Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) announced today it will make its Sophia Learning online education platform, whose mission is to offer students affordable ways to get to and through college, available to universities, school districts, employers and the general public for free. All Sophia general education courses are American Council on Education (ACE) recommended and transferrable to numerous higher education institutions for course credit.
Amid campus closures and other disruptions to prioritize the health and safety of the nation, SEI and Sophia Learning are committed to providing opportunities for everyone to continue their educational journey safely and on their own terms with self-paced courses.
“Our focus is to support students as they navigate this unprecedented time and find ways to continue their education,” said Grant Schmalzer, Executive Director of Sophia Learning. “By offering free courses online, our hope is that we provide more ways for students to access flexible education or explore potential new career avenues with our professional development courses. We are inspired by the ambition and dedication of students looking to complete their education as planned during this time of crisis. We hope that by doing our small part, we will help people achieve their educational and professional goals.”
In addition to making the platform widely available to the general public, SEI is engaging with its partners at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to ensure more than two dozen historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have access to this free platform. Employees at several of SEI’s more than 700 employer education partners can also benefit from access to the Sophia platform.
“For 76 years, UNCF has built powerful partnerships that have helped ensure that we keep our promise to provide educational opportunities to our HBCUs and students,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, President and CEO of UNCF. “We are excited to work with SEI to provide online general education courses for our students whose college plans are being disrupted by this health crisis. Now, students in need of general education courses will have a better chance to persist with their studies and graduate timely.”
“As a leader in online learning and a company that is focused on advancing economic mobility, we believe it’s our responsibility to step forward to support all students, educators and communities during this difficult time,” said Karl McDonnell, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Education, Inc. “By offering Sophia for free, we can help students everywhere maintain access to high quality courses so they can continue their education with as minimal disruption as possible.”
SEI and Sophia Learning will extend free access to the courses through July 31, 2020. This offer is open to all, including those who have not taken online courses with Sophia before. Students can choose from a wide variety of courses, including Introduction to Statistics, Human Biology, Accounting, Art History, Environmental Science and Micro- and Macroeconomics.
As a member of the higher education community, Sophia Learning is dedicated to the success of students across the country. Please visit https://www.sophia.org/online-courses-for-college-credit for more details.
About Sophia Learning
Sophia.org is a social education platform that provides free tools and resources to teachers, including 38,000 academic tutorials on a variety of subjects and professional development opportunities. The site also offers students free college readiness resources that include ACT test prep; College Prep Pathways in algebra, statistics and biology; Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards resources; as well as College Success Skills to help students navigate the college experience. Sophia Learning is a subsidiary of Strategic Education, Inc. For more information, visit Sophia.org. You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com/Sophia.org or Twitter @sophia.
About SEI
Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) (www.strategiceducation.com) is dedicated to enabling economic mobility with education. We serve working adult students through a range of educational opportunities that include: Strayer University and Capella University (separate institutions that are each regionally accredited), which collectively offer flexible and affordable associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs; a Top-25 Princeton Review-ranked online MBA program through the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University; self-paced courses for college credit through Sophia; customized degrees for corporations through Degrees@Work; and non-degree web and mobile application development courses through DevMountain, Generation Code, and Hackbright Academy. These programs help our students prepare for success in today’s jobs and find a path to bettering their lives.
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