Arizona State University Universal Learner

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Overview[edit]

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.

In order to begin a course, students must pay a $25 fee. Upon completion of a course, so long as the grade is 70% or higher, the course may be transcripted for an additional $400. Both the $25 and the $400 are per course. You may also opt to instead take the course again for a better grade. The only cost of doing this is paying another $25 fee. Courses that are failed or dropped will not appear on any transcripts sent by ASU.

Important Information[edit]

ASU used to allow students to audit these courses for free. However, students will now need to pay the $25 fee to access the course before they can view the course contents. Students may request a refund within 10 days of the course opening date. Paying the $400 course transcription fee at the end of the course is still optional.

In order to pay the fee, students will need to have a verified ID. It is recommended that new students sign up for the ASU platform at least 2 weeks before the start of the next session. It will take approximately 1 week to obtain the login information, with additional time needed for ID verification.

Course Structure[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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.

ASU -> TESU equivalency table
ASU Course Self-Paced Option? TESU Equivalent
MAT-210 Brief Calculus: Calculus for Business and Economics Yes MAT-231 Calculus I
MAT-265 Calculus for Engineers I Yes MAT-231 Calculus I
MAT-117 College Algebra and Problem Solving Yes MAT-121 College Algebra
CIS-105 Computer Applications & Information Technology No CIS-107 Computer Concepts & Applications
CIS-194 Technical Support Fundamentals (1 credit) Yes CIS-199 Special Topics Comp Info Sytms
CIS-308 Advanced Excel in Business Yes [1] SES-3720 Advanced Excel in Business
Previously: CIS-399 Special Topics Comp Info Syst
CIS-309 Business Process Management Yes CIS-440 Business Process Management
CIS-310 Business Data Visualization Yes DSI-3000 Business Data Visualization
CIS-313 Location Analytics for Business Yes CIS-399
CIS-405 Business Intelligence No DSI-4999
ENG-101 English Composition No ENC-101 English Composition I
ENG-102 English Composition: Research & Writing No ENC-102 English Composition II
HST-102 Europe and the Mediterranean: Ancient and Medieval No HST-101 Western Civilization I
CHM-114 General Chemistry for Engineers (4 credits) No CHE-121 General Chemistry I w/ Lab
ASM-246 Human Origins No ANT-140 Intro to Human Evolution
PAF-112 Identity, Service and American Democracy No POS-199 Special Topics Political Sci
Does not fill the Civic Engagement requirement.
FSE-100 Introduction to Engineering: Imagine, Design, Engineer! No EGM-101 Intro to Engineering
HEP-100 (Formerly EXW-100) Introduction to Health & Wellness No HEA-106 Personal Health
COM-100 Introduction to Human Communication No COM-130 Human Communications
SOC-101 Introduction to Sociology No SOC-101 Introduction to Sociology
AST-111 Introduction to Solar Systems Astronomy (4 credits) No AST-101 Intro to Astronomy I and AST-113 Astronomy Lab I
ECN-211 Macroeconomic Principles No ECO-111 Macroeconomics
ECN-212 Microeconomic Principles: Decision Making Under Scarcity No ECO-112 Microeconomics
FSE-150 Perspectives on Grand Challenges for Engineering No EGM-199 Special Topics Engineering Mechn
MAT-170 Precalculus Yes MAT-129 Precalculus
CSE-110 Programming for Everyone: Introduction to Programming No COS-111 Intro to Programming
CEE-181 Technological, Social, and Sustainable Systems No CET-199 Special Topics Civil Eng Tech
ACC-231 Uses of Accounting Information No ACC-299 Special Topics in Accounting
Does not fill the BSBA Financial Accounting requirement.
SES-106 Habitable Worlds (4 credits) Kind of[1] AST-199 Special Topics in Astronomy
BIO-100 The Living World (4 credits) Kind of[1] BIO-101 Introductory Biology
PSY-101 Introduction to Psychology Kind of[1] PSY-101 Introduction to Psychology
SST-220 Introduction to Social Transformation No SOC-299 Special Topics in Sociology

Notes[edit]

[1] - These are courses that are only available as 8-week instructor-led sessions. However, unlike other most other instructor-led courses at ASU, the entirety of the course is unlocked at the start.

Both SES-106 Habitable Worlds and BIO-100 The Living World have a total of 40 segments and you are expected to complete one every weekday. However, if you complete 1 or 2 every single day instead of just on the weekdays then you can be done in 4-6 weeks instead of the full 8 weeks. Each segment is expected to take 1-2 hours to complete.

CIS-308 Advanced Excel in Business is also fully unlocked from the start. You are given "deadlines", but these are only to ensure that you are able to finish the course on time. There is no penalty for turning in an assignment early or late. It is possible to finish all assignments & quizzes in a day or two.

PSY-101 Introduction to Psychology includes 6 modules, 5 of which are unlocked from the start (with module 6 open ~50% through the course). "Due dates" are included in the course, as well as extra credit for those who maintain the "suggested" pace, however, assignments are not considered late until the end of the course.

The CIS-x94 courses from the Google IT Support Certificate program may transfer to other institutions as special topics courses. Save the course flyers and syllabi, and use those documents to appeal your academic evaluations if required.

Additional resources[edit]