Arizona State University Universal Learner

Overview
Arizona State University's Universal Learner (formerly Earned Admissions/Global Freshman Academy) platform utilizes software from edX to offer MOOC-style courses that offer the possibility of regionally accredited credits from ASU itself. There are no fees for books or materials for these courses. Courses can even be taken at no charge, just for fun, if desired. However, in order to get credit, a student will need to sign up and verify their identity. The student can then register for as many courses as he or she chooses. Within one week of the start date, the student will need to pay a $25 fee per course to upgrade to credit eligibility. This preview period allows a student to see if he or she really wants to attempt the course for credit before paying anything. There is no penalty for not choosing to take a particular course.

Upon completion of a course, so long as your grade is 70% or higher, you may purchase credit for $400. You may also opt to instead take the course again for a better grade. The only cost of doing this is paying another $25 credit eligibility fee. Courses that are failed or dropped will not appear on any transcripts sent by ASU.

Course Structure
Nearly all ASU UL classes consist of a number of videos along with weekly assignments. These assignments generally take the form of multiple-choice quizzes or short-form entries for math problems. Notable exceptions are self-study precalculus, which utilizes the ALEKS platform, and English 101/102 which require you to create a free Wix site that will be used to submit your essay assignments. Other resources that are used by ASU include the Cerego flashcard platform (there is no cost for this) and Yellowdig for some written assignments with some classes. Calculus classes utilize the Gradarius system instead of ALEKS.

For courses that have a final exam, which the English 101/102 classes do not have, the final exam is worth anywhere from 25-35% of your total grade. In order to get credit for a given course, you must have an overall grade of 70% or more.

Final exams utilize the RPNow system for proctoring.

For Charter Oak Students
Of particular note to some students is AST111 (Introduction to Astronomy) and CHM114 (General Chemistry for Engineers). These are 4-credit classes that count as a science with a lab and can fulfill COSC's requirement for such. Once the cost of purchasing lab materials, shipping, and subscription fees are taken into account for other classes offered elsewhere, this can make ASU's offering less costly than some alternate credit offerings. Since ASU is RA credit, this does not count towards COSC's new limit of 90 credits from alternate credit providers, potentially making ASU even more attractive.

For TESU Students
TESU has followed in COSC's footsteps and restricts degree-seekers to 90 credits from alternate sources. Although ASU UL is more expensive than some other options, they do have some offerings that aren't available elsewhere or that students might prefer to take from ASU. Equivalencies are provided in the table below.

Additional resources

 * Transfer equivalencies at TESU - Check to see what a given RA credit class will transfer in as at TESU.
 * ASU UL courses - List of upcoming courses being offered by ASU.