Study.com is a company that offers online self-paced courses through a monthly subscription. They have the largest catalog of any alternative college credit provider, and some of their courses have the coveted “upper level” designation. Some colleges allow you to complete up to 75% of your degree using Study.com courses, which can be done for about $2,500.
Cost
The ONLY PLAN that allows you to earn college credit is called the College Saver Plan (formerly called College Accelerator). The current price is $235/month.
Study.com has stopped using coupon discount “codes” but you can get 30% off your first 3 months by using this referral link (save $211.50) https://bit.ly/45QXMbU
Sample of their course list for college credit
- Art 103: History of Western Art I
- Art 104: History of Western Art II
- Astronomy 101: Intro to Astronomy
- Business 100: Intro to Business
- Business 101: Principles of Management
- Business 102: Principles of Marketing
- Business 103: Introductory Business Law
- Business 104: Information Systems and Computer Applications
- Business 105: Labor Relations
- Business 106: Human Resource Management
- Business 107: Organizational Behavior
- Business 108: Business Ethics
- Business 109: Intro to Computing
- Business 110: Business Math
- Business 304: Leading Organizational Change
- Business 305: Leadership Communication
- Business 306: Strategic Human Resources Management
- Business 307: Leadership & Organizational Behavior
- Business 308: Globalization & International Management
- Business 309: Digital Marketing & Advertising
- Business 310: Advanced Business Ethics
- Business 311: Project Management
- Business 312: Advanced Operations Management
- Business 313: Organizational Communication
- Business 327: Retail Strategy
- Chemistry 101: General Chemistry
- Communications 101: Public Speaking
- Communications 102: Interpersonal Communication
- Communications 301: Diversity and Intercultural Communication
- Computer Science 102: Fundamentals of Information Technology
- Computer Science 103: Computer Concepts & Applications
- Computer Science 105: Introduction to Operating Systems
- Computer Science 111: Programming in C
- Computer Science 112: Programming in C++
- Computer Science 115: Programming in Java
- Computer Science 202: Network and System Security
- Computer Science 302: Systems Analysis & Design
- Computer Science 303: Database Management
- Computer Science 305: Operating Systems
- Computer Science 306: Computer Architecture
- Criminal Justice 101: Intro to Criminal Justice
- Criminal Justice 104: Introduction to Criminology
- Criminal Justice 106: Forensic Science
- Criminal Justice 107: Criminal Law
- Criminal Justice 301: White Collar Crime
- Criminal Justice 305: The Juvenile Justice System
- Criminal Justice 306: Research Methods in Criminal Justice
- Criminal Justice 381: Victimology
- Earth Science 101: Earth Science
- Earth Science 104: Intro to Meteorology
- Economics 101: Principles of Microeconomics
- Economics 102: Macroeconomics
- Education 101: Foundations of Education
- Education 103: Classroom Management
- Education 104: Differentiated Instruction
- Education 105: Special Education History & Law
- Education 106: Introduction to Early Childhood Education
- Education 210: Technology in the Classroom
- Education 211: Teaching Elementary Math
- English 101: English Literature
- English 102: American Literature
- English 103: Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
- English 104: College Composition I
- English 105: College Composition II
- English 305: Advanced Technical Writing
- English 310: Short Stories
- Environmental Science 101: Environment and Humanity
- Finance 101: Principles of Finance
- Finance 102: Personal Finance
- Finance 104: Financial Management
- Finance 302: International Finance
- Finance 303: Financial Institutions & Markets
- Finance 304: Security Analysis & Portfolio Management
- Finance 306: Small Business Finance
- Genetics 101: Intro to Genetics
- Geography 101: Human & Cultural Geography
- Geology 101: Physical Geology
- Geometry 101: Intro to Geometry
- Health 101: Principles of Health
- Health 103: Medical Terminology
- Health 301: Ethical & Legal Issues in Healthcare
- Health 302: Health Services Policy
- Health 303: Healthcare Organization & Management
- Health 305: Healthcare Finance & Budgeting
- Health 307: Healthcare Delivery Systems
- Health 308: Healthcare Quality & Outcome Measurement
- Health 309: Healthcare Informatics
- Health 310: Human Resource Management in Healthcare
- History 100: Western Civilization from Prehistory to Post-WWII
- History 101: Western Civilization I
- History 102: Western Civilization II
- History 103: US History I
- History 104: US History II
- History 105: US History from Settlement to Present Day
- History 106: The Civil War and Reconstruction
- History 108: History of the Vietnam War
- History 306: The American Civil War Era
- History 307: American Civil Rights Movement
- History 308: Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War
- History 309: War & American Society
- History 311: The Holocaust & World War II
