Free Saylor MBA

[bjcheung77]

None of their degrees are accredited yet, it's a matter of time before they do, I believe they're shooting for RA, but I think doing a partnership or going the NA route would be better and they can try to transition to RA afterwards. Good starting pathway though, they'll come close to how UofPeople are doing things, and gain many students during their initial launch when the time comes...

[ProReader]

Seems interesting.

If this was completed now with no accreditation, but the school then becomes accredited, what does this mean for the degree awarded to the first cohort?

[bjcheung77]

Easy, this has been asked many times over on all types of credentials, it means the degree isn't accredited. All awards, certs, ACE/NCCRS alternative credits, diplomas, degrees, etc, at the time of conferral will remain, either accredited or not.

Basically... It's like this, if you buy a burger today, you finish eating it. You need to buy another burger tomorrow, as it's not the same burger, you pay for it. The same goes for the degree, if it's not accredited today, it will not be the same accredited degree even if it's accredited a day after, such as tomorrow.

Now get this, if you eat half your burger today, and eat the other half tomorrow, it's the same burger... As I mentioned in previous threads, you work on the non accredited degrees until the last course (capstone or two, cornerstone as well), wait for it to be accredited and then finish off the degree. It's actually recommended to not stall at starting, but work on it then wait for accreditation...

Apparently, for those who were working on UoPeople, they were NA last year, they waited until this year to finish, thus, they get the RA degree they're looking for. Another example, Columbia Southern University was NA, recently (like in 2022) they were also granted RA status, a member of the board was already working on classes towards a Masters, it will now be RA when they finish!

[ProReader]

Easy, this has been asked many times over on all types of credentials, it means the degree isn't accredited.  All awards, certs, ACE/NCCRS alternative credits, diplomas, degrees, etc, at the time of conferral will remain, either accredited or not.  

Basically... It's like this, if you buy a burger today, you finish eating it.  You need to buy another burger tomorrow, as it's not the same burger, you pay for it.  The same goes for the degree, if it's not accredited today, it will not be the same accredited degree even if it's accredited a day after, such as tomorrow.

Now get this, if you eat half your burger today, and eat the other half tomorrow, it's the same burger... As I mentioned in previous threads, you work on the non accredited degrees until the last course (capstone or two, cornerstone as well), wait for it to be accredited and then finish off the degree.  It's actually recommended to not stall at starting, but work on it then wait for accreditation...

Apparently, for those who were working on UoPeople, they were NA last year, they waited until this year to finish, thus, they get the RA degree they're looking for.  Another example, Columbia Southern University was NA, recently (like in 2022) they were also granted RA status, a member of the board was already working on classes towards a Masters, it will now be RA when they finish!

That is great advice - thank you.

I know it’s anybody’s guess, but has there been any hints with regard to how far along they are with accreditation?

I haven’t asked Saylor, but I wonder how long you could ‘sit’ on the last course whilst waiting for the accreditation.

If one starts the course now for free, but it then becomes accredited, do they [institutions] tend to charge fees?

Do you have any other recommendations of similar set ups where I can have a look at starting the course and waiting for accreditation? I’m just keen to continue learning (anything).

[bjcheung77]

They just started the process, it's anywhere from 3-5 years after candidate status, and I don't think they've even applied for accreditation yet. The classes can sit forever until they get accredited, they'll most likely update some content of the classes though to meet requirements and make the class more current or relevant...

Saylor hasn't added any fees, they're like UoPeople, tuition free, you're just paying for the assessment fee, for Saylor.org, it's just the proctor fee of $5/each class. Your cheapest options for learning are from Coursera, EdX, ENEB, Saylor.org, TEEX, etc, Onlinedegree.com closed, they're no longer $9/class (free, but proctor fee).

[ProReader]

They just started the process, it's anywhere from 3-5 years after candidate status, and I don't think they've even applied for accreditation yet.  The classes can sit forever until they get accredited, they'll most likely update some content of the classes though to meet requirements and make the class more current or relevant...  

Saylor hasn't added any fees, they're like UoPeople, tuition free, you're just paying for the assessment fee, for Saylor.org, it's just the proctor fee of $5/each class.  Your cheapest options for learning are from Coursera, EdX, ENEB, Saylor.org, TEEX, etc, Onlinedegree.com closed, they're no longer $9/class (free, but proctor fee).

If Saylor becomes accredited, but I started the classes before their accreditation (at the $5 dollar fee), can they theoretically bump the price once they get accreditation and therefore charge me?

[bjcheung77]

Yes and No, I don't think you've read my main point... Saylor.org doesn't charge anything, it's completely free and has been for all their classes since they first started.
They've changed proctoring from ProctorU ($25/exam) now to SmarterProctoring ($5/exam) as they're trying to help people save even more and have less issues occur when proctoring. They're here for the students and donors are paying for the accreditation and/or ACE evaluation for recommending college credit.

UoPeople is tuition free, they also have donors, having said that, they did raise their pricing for fees, even though these are nominal fees, it's still a price bump. Again, for those who can afford the credits and get these towards the degree, great job! For those who are using UoPeople for learning purposes and getting a better GPA, filling knowledge gaps, getting RA credit, etc, that's the most important thing. They're still amazingly affordable for RA degrees now for undergrad...

Again, don't cheap out on your education, these are the cheapest of the cheap, if you delay, you're just waiting for the pricing to creep upwards for fees at UoPeople, at Saylor, I pretty much am 100% confident they will not be bumping any pricing unless they change proctors, even if they get accreditation NA or RA. I've been recommending UMPI previously and now UoPeople also as the cheapest options for undergrad study once UoPeople got RA...

[SteveFoerster]

Michael Saylor is extremely wealthy and ideologically motivated to do good in this area. I'd bet the farm that Saylor Academy won't get pricy any time soon.

[NotJoeBiden]

Didn’t he commit tax fraud?

[SteveFoerster]

Didn’t he commit tax fraud?

He was sued for it by the District of Columbia and settled with them out of court. Who knows whether that was actually tax fraud or just a shakedown.

Either way it doesn't have anything to do with the Saylor Academy, or whether Michael Saylor is philanthropically minded.