Straight Talk: June 22, 2011

Straight Talk:  The StraighterLine e-Newsletter Issue #13, June 22, 2011
Edited by Jeffrey Lee Simons

In this issue…

StraighterLine Welcomes New Partner School: WGU Washington

More and more colleges are realizing the benefits of offering their students an expanded online curriculum. And, we’re happy to say, many of those are partnering with StraighterLine to offer their students our self-paced, extremely affordable solutions like $99 a month plus a $39/per course one-time fee.

This issue, we’d like to announce the recent addition WGU Washington to our list of partner schools. WGU Washington is the latest state-focused expansion of Western Governors University, the ground-breaking and highly acclaimed fully online non-profit university. Read all about them here.

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Refer Your Friends and Earn Gift Cards

Why not let your friends in on the StraighterLine secret and make some extra money for yourself at the same time? Get a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card when your friends sign up for a StraighterLine online college course. There’s no limit to how many rewards you can earn. Get started now.

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Announcing 15 New Courses and a New Department!

Our curriculum keeps on growing! For the 2011 Back-To-School season, we’ll be going live with 15 new online college courses and a new department, Humanities. These new courses will bring our total to 40, with even more planned for the future. Click here to be notified the instant they’re available:

  • Introduction to Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Introduction to Nutrition
  • Physical Education, Health & Wellness
  • United States History I
  • Western Civilization I
  • Pharmacology I
  • Pharmacology II
  • Physics I
  • General Physics I with Lab
  • Physics II
  • General Physics II with Lab
  • Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • Introduction to Sociology
  • Student Success

Best of The StraighterLine Blog

Spooked By College Science Requirements? We Have a Solution for You
Let’s face it: the only students who love science courses are science majors. For the rest of us, required science courses can be an obstacle that we put off and put off until suddenly, they’re the barrier between us and our diploma. If that’s you, then you need to read Barry Lenson’s post on how to get your science requirements out of the way as painlessly as possible. Read Full Post 

Unusual Ways to Pay for College Tactic #2...Don’t Save Assets in a Student’s Name
If you’re not reading our series on ways you can reduce your college costs, then you’re probably named Rockefeller. For the rest of us, we can use all the help we can get. Read Tactic #2: Don’t Save Assets in a Student’s Name first, and then go back and catch up on Tactic #1. Read Full Post

PayPal Founder Offers Internships for Bright College Students
Have you heard about the $100,000 internships being offered by Pay-Pal co-founder Peter Thiel? Thiel is offering the internships to 24 students who leave college for 2 years to work on technology and science innovations. Barry Lenson takes a deeper look at what the internships are all about in this thoughtful blog post. Read Full Post

Win an iPad2: Announcing the StraighterLine Summer Slam Contest

Did you know you could take college courses at StraighterLine this summer? Of course you did. But did you also know that two smart, talented StraighterLine students who sign up for online college courses using the special Summer Slam code will win an iPad2 this summer? iPads will be awarded for Best GPA and most courses started and completed during the contest. Get the code and contest details here.

Online Education in The News

Potential Disruptors in the Higher Education Space
ChangingHigherEducation.com, Lloyd Armstrong, 6/09/11

Lloyd Armstrong, University Professor and Provost Emeritus at the University of Southern California, has written a blog post about companies, institutions and think tanks that might be shaking things up in higher education. He addresses the National Center for Academic Transformation, which looks at ways technology can improve learning while lowering costs. He includes Learning Counts (a partnership of ACE, the College Board, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) and the Open Badges Project, which offer alternative approaches to credentialing. And he includes both our partner school Western Governors University and us, StraighterLine, in his list of innovators and disruptors, too. It’s a great article, and a blog that’s worth keeping an eye on. Read Full Article

What’s the Point of Accreditation?
The PopeCenter.org, Jason Fertig, 6/02/11

Adding to the arguments that business schools aren’t living up to their promises or their price tags comes this commentary on the value of accreditation from The Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. Jason Fertig, an assistant professor of management who holds both a Masters and a Ph.D., looks at the organization that accredits business schools, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. He quotes the AACSB’s own literature, which states “Accreditation is neither necessary nor sufficient for quality learning experiences.” He continues, “Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that many business school graduates don’t learn much that ‘will be useful in the workplace.’” In fact Fertig, who has taught at both accredited and non-accredited business schools, says he has “seen no noticeable difference between the two in student performance, academic content, and overall rigor.” Read Full Article

Infographic: How the Internet Is Revolutionizing Education
The Atlantic, Nicolas Jackson, 6/13/11

The Atlantic looks at the impact of online education with an infographic. According to The Atlantic, “The Internet has also allowed millions to receive an education without ever leaving their homes. Through sometimes-controversial online education programs, students can obtain entire degrees or just stay up-to-date in their chosen professional field.” Some of their favorite facts:

  • There are over three million online-only students in the US…more than all the college students in France.
  • By 2019, 50% of all classes will be delivered online, many for free.
  • Nearly half of online students are 26 or older.

See the infographic for yourself.

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Get a Perfect Fit with Our No-Risk Free Trial

Would you ever buy a new pair of jeans or sneakers without trying them on first? At StraighterLine, we want you to be sure we’re a perfect fit, too. That’s why we offer a risk-free trial of 6 StraighterLine courses. Try us on… you’ve got nothing to lose, and thousands of dollars to save.

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 StraighterLine Welcomes New Partner Schools