StraighterLine

StraighterLine is an online provider of self-paced, college-level courses whose credit students transfer into a degree at another college or university. Its FAQ describes it as an online education platform offering "affordable, self-paced college courses", taken without timelines or deadlines, whose credits "easily transfer to many colleges and universities". The reader it serves is a student working toward a degree: someone clearing general education and prerequisite courses, an adult finishing a degree, a nursing or healthcare student collecting required credits, or a high school student planning ahead. The homepage reports that "350,000+ students have saved $300 million on tuition" and calls the company the "#1 Trusted Online Course Provider". It also mentions an EdTech Trendsetter award.

The catalog

The site's own comparison article counts 75+ courses in its summary table (its text says 70+) and lists the college subjects as Business, Computer Science, English, Foreign Languages, History, Humanities, Math, Psychology, Science and Social Science. The course menu groups the catalog a little differently, into business, college prep, education, English, health science, humanities, IT and training, languages, math, science and social science. The homepage highlights five routes into it: GenEds and prerequisites, healthcare credits for a nursing or healthcare degree, business skills, math from algebra through calculus and statistics, and humanities such as history, philosophy and sociology. Beyond the credit courses, the company offers College Prep courses, which are non-credit, and course bundles.

The most popular courses on the homepage are College Algebra, Anatomy & Physiology I, Intro to Sociology and Microbiology, each listed at 3 credits and $79. The homepage claims a "98% pass rate" for these popular courses and says a learner can finish in as little as 23 days.

How a course works

Courses are fully online with no start dates or deadlines. The homepage promises "Finish a course in 23 days or less" and says most students finish in less than a month; the comparison article says many students complete courses in a few weeks, depending on how intensively they study. One testimonial, from a learner named Sherey D., says she completed a course in 4 weeks.

The FAQ describes each course as built from reading assignments, interactive lessons, review activities and homework. The comparison article adds quizzes, tests and assignments and a final exam, and the requirements section mentions proctored final exams. To earn credit, a learner must complete the final and finish with a cumulative score of 70% or higher. The retake policy allows several attempts at exams and assignments to raise a score, but every final exam is limited to one attempt. According to the article, courses are "crafted by top instructors and academics from leading universities". Enrollment needs no admission process, transcripts, test scores or prior experience; a learner needs reliable internet and a computer or tablet.

Credit, accreditation and transfer

StraighterLine is open about its standing. Its FAQ says plainly that it is not accredited, because it is not a degree-granting institution, and that its courses are instead recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE), which many accredited colleges and universities accept. The only courses without an ACE recommendation are the non-credit College Prep courses. The company also says it was selected for the U.S. Department of Education's EQUIP program, an effort to give students in nontraditional programs access to federal student aid.

Transfer runs on two tiers. StraighterLine says it has guaranteed transfer agreements with over 180 partner institutions, among them public and private universities, community colleges, online-only schools and whole university systems. Beyond those, the FAQ says its courses "have been accepted for credit at 3,000+ institutions, including the majority of colleges in every state", and the article names Harvard among the schools outside the partner network that have accepted its credit. It cites a survey of several thousand students in which 97% of those who completed a course had their transfer credit validated by their school. The company still advises checking with the school in advance which courses match a degree's requirements, and its transfer advisors help plan that.

When a course is done, the learner requests a transcript from the dashboard and StraighterLine sends it to the school. Transcripts are unlimited under the membership.

Membership and pricing

The pricing is "$99/month + cost of course". The membership covers digital textbooks, unlimited transcripts, practice exams and retakes, one-on-one support, 24/7 virtual tutoring and transfer advisors, plus a one-time fee per course; the FAQ adds that a member can cancel or pause anytime. Most courses cost $79, which the company compares with $1,200 per course at the average public four-year university, and it advertises average savings of $1,000 per course. There is no limit on how many courses or exams a member can take at once. The company explains the low price by having no campus overhead, since every course is fully online. A testimonial on the homepage from George E., a Construction Management student, makes the same point in his own terms: he says he got 6 courses at StraighterLine for the price of 1 at his college.

A free trial lets a visitor preview sample course material and get a feel for the platform before paying.

Support

The membership bundles several kinds of help. Academic advisors help choose courses that match a degree and will transfer. On-demand online tutoring runs 24/7: a learner can connect with a live tutor at any time, drop off assignments for review, book sessions ahead and pick a favorite tutor. Tech support handles technical problems, and the Enrollment Services team is available seven days a week. The resource library offers guides for choosing a career, finishing a degree as an adult, managing college costs and, for high school students, SAT prep and financial planning.

Who it suits

StraighterLine suits a degree-seeking student who wants to take general education, prerequisite or healthcare courses for a low per-course price and on their own schedule, and whose college accepts ACE-recommended credit. Adults returning to finish a degree, students who want to clear gen eds before transferring, and nursing applicants collecting science prerequisites fit best, and a learner whose school is one of the 180+ partners gets guaranteed transfer. A fast learner can finish a course in a few weeks and keep the monthly fee low. A student whose school does not accept ACE credit, or who wants a degree from the provider itself, needs a different route, since StraighterLine grants course credit rather than degrees.