Good credit granting independent study online classes?

[Merlin]

Hey folks,

I'm wondering if there is a good resource (I didn't find one in the forum, but its possible I missed it) that has a list of accredited schools that offer independent (self paced) online distance learning programs for college credit, perhaps with a means to filter by costs (in/out of state.) Ones that don't require going into a college to proctor for the tests would be a plus, though not a hardcore requirement.

I'm already aware of ALEKS, Straighterline, Penn Foster and BYU. I've reviewed some of the other ones that I see here and there, but most of them are pretty darn pricey, require proctored exams, and aren't self-paced. I guess I'm just trying to avoid the $300+ per credit per unit and requirement of having to attend classes on a specific schedule at COSC so I can burn through classes at my own pace (which is usually much more quickly.)

Ideally I'd like to find some place that offers an online leadership studies certificate or just the classes, that I can do at my own pace and transfer back to COSC. Though there are other classes I'm also interested in.

Thanks!

[rebel100]

I like Colorado State University - Pueblo....... A LOT!!!

It's just under $500 a class, no proctors if you pick the classes carefully (in fact no exams). I have taked 6 courses there to transfer to COSC (Organizational Leadership and Health Care concentrations). you can complete them as quick as you like...though officially CSU will make you wait 12 weeks to get a transcript. there is no fee to take the classes, no application other than filling in some personal information. They dont care about SAT/Tabe/Accuplacer etc...

if you search under my screename I reviewed three of the classes last semester. I just finished one more and will complete 2 additional courses in a week or so.

Colorado State University-Pueblo > Sociology


Reb,

BTW, their customer service is just stellar as well...really bend over backwards to help you out.

[burbuja0512]

I haven't taken a class here, but another Colorado school has distance learning that I've seen mentioned on the board: Undergraduate - Distance Learning - Adams State College

I've also seen people say that they take courses at LSU : LSU Independent and Distance Learning

I don't know anything about either program, but it couldn't hurt to check them out. As far as price though, I doubt anything will beat SL, ALEKS and PF, but these also might be less expensive than the typical college course.

[pixaloop]

I like Colorado State University - Pueblo....... A LOT!!!

It's just under $500 a class, no proctors if you pick the classes carefully (in fact no exams). I have taked 6 courses there to transfer to COSC (Organizational Leadership and Health Care concentrations). you can complete them as quick as you like...though officially CSU will make you wait 12 weeks to get a transcript. there is no fee to take the classes, no application other than filling in some personal information. They dont care about SAT/Tabe/Accuplacer etc...

if you search under my screename I reviewed three of the classes last semester. I just finished one more and will complete 2 additional courses in a week or so.

Colorado State University-Pueblo > Sociology


Reb,

BTW, their customer service is just stellar as well...really bend over backwards to help you out.

Thanks Reb, I hadn't been aware of the CSU IS program. LSU and Adams were the only ones I knew about.

[IgnazSemmelweis]

If you like independent study for courses you cannot test out of, I just conducted a hunt for similar courses (different degree plan), and here are a few regional acc. schools that offer independent study courses in a variety of fields. Pricing varies, but most (not all!) were reasonable.

Brigham Young University -- BYU Independent Study - Online Courses
Louisiana State University -- LSU Independent and Distance Learning
Western Michigan University -- Online Education | Western Michigan University (see "Open Learning" in catalog search)
Mississippi State University -- Course Listings - College Independent Study - Mississippi State University
Western Kentucky University -- Independent Learning
University of Idaho -- Independent Study in Idaho Distance Education

I know there are many more out there, but I lost steam in the hunt. There should really be a database for this sort of thing, but I did not find any that were not feeder sites to Phoenix or somewhere else. I'm not trying to talk you out of TESC or either of the other "big 3" but there are a lot of options available for a CIS degree, including one from one of the "big 3" and using courses from the above list to supplement what you cannot test out of.

