The Saylor Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1999 by Michael J. Saylor. As a result, the Saylor Academy was established well before the MOOC moment of 2012. The goal of the organization is to lower the costs of education, making learning materials as accessible as possible.
Course Materials:
The organization’s recent emphasis has been to create course materials that mimic those one would find at a traditional university. Saylor employees search for and assemble collections of open-source learning materials, which range from instructor-made syllabuses and reading lists to lectures and reading materials.
Qualified individuals and academics then design course curricula that correspond with typical university-level courses. When necessary materials for course design cannot be found, the organization develops its own course documents. All Saylor course materials are peer reviewed.
Once students have completed all necessary course readings, they will have the opportunity to complete assessments and final examinations. Saylor also intends to offer badges of completion for each course.
The Saylor Foundation’s most impressive feat lies in its extremely expansive accredited course offerings list. Students could feasibly a rather sizable number of college courses through Saylor before ever stepping onto a college campus. Saylor students can also complete an Associates Degree through the foundation’s partnership with Thomas Edison State College.
Course Offerings:
The Saylor Foundation offers a variety of courses aimed at helping students to prepare for a certain major or career. The website offers eight career-related pathways aimed at preparing students for a job in a growing field:
- fifteen Business Management courses, including three courses in the 400-level
- twenty Computer Science courses, including ten in the 400-level
- eight Economics and Accounting courses, including a class on International Trade
- ten English Language and Communications courses, including Professional Writing and Public Relations classes
- eleven Science, Technology, and Mathematics courses
- three Social Science courses
- eight Professional Development courses, including classes on Interviewing Skills and Customer Service
Saylor has developed curricula for both the Business Administration and the Computer Science majors. Each curriculum includes foundational, core, and elective classes that direct students through an entire degree sequence.
Additionally, Saylor also offers a wide range of foundational courses that a first or second-year student would take at a traditional university. The available foundational courses include English Composition I, Calculus I, Public Speaking, and Professional Writing.
College Credit:
Students can earn college credit by taking and passing a proctored exam through the Saylor Academy and one of its partners. The American Council of Education and the Saylor Foundation have provided students with the opportunity to take a proctored exam for college. The following courses have been recommended by the ACE for college credit:
- BIO101B Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology
- CHEM101 General Chemistry I
Additionally, The National College Credit Recommendation Service has determined that the following classes can also be taken for college credit after the completion of a proctored exam:
- BUS203 Principles of Marketing
- BUS204 Business Statistics
- BUS205 Business Law and Ethics
- BUS208 Principles of Management
- BUS210 Corporate Communication
- CS101 Introduction to Computer Science I
- MA001 Beginning Algebra
- MA005 Calculus I
- POLSC201 Introduction to Western Political Though
Saylor University has also worked with Excelsior College to match numerous courses with UExcel content guides. As a result, students can now take a class through Saylor University and complete an Excelsior College exam to receive three to six college credit hours:
- ECON102-EXC Principles of Macroeconomics
- MA101-EXC Single-Variable Calculus I
- PSYCH101-EXC Introduction to Psychology
Saylor University has also made a similar arrangement with the Thomas Edison State College for its examination program. As a result, students can take and complete these courses for credit:
- BUS403 Negotiations and Conflict Management
- CS402 Computer Communications and Networks
- ENVS203 Environmental Ethics, Justice, and World Views
- HIST103 World History in the Early Modern and Modern Eras
- MA121 Introduction to Statistics
- POLSC221 Introduction to Comparative Politics
Additionally, students can also take these CLEP and StraighterLine-alligned courses for college credit:
- ECON101-CLEP Principles of Microecnomics
- POLSC232 American Government
- BIO307 Microbiology
- MA121 Introduction to Statistics
Finally, high school students can take the following AP exam preparation courses through the Saylor Foundation:
- K12MATH013 Calculus AB
- K12MATH014 Advanced Statistics
Degree Programs:
The Saylor Academy has also partnered with Thomas Edison State College to create an Associate of Sciences in Business Administration program. Students can take the courses for free and complete a series of exams and portfolio assessments to receive college credit. In total, students must complete sixty credit hours to receive a degree, including several general education courses and electives. To begin the program, students must apply for acceptance to Thomas Edison State College. The total cost of the program is $3,646 for New Jersey residents and $5,279 for out-of-state students.