StraighterLine Launches "Freshman Year of College for $999"

For Immediate Release

Students Can Save More Than 90% on First Year of College Tuition

Alexandria, VA – StraighterLine (www.straighterline.com) announced today a program to help revolutionize college education.   The “Freshman Year of College for $999” program is designed to help college students and their families address rampant rising tuition costs of college education.  Students can take up to 29 college credits using StraighterLine’s online college courses for a flat $999 and realize savings of more than 90% versus the first-year tuition at many four-year colleges. Recently during an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty described a vision of a future “iCollege” where students could take courses similar to how people download music from the iTunes store today.   In this vision, Governor Pawlenty foresaw affordable college for every qualified student with tuition prices as low as $199 a course.  Well, the future is now and even better than Governor Pawlenty dreamed.  StraighterLine delivers courses that earn college credit for even less than that today and, with this new program, can bring the cost of freshman year to under $40 a credit. Students who successfully complete StraighterLine online college courses receive credit when they enroll with any school in StraighterLine’s rapidly expanding network of regionally accredited partner colleges.  In addition, the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT - www.acenet.edu/acecredit/) has also evaluated and recommended college credit for StraighterLine courses.  ACE CREDIT helps students gain access to academic credit at colleges and universities for formal courses and examinations taken in settings outside traditional higher education. Currently, StraighterLine offers nine freshman-level college courses online, including College Algebra, Precalculus, English Comp I, English Comp II, Accounting I, Accounting II, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Business Statistics and two developmental courses--with more to be offered soon.  StraighterLine partner colleges include the following institutions:

• Capella University (www.capella.edu)
• Charter Oak State College (www.charteroak.edu)
• Excelsior College (www.excelsior.edu)
• Fort Hays State University (www.fhsu.edu)
• Jefferson Community and Technical College (www.jefferson.kctcs.edu)
• Kaplan University (www.kaplanuniversity.edu)
• Lake City Community College (www.lakecitycc.edu)
• Potomac College (www.potomac.edu)
• Thompson Rivers University (www.truopen.ca)
• Western Governors University (www.wgu.edu)

“When we looked at the difference between how much most colleges spend to deliver freshman courses and how much they charge in tuition and fees, we realized that the same or better quality could be delivered at much, much lower prices and more conveniently,” says Burck Smith, CEO of StraighterLine. “So, that’s what we did.”

About StraighterLine

 StraighterLine provides students with a new online option for getting started on a college degree – freshman-level college courses for only $99 a month, plus a one-time $39 per course started fee.  The program includes up to 10 hours of one-on-one instructional support. StraighterLine is a great way to tackle the escalating cost of four-year college tuition and avoid a mountain of student debt.  For students that move at the same pace as a traditional semester schedule courses ultimately cost less than $43 per credit hour.  Many students move through the material even faster though which allows for greater savings. Students who successfully complete StraighterLine online college courses receive credit when they enroll with any school in our rapidly expanding network of regionally accredited partner colleges.  In addition, the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT - www.acenet.edu/acecredit/) has also evaluated and recommended college credit for StraighterLine courses.  ACE CREDIT helps students gain access to academic credit at colleges and universities for formal courses and examinations taken in settings outside traditional higher education.  For information, visit www.straighterline.com or call 1-877-str8erline (1-877-787-8375). Contacts: Widmeyer Communications Charles Martin  202 667-0901 [email protected]