Several Sources Of Cheap Credit

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Overview

Although there is a very limited handful of Free Sources of Credit, you'll have to pay for the overwhelming majority of credit options. This page provides a list of some of the more popular, cheaper options. This info was initially compiled by DegreeForum user bjcheung77, and has been revised expanded on by our community.

Subscription Model

Sophia.org

Cost as of Oct 2020: $79 per month; no limit to courses taken within that time period. Does not use traditional proctoring methods; no cost for proctoring.

Sophia is currently the fastest and cheapest way to fulfill most of your General Education requirements for the big 3, especially TESU. With the addition of Business Law and Principles of Finance, you can also make good progress towards a Business Administration degree at TESU besides fulfilling GE requirements. If you take every course at Sophia, you should have somewhere between 70 and 86 credits towards your degree. The exact number of allowed credits will depend upon the degree and college/university. Most courses consist of readings followed by quizzes and larger tests (challenges and milestones respectively). There may be videos in some courses. Some courses also have essays or video assignments (known as touchstones).

You get 3 tries to pass the challenge quizzes and if you fail a milestone, you get one extra attempt which you would need to ask Sophia staff for permission.

Your final grade is based on all of these and not just a single final exam.

InstantCert.com

Cost as of Oct 2020: $20/mo. or $108 for 6 months + $15 proctor fee; 1 course included per month. Additional courses $20 each.

InstantCert offers 10 (as of 11/2021) ACE-approved courses for a low cost. These include American Government (which fills in the remaining General Education slot that Sophia does not cover), Spanish I, and several business courses. The courses generally consist of study questions which you can repeat unlimited amount of times. The graded exams and midterm are non-proctored exams which can be retaken once. The final exam is proctored that can be retaken once as well and worth 30% of your grade.

Study.com

Cost as of Oct 2020: $199/mo. Uses RPNow proctoring at no additional cost.

Study.com (or SDC) has a large number of ACE or NCCRS approved exams. This includes many UL credits that cannot be found elsewhere or that cost much more to take elsewhere. See the SDC page for tips and tricks on how to make the most out of your membership. It is currently possible to complete most of several degrees using only Sophia and SDC courses, making this an invaluable source of credits.

You get 3 tries for each quiz question. Often if you miss a question, the answer will be given or they will show the exact spot in the video which the answer is. It's very important to average 95%+ on the quiz questions so that you don't need a high score on the final to pass. If you fail the final, you get 2 more attempts which you have to pay $70 each. They will not reset the course if you fail after that.

Davar Academy

Cost as of Oct 2020: $99 for two business courses or $70 to $80 per course fee. Plus proctor fee per course regardless of purchase option. A no-cost local proctor option is available.

Davar Academy has NCCRS approved exams. You get credit for passing a proctored final exam, similar to CLEP, DSST, or even a TECEP. The course provides review materials to prepare for the exam. They have course equivalency tables on their website for TESU and Excelsior. 

Straighterline

Cost as of Oct 2020: Typically $49-$69 per course, plus $99/month membership fee. Coupons are often available.

Another option is taking courses at StraighterLine, if it's more suited for you. It's a quick set of work, midterm, and then a proctored final exam, generally 75-80% work/20-25% exam. People like this as they can "pass" the course with high grades for coursework, and mediocre final. If you're taking Straighterline courses, take as much as you can in a monthly membership. Basically work hard on "coursework/exams" and on the final, having peace of mind knowing you passed.

Google (via Coursera)

Cost as of January 2021: $49/mo. with a 7-day free trial. Under the "Coursera for Campus Student" plan, you may be eligible to get this entirely for free if you have a qualifying university email address.

Most courses at Coursera do not offer any college credit. However, there is one notable exception: the Google IT Support Professional certificate. Although it says that it will take 3-6 months to complete, it is possible to complete this certificate in one month. One student even reportedly completed the course during the 7-day trial, making it completely free. This ACE-recommended course is worth 3-12 credits depending on the school. For example, TESU brings this in as the 3-credit CMP-202 Foundations of Info Technology class, Pierpont gives all 12 credits, and WGU brings it in as 4 units. It will not transfer to COSC. It is unknown if it will transfer to Excelsior.

Pay Per Exam

"Traditional"

  • CLEP Exams - $85 + in-person proctor fee, can be completely free through Modern States.
  • UExcel Exams - $110 for most exams, $355-470 for longer/more specialized exams. Most exams must be taken at PearsonVUE center.
  • TECEP - $50 per credit for LL exams and $75 per credit for UL exams. Includes proctoring fee; all TECEPs are available online, no testing center required. Uses ProctorU.
  • DSST - About $85 + proctoring fees; free first attempt for military personnel.


OnlineDegree.com

Cost as of Oct 2020: $9 per exam for RPNow proctoring

These courses are only available for US residents/citizens. There are only a handful of courses available but some of them can be extremely useful for some degrees. OnlineDegree.com courses are comprised of videos & readings, with exercises and exams. Pass/failure of the course depends solely on the final exam.

TEEX

Cost depends on course

TEEX offers up to 10 credits for free but there are also a few paid courses worth 1-3 credits apiece. These can work for a Criminal Justice or a Liberal Studies degree. The exact format of each course may vary but they generally consist of several modules with a quiz at the end. These quizzes are open-book.

Saylor Academy

Cost as of Oct 2020: $25 fee for ProctorU service.

Saylor has both ACE and NCCRS approved exams. You get credit for passing a proctored final exam, similar to CLEP, DSST, or even a TECEP. A free course is provided to learn the exam material, but many feel that some of their courses are cumbersome and disorganized. For this reason, Saylor is not recommended unless there are no alternatives for credit.

CSM Learn

Cost as of Oct 2020: $39

CSM Learn offers exactly one course and it is a math course for 3 credits. TESU counts it towards their Gen Ed quantitative literacy requirement. The course is non-proctored and requires you to go through all the modules earning a 100% grade to pass the course.

Penn Foster

Cost as of Oct 2020: $389 per course

These courses are geared towards the individuals wanting upper credit courses for TESU BSBA. There are webinars, homework, exams, and finals. Individuals have been able to complete these within 3-4 weeks (or sometimes sooner). Penn Foster is a nationally accredited college, meaning their courses typically won't transfer into standard regionally accredited schools (including the Big 3). However, they have had many of their courses ACE-approved for college credit, so those particular credits are transferable to the Big 3. You can check Unofficial List of Course Equivalencies for Penn Foster & Thomas Edison State College for how some of these ACE courses may transfer into TESU, but be aware that this list is likely outdated and ACE approval changes regularly. Please check ACE accreditation on your own prior to attempting.

Free Options

As mentioned in the overview, there are a small number of credit options you can use for free. Please see the page we have set up specifically for these options: Free Sources of Credit

Helpful Links

See Also

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