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Sophia credits seem pretty awesome. They’ve got over 40 classes, and a lot of them transfer for college credit at the big schools I like to recommend.

But, the courses are suspiciously easy.

I talk to a lot of clients who want to take Sophia courses because they’re so easy and quick, but I’ve got other clients who worry that Sophia college credits won’t be taken seriously by their school.

It reminds me of a day I was sitting in my office where I chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies department for Liberty University.

It was the end of the day, and I was tired, but the chair of the Math department was walking by, and before I could pretend to be busy, he stopped and knocked, so I let him in.

We started talking, and he wanted to complain about Sophia courses. He didn’t know how much I liked them, but he definitely did NOT like them.

“I just had a student tell me he finished the College Algebra course in two days! Why is our school accepting those credits? They can’t be serious. There’s no way he learned enough in that Sophia course.”

I spent the next ten minutes just listening to him and letting him blow off steam. I was only 26, so I was the youngest department chair in our division (probably the youngest department chair in the history of the school!), and I didn’t want to make enemies, but I think about that conversation a lot, so I’m going to tell you what I wish I’d told him:

1.Basic general education courses already are easy.

I think a lot of professors like to think of college as very challenging, but the truth is that college is way easier these days than it used to be. Grade inflation has caused GPAs to go up, and general education courses (like College Algebra) have given up the pretension of being anything more than a high school review (though I like to think College Composition is still a good course to take seriously).

So, why shouldn’t a student be able to knock out one of these super easy courses in a day if the professor and the system get out of the way?

2.The student probably already knew a lot about College Algebra.

Something people complaining about Sophia never stop to think about is whether the students passing the courses so quickly maybe already knew something about the subjects. After all, lots of Sophia passees did finish a high school course in the same subject at some point. Is it so hard to believe that we’d remember something and be able to pass the Sophia course quickly?

I think I could pass the Sophia College Composition I course in an evening, but I taught College Composition. If I hadn’t, it take me a little longer, but it’d be a mistake to say that the course was bad just because I could pass it so fast.

3.How hard do you think your C students work?

Remember that nearly all competency-based learning systems (CLEP, Sophia, DSST, etc.) are based on the idea that a student has to demonstrate a C-level knowledge in the subject.

Have you ever watched a C student study? They rarely do. They maybe show up to class, they maybe take an exam, they maybe cram the night before, etc. They don’t do much, and they still pass with C’s.

So why shouldn’t a student who already knows something about College Algebra (an easy general education course) be able to demonstrate a C-level knowledge over a couple of days?

Don’t let others shame you for using Sophia or similar methods. You’re playing by the rules. You just have different objectives. Instead of learning everything there is to know about College Algebra, your goal is to graduate, save money, and boost your career.

And you know what? If you ever want to go get an A-level knowledge of College Algebra, you can do that anytime you want. You can take a break from your new career or pay-raised job and go learn anything you want about College Algebra.

For now, focus on graduating, saving money, and building that career!

Hey! I posted a new video! It’s about the 7 fastest ways to earn college credit, and you’ll never guess which spot on the list Sophia snagged!

Thanks for reading and watching!

Happy hacking!

Dr. Clifford Stumme

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