Sophia Learning, LLC

Overview
Sophia.org is an alternate credit provider with mainly general education credits. Unlike other credit providers, the tests/exams (called milestones) are not proctored with a webcam. Instead, they use your typing pattern to verify who you are. Alternatively, you may identify via a text message - if the typing verification fails.

At $330 per course, they are more expensive than other sources of alternate credit, but the lack of standard proctoring makes Sophia an ideal credit source for people who have slow connections, who currently lack a webcam, or who do not have access to a quiet testing space at this time. In addition to the paid credit courses, they also offer two free 1-credit courses.

Tuition Discounts
Excelsior students who take 2 Sophia courses get their application fee waived and a discounted rate on tuition; tuition discount only available when the student takes 12 credits from Excelsior itself.

Course Structure
Courses at Sophia generally consist of units that are divided into sections called challenges. As you progress through the challenges, you must answer questions based on the material presented in that section. The material may be in the form of text, videos, or audio depending on the course in question. Once you have successfully completed all of the challenges in a unit, you may take the "milestone" or chapter/unit quiz. The English Composition, College Readiness, and Public Speaking courses also have additional assignments - called Touchstones - that you must turn in to receive a grade.

Some courses have a different layout than other courses. These can be divided into the old style and the new style. With the old style, you get three chances to answer one question correctly. With the new style, you get one chance to answer one of three questions correctly. The new style layout is often both easier and more conducive to learning because you're given an extra opportunity to retain and digest the material if you didn't understand the initial question.

In order to get credit for a given course, you must have an overall grade of 70% or more.

Additional resources

 * Compiled list of courses - Links to equivalencies for COSC and Excelsior


 * Sophia.org equivalency list - Equivalencies for TESU