- Hospitality 101: Introduction to Hospitality
- Hospitality 105: Introduction to the Tourism & Travel Industry
- Hospitality 301: Hospitality Marketing
- Hospitality 304: Hotel & Lodging Management & Operations
- Hospitality 309: Food & Beverage Service & Operations
- Humanities 101: Intro to the Humanities
- Library Science 101: Information Literacy
- Marketing 301: Marketing Research
- Marketing 302: Consumer Behavior
- Marketing 303: Global Marketing
- Marketing 306: Principles of Selling
- Marketing 308: Applied Marketing
- Math 101: College Algebra
- Math 102: College Mathematics
- Math 103: Precalculus
- Math 104: Calculus
- Math 105: Precalculus Algebra
- Math 107: Quantitative Literacy
- Math 108: Discrete Mathematics
- Math 97: Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning
- Nursing 301: Nursing Informatics
- Nutrition 101: Science of Nutrition
- Philosophy 101: Intro to Philosophy
- Philosophy 102: Ethics in America
- Philosophy 103: Ethics – Theory & Practice
- Physics 101: Intro to Physics
- Physics 111: Physics I
- Physics 112: Physics II
- Political Science 101: Intro to Political Science
- Political Science 102: American Government
- Political Science 103: Comparative Politics
- Psychology 101: Intro to Psychology
- Psychology 102: Educational Psychology
- Psychology 103: Human Growth and Development
- Psychology 104: Social Psychology
- Psychology 105: Research Methods in Psychology
- Psychology 106: Abnormal Psychology
- Psychology 107: Life Span Developmental Psychology
- Psychology 108: Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
- Psychology 301: Industrial/Organizational Psychology
- Psychology 302: Cognitive Psychology
- Psychology 306: Advanced Abnormal Psychology
- Psychology 316: Advanced Social Psychology
- Religion 101: Intro to World Religions
- Science 101: Intro to Natural Sciences
- Science 102: Principles of Physical Science
- Social Science 108: Ethics in the Social Sciences
- Sociology 101: Intro to Sociology
- Sociology 103: Foundations of Gerontology
- Sociology 305: Sociology of Work
- Spanish 101: Beginning Spanish
- Spanish 102: Intermediate Spanish
- Spanish 105: Spanish for the Workplace
- Statistics 101: Principles of Statistics
NOTE: parents should always preview college courses before enrolling their teen. It is not uncommon for courses to have “PG-13” or even “Rated R” content that would be considered inappropriate by most parents.
Study.com’s College Saver program allows you to take 2 final exams per month. In theory, this would translate into taking 2 courses, but technically you can take as many courses as you’d like- but you’re restricted to only attempting 2 final exams.
A strategy for using a subscription is different than a typical school schedule. Rather than working on 5 homeschool courses for 40-50 minutes each over a full semester, in a subscription, time is money! It is always better to clear your schedule and take 1 class at a time. When a student devotes their school day to 1 subject, they can move quickly and finish the entire course(s) in 1 month.
Format: Study.com is a “watch the video, take the quiz” format, with about 100-150 lessons per course. Their lower level (100/200) courses will require “watch the video, take the quiz” plus a proctored final exam on your home computer. Their (300/400) upper-level courses will require the same but with the additional requirement(s) of some type of project or research paper(s).
Speed: The courses are at a fast enough pace that makes their adult customers happy to zip along, but for homeschooled students, you may find that there are gaps in the material (not to mention a lack of enrichment opportunities like research off and away from the site, writing, etc.) So, if you’re considering using Study.com for direct credit, my advice is to try 1 month and see how you like the format.
Degree Completion: People who intend on accumulating a lot of ACE credit (not just through Study.com) ultimately are planning to complete their degree this way. If you review their list of partner colleges (I mean their specific written partnerships, not the generic ACE list of colleges that get posted) you’ll find you can complete most of a college degree this way at many colleges. This works best for students who are:
- Interested in completing their degree remotely/online.
- Interested in a general degree like business or liberal arts.
- Do not need “graded” credits for their degree.
- Are planning a 4-year degree (not an associate degree).
- Want the lowest cost degree possible (under $10k) and can pay cash.
- Do not intend to spend 4 years earning a 4-year degree. (Generally 1-2)
Study.com is not recommended in these cases:
- As a 2-year degree on the way to a 4-year degree.
- When the student is entering a health profession.
- When your college is not on the partner college list.
- When the student needs graded credits for grad school.
- When the student wants merit aid or needs financial aid.
- When planning a degree on campus.
- When science labs are going to be prerequisites for your major.
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