American Council on Education Unveils Alternative Credit Project Course Pool

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Council on Education (ACE) today announced the pool of courses selected as part of ACE's Alternative Credit Project™, a groundbreaking initiative to boost the ability of millions of nontraditional learners to gain a college degree.

The 111 low- or no-cost, lower-division general education online courses were submitted by a group of non-accredited course providers, including Saylor Academy, chosen to participate in the Alternative Credit Project. Forty colleges, universities and systems are taking part in the project and have agreed to grant credit for a large number of these courses, which include disciplines such as business, critical thinking and writing, foreign language, humanities, mathematics and natural and physical sciences.

Click here to see the list of the courses offered by Saylor Academy.

"Saylor Academy is proud to be participating in this project," said Devon Ritter, Director of Education at Saylor Academy. "For the past five plus years we have sought ways to better serve nontraditional students with our flexible and affordable online courseware, and in joining ACE and the other innovative institutions who are part of the Alternative Credit Project, we believe degree seeking students will have greater access to a quality education. We hope that the opportunity for Saylor students to earn up to 43 hours of credit for as little as $350 will encourage others to continue to find ways to expand access to higher education."

"This is an important step for an initiative that already has significantly increased our body of knowledge about the most effective ways to increase the number of Americans able to earn a college degree or credential by using education, training and life experiences gained outside a formal classroom," said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad.

"Nontraditional students who often are balancing multiple family and career demands now know where they can turn to take courses that will help them reduce the time and expense required to gain a postsecondary degree or credential at a number of outstanding institutions," said Deborah Seymour, ACE assistant vice president for education attainment and innovation.

ACE will be collecting anonymized data from participating institutions regarding the number of credits each institution accepts through this project as well as progress and success rates of students who transfer in consortium-approved courses.

The project is made possible by a $1.89 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

About ACE

Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents and related associations. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.

About Saylor Academy

Saylor Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to open education to all through open online courses and twenty-first century credentials. Since 2008, Saylor Academy has offered college- and professional-level learning that helps students overcome barriers of cost, location, and time toward meeting their educational goals. Visit www.saylor.org to learn more or follow Saylor Academy on Twitter at @saylordotorg.