Dive Summary:
- Though most free online courses don't come with college credit, students can now use free content from the Saylor Foundation and Education Portal to study for inexpensive "challenge exams" offered by Excelsior College and the College Board's College Level Examination Program.
- The exams--most of which cost under $100--are designed to demonstrate whether or not a student understands the concepts that would generally be taught in the classroom version of an undergraduate, general education course.
- Many American colleges acknowledge that the exams are "academically rigorous" and have accepted some Excelsior and CLEP credits, as well as those form the U.S. Department of Defense's DSST exam package.
From the article:
It was last December, and the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay’s holiday break had begun. But Alex Stenner, a sophomore and human biology major there, spent his two weeks off earning three credits from the university. And he did it without attending a single class -- at a total cost of $90. ...