not talking about an AI engine, but things like automatic progress tracking and re-assessment as well ordered concepts by learning objectives dependency (not that the sequence of the current flashcards are that bad, but could probably do with some re-ordering).

What I find the nicest about ALEKS is that it really takes away the pain of tracking progress and the fear of forgetting concepts, everything is clearly laid out. Nevertheless, I think many would prefer more information/explanations when learning concepts or maybe at least supplement ALEKS with a book/textbook/internet searching.

It's a pity I didn't find ALEKS earlier, I can imagine it would have been useful with Accounting (haven't tried those modules though).

[Jubilee]

Huh. That's interesting. I just started using Aleks this past week (Algebra and Trig), and I have been very impressed with it. I've just been using it to study for the College Algebra CLEP, though. I didn't realize Aleks could be college credit on its own. I'd be interested to hear if any one has actually done this.

[gus]

I just got a reply today from EC:
"In order to add the credits we would need an Official ACE transcript. You can get this by contacting ACE at http://www.acenet.edu."

Hmmm, let's see...

Anyone knows how ACE would be involved in documenting the credits?

I think I'm most likely going to take the CLEP/DSST counterparts for the requirements, but this should be interesting for all of you out there who still need/planning for Pre-Calculus / Statistics credit.

Furthermore, if Statistics is not part of your degree's core requirement, it can be used to achieve 3 upper level credits (for those who the UL credit).

[zefrench]

As far as getting ACE to send a transcript to Excelsior, that part is rather straighforward, by following the instructions on the ACE site. I have done so in the past for Learning Tree courses and have received credits via Excelsior.

Thus it seems the key is how to schedule a ALEKS proctored exam, and to get those grades forwarded to ACE.

[gus]

Thanks for the info. I got the chance to go over ACE's transcript service section but when I tried to signup (to view more information) I got stopped halfway through when the form insisted on a Social Security Number. I emailed ACE shortly after, asking if this service is only available to US citizens/residents (which seems to be the case, by the looks of it).

[zefrench]

As a Canadian I used my SIN (Social Insurance Number) instead of a SSN. It worked without any problems.

Keep us posted on your findings.

[gus]

Thanks again for the info, zefrench. I have received a reply from ACE asking about the institution/corporation name so that they can help me in creating a profile. Will post updates here.

[addision]

OK, just to let you know about ALEKS, I learned of them from the ACE website.

1. I called ACE and they emailed me the form to have someone at ALEKS sign and mail back stating I had finished the course. Easy process and I saved the form in case I do any other ACE approved courses.

2. You never really finish the course. While this is an excellent choice to learn the subject, its not quick unless you already are extremely proficient with the subject matter.

First it gives you an assessment, a great tool. But then every couple times you log in you are reassessed with a quiz. If you had passed a particular section earlier, but missed some on the next assessment, it makes you do some of those sections again.

I would really recommend this for someone who wants to learn the subject wrote. However, like many of you, I would prefer to take an exam once. Can you imagine if the CLEPS did this, whew.

BTW, I would get this for my kids. Like I said great for learning, but not great for credit.