Ohio U offers IS courses as well as graded credit by exam for a bunch of subjects.
U of Arkansas
University of Northern Iowa
Texas State U @ San Marcos
U of Oklahoma
UC Berkeley

I found a lot of these by just googling Independent Study combined with the particular course I was looking for. When comparing options, find out if the school has minimum amount of time you have to spend doing the course. For example, a class might have 15 topics, and you are limited to sending in work for no more than 3 topics per week, hence a minimum 5 week completion time. Also check into how many proctored exams are required as that will raise the cost per credit for a course when comparing cheaper options based on price.

LSU tends to take the longest to complete out of all the schools I compared (minimum ~8 weeks) although they were generally cheapest on a per credit basis once proctored exams were figured in.

Booga booga.

[Merlin]

Some cool stuff in there. Thanks everyone!

I looked through all of them but unfortunately I didn't see any IS classes for Leadership though. I may just end up having to do those via COSC or something if I can't figure out a cheaper/more flexible option. :confused:

[Bob]

Here is a link for the Dantes Catalog. They list course and degree programs from which you can search. Not always up to date or the cheapest but can give you some ideas. Looking through, BYU has some leadership type courses. Click on Dantes Independent Study Catalog.

Good Luck,
Bob



DANTES Online Catalog

[brajalle]

University of Madison - Wisconsin has an extension
UCLA - https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/BrowseCourses.aspx
U of Wyoming - Courses | Correspondence Study | Outreach Credit Programs | Outreach School | University of Wyoming
West Texas A&M - http://www.wtamu.edu/academics/continuin...study.aspx
U of North Dakota - The University of North Dakota - Online & Distance Education
Central Texas College - Central Texas College | Distance Education

There are quite literally a ton of course you can take out there. There are hundreds of schools offering distance courses, heck, St. Mary of the Woods offers them, they're a tiny female only (on campus) liberal arts school in the middle of western Indiana. Sorta pricey, however.

The trick quickly becomes these variables -
Course Offerings - Many schools offer classes, few schools offer anything beyond some basic coursework (ie no upper level stuff at most)
Cost - You can find online coursework for most non-hard sciences upper level courses, but cost quickly skyrockets.
Flexibility & Structure - Many options here, but some are quite restrictive, annoying, or have other issues such as enrollment or forum response requirements.
Other issues - Don't forget to watch out for quarter-based systems, and realize that naming of courses, course content, course level, and a bunch of other things (plus transferring) are very hard to sift through.

For those reasons, several options appear much more frequently on these forums.

Those are -
Penn Foster
LSU
BYU
The Big 3

Those schools, by far, are the bulk of courses taken.

Most other schools you barely see mentioned except in these sort of threads, there are a few exceptions you see sometimes, those are -
Arkansas, Wyoming - (usually for cheapness)
Ohio U - Sometimes mention of their testing out

When you're dealing with a bit more applied technical or hard sciences degree, you almost have to end up enrolled somewhere taking classes. Sometimes this can be online and sometimes RL. As an example, I couldn't find a way to piece together a credible (ie non-fluffy) or non-edu-aimed Math major through these options or testing out. Well, I suppose I may have been able to (try finding Real Analysis or other senior-level math courses online - most cap out at soph/junior level), but cost then became a major factor. The easiest option then became enrolling somewhere, and SUNY ESU is by far the best option there (96 credits transfer in, only have to take 32 on-site (8 courses/1 year, plus its cheap).

[clep3705]

StateU.com: Undergraduate Degree Programs

What you may miss is that UT Arlington isn't just about online education and nursing classes. They offers all of the prerequisites for nursing school as online courses. That means general core courses such as English and math are available. You can apply for their prenursing program without any intention of becoming a nurse.

Lamar also offers a lot of general courses online. Lamar and UTA have people overseeing the online courses to ensure consistency and clarity in the online experience.

Don't assume that online courses are easier.

Houston Community College and Lone Star College offer a lot of online courses, some of which are easy.

All of these schools should be about $150/semester hour.

[SandraNC]

StateU.com: Undergraduate Degree Programs

Don't assume that online courses are easier.

I agree! Having taken both in-class and online courses, online courses are generally more difficult.