The official guide to courses by Straighterline, Study, et al: We want YOUR input!

[aviator guy]

Provider: Straighterline
Course: Introduction to Environmental Science/ENV 101
 Course content:  14 lessons, with four unit quizzes (25 questions, 125 points available.)  One midterm exam consisting of 50 questions with 250 points available.  I liked the e-textbook
Final exam format: 50 multiple choice questions, 250 points available
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: No surprises, and I thought the course materials actually prepared me quite well.
Time taken on course: A weekend
Familiarity with subject before course: I used to work with environmental construction/remediation projects, so somewhat familiar.  There were quite a few questions where I would have been very embarrassed to get them wrong. (lol... I didn’t)
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  If you’re curious, there isn’t a lot of “earth science” in this one.  Since it’s an “intro” course it’s pretty general and wide ranging.  A good gen ed course.  
Difficulty level:  I didn’t think it was too terribly difficult, although I could see how some might find it boring.

[studyandpass5]

Provider: Straighterline
Course: Business Communications 
Course content: 15 quizzes (10 questions, 25 points each) 1 midterm (50 questions, 50 points), 3 papers (Routine Inquiry, Letter Report, Short Report), 1 final with essay
Final exam format: 50 multiple choice questions, 1 hour, 180 points available. Essay portion, 1 hour, 120 points available
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: I felt the final exam content was a little harder than the questions I had seen on the quizzes and homework. They were definitely different questions than the homework and quizzes. 
Time taken on course: 5 weeks
Familiarity with subject before course: I knew some of the basic information, especially the grammar and punctuation portion.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  I found a few mistakes that I had to write SL about, so always double check the homework and quiz answers. Routine Inquiry paper was easy; Letter Report uses MLA citations so make sure to know that; Short Report is the longest of the three, with a 1200-1500 word range. There is NO Resume/Cover letter paper, despite what SL says.
Difficulty level: Overall, the material is pretty self-explanatory and not that hard. I found the papers to be somewhat difficult, but then writing is not my strong point 

[aviator guy]

Provider: Straighterline
Course: Introduction to Religion/REL 101
Course content:  12 lessons, with four unit quizzes (25 questions, 125 points available.)  One midterm exam consisting of 50 questions with 200 points available.  The slide show presentations do present the material a bit differently, but I relied mostly on the book.  
Final exam format: 50 multiple choice questions, 300 points available
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: No surprises.
Time taken on course: A weekend
Familiarity with subject before course: This is an area where I’ve done a good bit of my own reading, so fairly familiar.  I had at least some familiarity with every “major” and many of the “minor” religions covered.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  E book is pretty good, and information is easy to find.  Unlike many other Straighterline courses, it’s only possible to “pass” this one before the final if you get a perfect score on all quizzes and the midterm.
Difficulty level:  As this is an “intro” type course, just the basics are covered – don’t be intimidated by the multitude of topics and different religions.

[a2jc4life]

Provider: Shmoop
Course: Literature in the Media
Course content: Brief on-site lessons include occasional embedded videos, but largely link out to external resources and/or require that you borrow or purchase outside materials.  I've posted a list of the materials I needed that weren't linked, free resources: http://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/showthre...?tid=27797
Final exam format: 50 multiple-choice questions to answer in 2 hours.  (It shouldn't take anywhere close to 2 hours.)
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Quizzes and tests didn't match up very well at all, but the final exam did mesh pretty well with the unit tests.  Some questions were familiar, and the format was very familiar.  (Unit tests are 20 questions in 1 hour.)
Time taken on course: This took me about 3 weeks.  There's a good bit of reading/viewing but, more importantly, I had a lot of delays where I discovered I needed a particular resource and had to take time to obtain it.
Familiarity with subject before course: Varied.  Because this covers a variety of media, I knew some of it well, some of it okay, and some of it not at all.  I'm pretty sure I would not have been able to pass the final without working my way through the course.  Even if I had known all of the material, I still wouldn't have been familiar with their take on it, which is essential for the tests in this course.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  It's kind of a fun class, but it's all over the place, and it can take longer than expected if you aren't prepared ahead of time with the external resources you need.
1-10 Difficulty level: Content-wise, 4.  In terms of being able to give them the answers they want, 8.

[aviator guy]

Provider:  Straighterline
Course: Microeconomics/ECON102
Course content:  24 topics, each with a corresponding e-textbook chapter and a quiz (20 questions for 30 points per quiz.)  Not all topics have slide show type lessons, but most do.  A mid term exam with 70 questions with 140 points available.  Proctored final exam is 60 questions for 140 points.
Final exam format: 60 multiple choice questions, 140 points available.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Pretty good, although I thought the final was a little less taxing than some of the unit exams.
Time taken on course: A week.  
Familiarity with subject before course: I had taken macroeconomics previously, some content transferred over.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  The book is by the same authors and follows the same format as the book used in Macroeconomics, and there is an overlap for some of the chapters/topics.  I found that the book often fell short of helping me to understand how to address questions in the quizzes, and the lessons weren’t much better.  Additionally, the textbook is problematically old – for example, there is a chapter on the economics of health care in the US, and the current environment is completely different from when the book was written in the late 2000s.  Again, this guy's videos did a pretty good job clarifying anything the course material didn't do a very good job of: https://www.youtube.com/user/ACDCLeadership
Difficulty level: I’m not going to call this one easy.  As I mentioned, I don’t think the provided materials helped me prepare for the tests.  Even the practice tests sucked for… practicing.

