Outlier.org and Universities Call for Greater Credit Transfer Transparency

18 public and private universities and colleges commit to building more predictability and transparency into the transfer student experience

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Outlier.org, an online education platform dedicated to reducing student debt and increasing access to quality higher education, is launching a network of schools committed to improving the transfer student experience. The Outlier.org Credit Transfer Network includes 18 universities and colleges with more joining every month.

"Outlier.org is working with leading institutions across the country to build a new kind of on-ramp to higher education," said Aaron Rasmussen, CEO and Founder of Outlier.org. "By partnering with schools to build bridges from our courses into their degree programs, we can help students reduce the cost of their education and graduate faster."

The Outlier.org Credit Transfer Network makes public and accessible the course equivalencies involved in transferring credit from Outlier.org courses into the institutions that are part of the network. This gives students greater certainty and ability to plan their journey towards earning a degree at the institution of their choice.

"The higher education community must do more to prioritize the experience of transfer students if we are to improve graduation rates in this country," said Gregory Fowler, President of University of Maryland Global Campus. "We've worked closely with Outlier.org to create 11 custom pathways that clearly outline how a student can transfer their course credit into our associate and bachelor's degree programs."

Drop off rates among degree-seeking community college students are consistently high. Only 30 percent end up transferring to a four-year institution while only 14.6 percent complete a bachelor's degree within six years.

"The path to improving graduation rates for non-traditional, first-time college students must include greater credit transfer transparency," said Jorge Silva-Puras, Dean of CUNY School of Professional Studies. "By joining this network, we hope to bring an education at CUNY within reach of more students.

At launch, the Outlier.org Credit Transfer Network includes the following institutions:

• Alverno College
• American College of Education
• Bellevue University
• CUNY School of Professional Studies
• Excelsior University
• Golden Gate University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Manipal International University
• National University
• Southern New Hampshire University
• University Commonwealth of the Caribbean
• University of Maryland Global Campus
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of Massachusetts Global
• University of Massachusetts Lowell
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Western Governors University

In addition to schools in the Credit Transfer Network, any institution can accept credit from Outlier.org courses which are transcripted and overseen by the University of Pittsburgh. Students have requested their Outlier.org transcripts be sent to over 500 home institutions and report transferring credit to top schools like Harvard University, Georgetown University, Princeton University, New York University, UC Berkeley, Pennsylvania State University, University of Denver, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and many more.

"We are failing students when the idea of having to retake and pay for courses they've already taken is the difference between successfully transferring or giving up on earning a degree," added Rasmussen. "Outlier.org offers a unique opportunity for students to earn the credit they need, when they need it, with world-class instructors."

If your institution is interested in joining the Outlier.org Credit Transfer Network, visit www.outlier.org/pages/university-partnerships.

Created by the Co-founder of MasterClass, Outlier.org offers beautiful, effective online courses that earn students transferable college credit for a fraction of the cost. In addition to featuring cinema-quality lectures, Outlier.org courses are taught by some of the most charismatic figures in academia, including instructors from Yale, MIT, and Columbia, and are transcripted by the University of Pittsburgh, a top 60 school. Students enjoy a top-quality learning experience that includes access to 1-on-1 tutoring for math courses, AI-proctored assessments, dynamically-generated problem sets, and cutting-edge active learning materials. In keeping with the company's mission to increase access to top-quality higher education and reduce student debt, each course is priced at just $400.

Media Contact: Charlotte Ward, [email protected]

SOURCE Outlier.org