TEL Learning
Overview[edit]
TEL Learning is a site that offers a number of course study materials for free. This includes things like American Government, Chemistry, History, and more. This makes them a good resource, in addition to Modern States to studying for some CLEP exams. But where TEL Learning shines is their affordable access to RA credits. Through partnership agreements, courses you pay for at TEL Learning will be transcripted on one of two (as of October 2020) partner universities as if you had taken the courses at the university itself. Costs (as of October 2020) are $200 for 3-credit courses and $67 for 1-credit courses.
As of December 2020, the partner universities that will transcript TEL Learning are Greenville University, Mid-America Christian University, Lane College, and Oklahoma Christian University.
WARNING to COSC Students[edit]
Charter Oak is stating that they will not accept TEL Learning courses, even with those courses being transcripted at a RA college or university. Students looking for cheap RA credit for COSC should look elsewhere.
Choosing a Transcripting University[edit]
When you sign up for a TEL Learning course, you are allowed to choose which college/university transcript you want the course to apply to. Simply picking an institution at random could result in the course(s) not transferring as intended. To help you choose, see the following table:
Note: Information in the table below may change at any time. Please verify before purchasing a TEL Learning class.
| Institution | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-American Christian University (MACU) | It looks like you get 5cr for Latin - a bonus there! Every course is named something that's an easy transfer to most schools, so it's probably going to be the best option for everyone. | PHY1103: Physical Sciences comes in as NATS2103: Environmental Science, which may or may not be an issue for some people. This school gets top billing because it's the best option for the most number of people; it has every course; and the equivalencies are great. |
| Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU) | Every class seems solidly transferable. They have most, if not all, TEL classes. | Not as many credits for language as at Oklahoma Christian University. Labs are required for all the sciences which could be an issue for some. |
| Allen University | Solid course names that should be an easy transfer to most schools. | They don't carry a lot of TEL courses. For instance, only Chemistry is offered and not Biology or Natural Sciences. No language courses. |
| Lane College | All courses except the "cons" ones have good equivalencies | BIO1303: Intro to Biology comes in as BIO143: Biological Science for Education, which isn't great. Latin, Chinese and Intro to IT aren't available here |
| McMurry University (MCM) | Science labs are INCLUDED in the main course; it appears that you do not have to purchase the additional lab from TEL. Confirm if you plan to take science here. | Doesn't offer every TEL course. Even if you have no interest in completing lab assignments, and you don't need a lab science, there may be no way to avoid them. |
| Oklahoma Christian University | It looks like you get 4cr for Chinese, and 5cr for Latin - a bonus there! All other courses except the "cons" ones have good equivalencies | ENG2303: Literature & Composition comes in as ENGL-2213: Perspectives in Literature rather than English Comp II, which may be a big issue for many. HUM1103: Intro to Christianity isn't available. And the 3 science courses all require you to do the lab before you can get credit; if you don't need a lab, this is an issue. |
| Greenville University | None | Courses are reported on their transcript as being taken at TEL, meaning they probably will not transfer. |
| York College | Relevant, transferable, names like MACU. | Several courses, including Chinese and Latin, are unavailable here. |
| SAU Tech | Good transferable names for all courses that are offered. | Currently only offer 4 courses. |
Thanks to dfrecore on the forum for this information.
Course content[edit]
According to TEL Learning's site, their courses:
- TEL Library Courses on Demand are all-inclusive, meaning they contain all course materials, instruction, technology, and proctored exams.
- Each TEL Library college-credit course features between 60-70 lessons, quizzes, mastery assignments (with peer-review), and 2 proctored exams. Each three-hour course represents approximately 135-150 hours of study.
- In addition, each course provides course meetups with the instructor, live and recorded special topic sessions, and access to course support via chat, phone, and email.
Syllabi[edit]
You can see the syllabuses of the various TEL Learning courses by visiting the free course library, clicking on the relevant course, and downloading the PDF from the documents section. The PDFs are also linked here directly for ease of use.
- History & Civilization: American Government, United States History I, United States History II
- Humanities: Introduction to Christianity
- Language: Chinese I, Latin I
- Math: College Algebra, Quantitative Analysis I
- Science: Chemistry I, Chemistry I Lab, Introduction to Biology, Introduction to Biology Lab, Physical Sciences, Physical Sciences Lab
- Social Sciences: Principles of Psychology
- Technology: Introduction to Information Technology
- Writing & Composition: College Readiness, Introduction to Communication, Introductory Reading and Writing, Language and Composition, Literature and Composition
Associate's Degree for HS Students[edit]
Via YC Academy, in partnership with York College, high school students are able to earn an Associate in Arts for a total cost of $4,000. According to the FAQ page, they only allow 6 credits to be transferred in from elsewhere meaning that students are unable to fully utilize less expensive resources like Sophia.org for their requirements. Despite the lack of in-bound transfers, this is still one of the lowest-cost ways to obtain an associate's degree, especially for students still in high school. When considering any of the big 3 for associate's degrees, TESU has an expensive residency fee waiver that is more than $3,000 and all of the big 3 require between 3 and 7 credits to be taken at the university itself (for a tuition cost of between approximately $1500 and $3600 before you even consider the cost of the other required courses). This requirement does not exist with YC Academy; all you pay is the $4,000.
Mature students residing in the US should consider Pierpont as a low-cost way to obtain an associate's degree. Other options are also available.
Resources[edit]
- TEL Learning homepage
- Courses-on-Demand - Courses available for credit
- Partner Institutions