Newlane University - My experience so far

[tsgreer]

After doing a ton of research on affordable, accredited online universities, I decided to try out Newlane University.

Newlane University is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The DEAC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency. The DEAC is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Newlane is competency-based and they offer:
- B.A. in Liberal Arts
- B.A. in Liberal Arts - Business Administration
- B.A. in Liberal Arts - Psychology

There’s a Reddit sub for Newlane, but it’s practically dead—only two posts and not much discussion. After checking out the official website, I decided to apply. Right after, I got a link to schedule a video call with a counselor. Honestly, that annoyed me because I prefer a straightforward online application with no unnecessary steps, and I definitely didn’t want any kind of sales pitch. But out of curiosity, I scheduled it for the next day. Happily surprised.

When the meeting started, the person introduced himself, and it turned out to be one of the actual founders of the school. Was not expecting that. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign, but it was definitely interesting. We ended up talking for about 30 minutes, and I asked about pricing, accreditation, and what motivated him to start the school.

I totally forgot to ask how many students are enrolled, but based on my research, it seems to be a couple hundred. I’ll confirm when I get an answer.

What impressed me was that there was no upselling at all. He told me the exact pricing structure upfront. The way it works is simple: you pay a flat monthly fee ($39) while you’re enrolled, and once you hit a set total cost ($1,500), you don’t pay anything else. No hidden fees, no books to buy (everything is online), and they accept up to 90 transfer credits.

It’s competency-based, so you work at your own pace—as fast or as slow as you want. If you stop taking classes, you stop paying.

The website itself is easy to use, though it looks a little dated. That doesn’t bother me, though, because it loads super fast. I also got an email about credit transfer, so I’m in the process of updating my credits.

So far, so good. Another thing I like is how fast the communication has been. Every email I’ve sent has been answered the same day or the next day, and I was assigned a student support person in case I need help. Haven’t had to use them yet, but they did give some advice on course pacing: “If you have 5-10 hours a week to spend, we recommend taking one course. If you have 10-20 hours a week, taking two courses is totally doable. You can also change how many courses you take at once as you get a feel for what works for you at Newlane.”

So far, my experience with Newlane has been fast, smooth, and no-nonsense. I like what I've experienced so far, but again, I am a very new student. I've sent in my transcripts and I'll keep everyone updated on how it works out.