Provider:  Straighterline
Course: American Government/POLS 110
Course content:  14 topics with corresponding E-book content and slide show lessons.  Quizzes (25 questions, 125 points available.)  Mid term exam is 50 questions with 200 points available.  As of this writing, the E-Book was very recent, less than a year old.
Final exam format: 60 multiple choice questions, 300 points available.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Very close, no surprises.
Time taken on course: Half of a week.
Familiarity with subject before course: Very familiar – see below.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  If you graduated from High School in the US, chances are none of this material is new to you.  If you follow politics, chances are you’ll be even more prepared.
Difficulty level:  As I mentioned, if you are US educated I don’t think you’ll find this one difficult.  Even if it’s not your thing, I think the course is straightforward.

Provider:  Straighterline
Course:US History I and US History II
Course content:  History I is 15 topics, II is 14.  There is some overlap at the end of I/beginning of II.  Both courses have four unit quizzes (40 questions, 125 points available) and a midterm exam (50 questions for a maximum of 250 points.)  The proctored final is 60 questions for 300 points.  The book is the same for both courses.  History I stops at and II picks up at about the time of reconstruction.
Final exam format: 60 multiple choice questions
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: History I - No surprises.  History II – a lot of stuff came from way out of left field.  Use caution.
Time taken on course: could have done both in a full weekend
Familiarity with subject before course: I liked studying history in high school, and I even remembered much of it, so fairly familiar.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  I would recommend taking both US history courses along with American Government – they complement each other well.   
Difficulty level: While I’m sure many find history somewhat boring, most US educated students have seen this material before and shouldn’t find it too terribly difficult.  However, I will note that the history II course had an unpalatable number of pedantic questions, with ambiguous choices that didn’t have a clear correct answer.  History I was much more straightforward.

[RunnerNJ]

Provider: Straighterline

Course: Business Ethics

Course content:  14 lessons, with four graded exams consisting of 40 questions worth 175 total points for each graded exam equaling 700 points

Final exam format: 60 multiple-choice questions, 300 points - open book

Final exam content vs. course content/practice exams: Some surprises for me but I didn’t read the textbook.  The final is open book though so should be able to pass without reading the entire textbook.
 
Time taken on course: 4 days – a few hours each day, I completed every lesson and some of the quizzes (nongraded quizzes after each lesson)

Familiarity with subject before course: Somewhat familiar.  I have taken quite a few business courses with similar material so I did have some familiarity with the topics.
 
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  Easy class to fill an elective for me. I didn’t read any of the chapters and I passed the course with a 93.  Some questions are worded in a tricky way.

Difficulty level:  3-4 depending on previous knowledge

[armstrongsubero]

Provider: Shmoop

Course: History of Technology

Course content:  83 lessons, with Shmoop format meaning all content is included. Consists of 5, 20 question unit tests.

Final exam format: 50 multiple-choice questions (time - 2 hrs)

Final exam content vs. course content/practice exams: The final exam mirrored the practice exams, a few questions repeated and it seems to draw on the same question pool.
 
Time taken on course: 2 days – 17 hours each day

Familiarity with subject before course: Somewhat familiar.  I love technology. Though I needed to take notes.
 
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:  This was the BEST SHMOOOP COURSE I have taken to date. Very well laid out. It you put in the work it's impossible to fail this course. Make notes and record people, places and times. Separate information by time period and maintain that though the course. Make sure you understand the material, not just how to regurgitate it, and once you become familiar with each era in history, you can easily figure out the answer to a question. 

Difficulty level:  3 depending on previous science and technology knowledge. Basically anyone who did high school chem, phys, bio, agricultural science and IT can ACE (*pun intended*) this course! These are the easiest Shmoop credits to get! 

[jsh1138]

Provider: Shmoop
Course: The Bible as Literature
Course content: standard Shmoop stuff, no outside material required
Final exam format: Multiple choice, I think 50 questions
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: the tests at the end of each section adequately prepare you for the final 
Time taken on course: 4 or 5 hours, if that
Familiarity with subject before course: I am very familiar with the Bible. 
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Many of the things this course says about Bible scholarship aren't true, but other than that its fine. 
1-10 Difficulty level: 1, assuming that you are decently familiar with the Bible. halfway through I literally stopped reading the course & just started taking the exams & I finished with a B+. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't read any of it at all & just do the exams. I am confident I could still get a B in less than 3 hours

