WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After rigorous review, the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS, Regents Research Fund, USNY) has recommended six Saylor Foundation course exams for potential credit, bringing the total of recommended exams to nine. Students who pass proctored exams for these nine courses could earn up to twenty-eight transferable college credits.

These free, open online courses, unlike typical MOOCs, are available to students at any time and can be completed on convenient schedules, meeting student needs for both access and affordability. They include courses in both STEM and Humanities:

• Beginning Algebra (MA001) [new]
• Business Law and Ethics (BUS205)
• Business Statistics (BUS 204) [new]
• Calculus 1 (MA005) [new]
• Corporate Communication (BUS210)
• Introduction to Computer Science I (CS101) [new]
• Introduction to Western Political Thought (POLSC201)
• Principles of Management (BUS208) [new]
• Principles of Marketing (BUS203)[new]

How college credit recommendations work for Saylor and their students

The Saylor Foundation chose some of its strongest and most useful courses for this program evaluation with NCCRS (Computer Science 101 is the foundation's most popular offering), producing freshly-revised exams and augmenting the learning materials before submitting them to NCCRS for review. The foundation's goal is to make a measurable impact for a wide spectrum of degree-seeking students.

The review process is rigorous. Each course, along with supporting instructional materials and extensive documentation, is reviewed by a panel of two to three subject-matter experts who present detailed findings and a decision on whether credit recommendations are warranted. Students may then apply for transfer credit with more than 1,500 cooperating colleges and universities who have indicated a willingness to grant credit for evaluated courses with corresponding credit recommendations.

Students can take the courses for free at their own pace; when they are ready, they sit for a proctored exam.* Upon passing that exam, a paper transcript is sent from the Saylor Foundation to the school(s) each student designates.

The Saylor Foundation has also partnered directly with eleven institutions across the United States that will guarantee credit for courses that match a student's program of study. Several of these schools do not require that a student enroll in one of their programs and will issue an official transcript. Taking advantage of these opportunities, a Saylor.org student who has passed credit-recommended exams is highly likely to be able to receive or transfer credit to a local or convenient institution at a very affordable cost.

Driving toward a full free year of college

Although individual program requirements and courses of study will differ, these nine courses equate to nearly two full semesters of the undergraduate course load. Many schools, including several that have partnered directly with the Saylor Foundation, will accept most or all of a student's transfer credit.

While the cost of college tuition varies significantly from one institution to the next, a modest estimate of $300 per credit-hour yields tuition savings to the student of more than $8,000.

* Students have the option of using a proctoring service for $25 per exam attempt or of finding a free proctor (such as a school official, a librarian, etc.).

About the Saylor Foundation

The Saylor Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. As part of our mission to make quality education freely available to all, we employ experienced faculty to design K-12, university, and career level courses from the wealth of material available on the Web. Today, the Foundation's free education initiative at Saylor.org provides over 300 standard and college credit-aligned courses to anyone with an Internet connection.

About The National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS)

NCCRS is administered by the University of the State of New York, Regents Research Fund. Since 1973 National CCRS has been evaluating training and education programs offered outside of the traditional college classroom setting and translating them into college credit equivalencies.

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