Hurdles For Creating an ACE or NCCRS Course

[jsd]

well, then ignore me

[dfrecore]

I think I read NCCRS requires a minimum of three evaluators, so that would be slightly higher there (I'm assuming you're only accounting for one). I couldn't see how many ACE requires, and they don't list their evaluator fees. Honestly, I'm surprised (but happy!) we see such cheap alt credit being offered to us with this kind of overhead.

I agree!

As shown on the ACE link, you also get billed for plane tickets, hotels, and the travel administration fee.

I think you get billed for that for both of them.

[cecilgambe7]

I think it is pretty interesting to consider to develop a course that gives credits, im in education business too and I am a great enthusiast of all this issues; sadly the ACE/NCCRS fees don't allow you to do this in an easy/cheap way.

You may also consider the deals you must do with universties (like Excelsior, COSC, TESU, etc), some kind of deals; there must be some agreements with universities too. This could explain why they dont disclos information about the way some credits are transferred.

[cookderosa]

So, very real question, do you think your user needs college credit for this subject, and if they do, will the kind of college this kind of user attend accept ACE or NCCRS credit?

In other words, if your audience is niche, it's unlikely that you'll find a large pool of potential students, not making it worth your time or money to go through the process.

My advice, is to develop a course using an existing platform like Thinkific, Udemy, etc. that allows you to charge tuition. The process is straightforward and an especially good experience if you've never done course development or taught courses before. This will allow you to test the waters, see how your students use the content, and if you can even find students. They'll evaluate you, provide feedback, etc. If it were me, I would survey THEM and find out if they'd be willing to pay X for a college-credit version of the course. If you're getting a resounding "yes" and tons of enrollments, then, find out which colleges your students were planning to attempt to use your credit. On your own you can check their ACE/NCCRS policies. If everything lines up, then it might be worth the cost. I wouldn't spend a dime without proving the concept.

I will give you a real world example, I have a FB following over 16,000 and a short course I offered for free for about 2 years. I think I had about 150 enrollments total.

[udi]

Pretty outrageous costs. Plane tickets? They can review my online course AT HOME. This makes me wonder how the free 1-credit courses at Sophia are on any level worth it for them.

[cookderosa]

Pretty outrageous costs. Plane tickets? They can review my online course AT HOME. This makes me wonder how the free 1-credit courses at Sophia are on any level worth it for them.

Sophia's entire business model relies on ALL their courses holding ACE evaluation for college credit. It's absolutely worth every penny. Offering a free course brings in paying users who like the platform.

[jamshid666]

Out of curiosity, are renewals conducted as rigorously as the initial accreditation or it is a simple matter of paying ACE or NCCRS the fee to get the extension?

[cookderosa]

well, then ignore me

I'm invisible too.

[sanantone]

Pretty outrageous costs. Plane tickets? They can review my online course AT HOME. This makes me wonder how the free 1-credit courses at Sophia are on any level worth it for them.

Sophia is owned by Capella. Capella makes plenty of money off of their high tuition rates.

[jsd]

Interesting. I knew they had a close partnership but I didn't realize Capella owned Sophia.