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Provider: Shmoop
Course: Media Literacy
Course content: Standard Shmoop course, no outside material needed
Final exam format: 50 multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: the exams at the end of the sections prepare you for the final
Time taken on course: an afternoon
Familiarity with subject before course: I know the current American culture
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: If you are a native American under 40 years old, you can pass this course without reading the material. Older students or non-native students may need to familiarize themselves with the material
1-10 Difficulty level: 1. Exam questions are along the lines of "what do you do at the Spotify website" or "what does Itunes do", etc. Very simple, common-knowledge stuff for the most part. I stopped reading the material halfway through and got a low B. If you skim it you should be fine, be sure to look at the correct answers to anything you miss on the quizzes and you should have no trouble withe the final

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Provider: Shmoop
Course: Shakespeare in Context
Course content: Standard Shmoop, no outside material required
Final exam format: 50 multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: most of what's on the final will be in the quizzes. alot of the questions are reading comprehension based, where you are given a short reading with the question
Time taken on course: probably 2 days
Familiarity with subject before course: I had read about half the plays in this course before taking the course
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: It helps alot if you've read the plays. Some of them are common, like Hamlet, some are more obscure, like Winter's Tale
1-10 Difficulty level: 3ish. Maybe 2ish if you've read all the plays. Most of the questions are along the lines of "in this play, who is X character" or "Why did X do Y?" or "what is X's last name?" etc. Nothing in-depth or too tricky, assuming you can remember who is who in the plays. For the ones everyone knows, like Romeo and Juliet, its a joke. For the ones you haven't read before it can be challenging

[Doodlebabe]

Provider: Study.com
Course: History of the Vietnam War (History 108)
Course content: Videos and text (video script), followed by quizzes. No outside content.
Final exam format: 100 multiple choice questions, proctored.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: I got a 66% on the practice exam but with no additional study I got an 82% on the final. The final questions were pretty evenly split between those that were very similar to quiz questions and those that were nothing like quiz questions. So I'm not sure how the discrepancy between practice and actual final happened but it did. 
Time taken on course: I went through each chapter within 30-45 minutes. Grand total of maybe 7 hours on the course, including the final. 
Familiarity with subject before course: I knew far more regarding the antiwar movement and Vietnamese perspective than I did the "official" American side of it. (quotes because there were multiple pieces taught that I'm 90% sure are not actual fact, but that's a debate for another time and place - although it does coincide with the credibility gap that occurred during that time, hah!) 
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Don't be intimidated by all the names and dates. As long as you pay attention to the main players - those who partook the longest and/or were presidents - and have a general idea of when each president was in office even the most anti-history buff can pass. 
1-10 Difficulty level: For someone who grew up in America - and thus learned nothing in high school regarding the Vietnam War but had some cultural references growing up - this should be fairly easy. For anyone who did not grow up in America or has had limited access to cultural norms for whatever reason (strict parents, religious beliefs, etc), you will likely need to put in some extra effort to pass, but not a ton. If you've learned anything in depth about the war previously because you have a relative who is a veteran or you are a history buff this will be ridiculously easy.

[jsh1138]

Provider: Study.com
Course: Religion 101: Intro to World Religions
Course content: Standard Study.com format
Final exam format: 100 Multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: the final lines up exactly with the previous quizzes 
Time taken on course: 3 days while working full time
Familiarity with subject before course: I'm very familiar with Christianity, Judaism & the Roman religion. Medium familiar with the others
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Basically the hardest part of this course is keeping some of the unfamiliar religions separate in your head. Taoism or Shintoism can blend into Hinduism or Buddhism easily if you don't have any background in any of them. Bizarrely I found that the section on Christianity was much less complete than some of the other religions, for instance I don't think "Christmas" was ever defined. Not a huge deal but it certainly assumes your familiarity with Christianity and if you're not familiar at all you could have problems. 
1-10 Difficulty level: 3

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Provider: Study.com
Course: History 106: Civil War & Reconstruction
Course content: standard Study.com
Final exam format: 100 multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: the quizzes match up with the final 
Time taken on course: 3 or 4 days while working full time
Familiarity with subject before course: I'm extremely familiar with the Civil War & picked this course because I thought it would be easy for me 
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Study.com courses are written by more than 1 person and 1 of the people who wrote this one has a bias against the South. So the lessons veer between normal & oddly vitriolic & back. Other than that it was fine 
1-10 Difficulty level: 2 for me. for someone unfamiliar with the Civil War maybe a 4

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Provider: Study.com
Course: History 108: History of the Vietnam War
Course content: standard study.com
Final exam format: 100 multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: the quizzes prepare you for the final
Time taken on course: 2 or 3 days while working full time
Familiarity with subject before course: I was familiar with the American side of the war but not with the Vietnamese local politics side of it
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: This is not a linear trip through the vietnam war from start to finish. It circles back alot and I found that just a little confusing. Not a big problem though
1-10 Difficulty level: 4

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Provider: Study.com
Course: History 103: US History 1
Course content: standard study.com
Final exam format: 100 multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: the quizzes prepare you for the final 
Time taken on course: 3 days
Familiarity with subject before course: I was pretty familiar with US history before taking this course
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: nothing I can think of. the material is covered well & if you take this with the Civil War course there's some over lap which the study.com system handles by letting you opt out of duplicate material on the 2nd course. 
1-10 Difficulty level: 3 or 4. not difficult