What is your opinion on Straighterline

[cookderosa]

Saylor works off of ACE and NCCRS approval and direct partnerships for courses that do not have approval. Straighterline works off of ACE approval and has guaranteed acceptance for at least some of their courses at 78 schools. The acceptance of Straighterline and Saylor courses at non-partner schools depends on those schools' general acceptance of ACE and NCCRS credits. ACE is more well-known than NCCRS.

TESC is pretty liberal in its acceptance of ACE and NCCRS credits. They are also a partner college with Straighterline and Saylor. However, they will not accept Saylor's non-ACE or non-NCCRS courses for credit. All of this also applies to EC and COSC. Brandman University and a couple of other schools accept some of Saylor's computer science and/or business courses that do not have ACE or NCCRS approval. I think one school also accepts some of Saylor's humanities and social science courses.

It's also worth pointing out that even when a college/university is a partner school, that doesn't mean they accept EVERYTHING coming from SL. For example, there is a community college NOVA that is a partner school, but only in accounting. If you were hoping to use English or Math, you're out of luck. SL doesn't really transfer well as a general rule, and they are not super cheap... but if you're sure where you're going, you're sure your SL classes will transfer, you can find the book for free/cheap, you can work very quickly, and you're not taking grad school prereqs (ymmv)- then it's a good option. I'm not in love with them, but have used them, and probably will in the future.

[geissingert]

I have a question on Straighterline-While on the SL site I noticed only some of the classes show credits. Do all the classes have credits?

[sanantone]

It's also worth pointing out that even when a college/university is a partner school, that doesn't mean they accept EVERYTHING coming from SL. For example, there is a community college NOVA that is a partner school, but only in accounting. If you were hoping to use English or Math, you're out of luck. SL doesn't really transfer well as a general rule, and they are not super cheap... but if you're sure where you're going, you're sure your SL classes will transfer, you can find the book for free/cheap, you can work very quickly, and you're not taking grad school prereqs (ymmv)- then it's a good option. I'm not in love with them, but have used them, and probably will in the future.

I missed this post. That's why I said there are 78 schools that will accept at least some of their courses. NOVA accepts more than just accounting electives, though. Of course, one should check the school's equivalency chart on the SL page. However, you should still check with the school because the charts often aren't up to date. SL adds new courses all the time. If you're already enrolled in a school that is not a partner college, it doesn't hurt to ask if they'll accept SL courses based on ACE-recommendations. I found out that Central Texas College will accept some SL courses even though they aren't a partner college.

You should definitely ask about graduate school prerequisites. There might be some surprises there. UT Austin officially accepts some SL courses as prerequisites for their alternate-entry MSN even though they aren't a partner college.

[zmama32]

I am super interested in Straighterline also. If not for myself, then maybe to suggest to other people. I hope I made some headway, as I spoke with the Director of General Education at CUNY SPS. She said they will make a decision about Straighterline next week. I really hope they offer it as an option for their students!

[geissingert]

Did you complete all of your SL courses in one month? When using SL after a class is completed , does it have to be logged in with ACE or are the transcripts obtained through SL?

[johnvan]

I really liked the courses I did at Straighterline. I did the business communications you're interested in. I don't believe the textbook is even available in ebook format. I bought a used one online. The formatting of that course is slightly different, it consists of many smaller 10 question quizzes. You have plenty of time to look up the answers in a regular book, so no ebook is required. There are several written assignments plus the final exam is a two part exam, multiple choice and essay. The written assignments were graded within a few days of submitting and the essay on the final was graded within a few hours.
Despite the fact that the written assignments made that course more work overall, it was actually one of my favorites.

[Hunter91]

I really liked the courses I did at Straighterline. I did the business communications you're interested in. I don't believe the textbook is even available in ebook format. I bought a used one online. The formatting of that course is slightly different, it consists of many smaller 10 question quizzes. You have plenty of time to look up the answers in a regular book, so no ebook is required. There are several written assignments plus the final exam is a two part exam, multiple choice and essay. The written assignments were graded within a few days of submitting and the essay on the final was graded within a few hours.
Despite the fact that the written assignments made that course more work overall, it was actually one of my favorites.

I actually just switched around a my UL ethics class to fulfill the ethics requirement and am waiting for my business comm book to arrive so I can enroll in Straighterline. Not crazy about taking an ethics tecep (to fulfill the ethics req), so even though this will be more work, it will be more enjoyable than studying for something I'm not really interested in. Just waiting on my business comm book to arrive. Any other details on the class?

[rebel100]

I like ALEKS better for the math classes. Wish I would have known about it before i enrolled at COSC.

COSC does accept ALEKS via ACE...you can use it there.

[ALRS]

Is the ebook the best option for this class? Wondering if anyone found it cheaper not ordering it with Straighterline? Hoping to complete Macro and Micro using Straighterline.

[smf6824]

Is the ebook the best option for this class? Wondering if anyone found it cheaper not ordering it with Straighterline? Hoping to complete Macro and Micro using Straighterline.

E-Books are nice simply for the Ctrl F (Find) function. This makes it a whole lot easier if the exams are open book as well, because most of the questions from the tests come straight out of the book vs the actual course.