free tuition college credit with a catch

[clep3705]

You can earn college credit for free MOOCs at some of the universities who contract with the Academic Partnerships company to run their online degrees. Free Online Courses for College Credit Toward A Degree | MOOC2Degree.com You have to pay for exam proctoring fees, university application fees, and an administrative fee, so the course isn't actually free.

The company Academic Partnerships works with brick and mortar institutions and packages their online degrees in a manner similar to what for profits do. The company was created by Randy Best Randy Best Is Going to Save Texas' Public Universities, Or Get Rich Trying - The Texas Observer. I didn't find anything on the Academic Partnerships website indicating it is a nonprofit. It seems to be blurring the distinction between profit and nonprofit education. They used to have a portal showing all participating colleges and universities, but I can no longer find that. The company is expanding internationally. I wonder how it will compare to University of Phoenix and DeVry in a few more years. When you as a prospective student engage with Academic Partnerships, you are working with a salesperson, not a university employee.

Academic Partnerships had been attempting to form a partnership with Coursera but that didn't work out. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014...ine-course

[SteveFoerster]

Having the first course be free is better than a kick in the head, but it's hardly transformative. And if the other 39 courses required for a Bachelor's degree aren't also inexpensive, then getting the first one free won't end up meaning you spend less -- it seems more likely this program will trick students into paying more than they'd otherwise have to pay.

[sanantone]

This sounds just like Test Drive College.