Update (September 2020): Saylor Academy courses can now transfer directly to City Vision University. See our partner page for details.

Saylor Academy has partnered with Qualifi, a UK Awarding Organization, and City Vision University, an accredited online university based in Kansas City, Missouri, to increase global access to curated and credentialed higher education by providing a four-year degree pathway to students for only $5,000 (Associates Degree for $2,000).

This unique partnership creates a path for students to access the free independent-study content provided by Saylor Academy, have it endorsed by a regulated United Kingdom Awarding Organization, take a third year from that Awarding Organization, and then transfer all their credits to City Vision University for a final year degree completion program.

Qualifi, a UK Awarding Organization, has agreed to endorse the first two years provided by Saylor Academy and issue Qualifi Certificates for each successful year. Students may then complete their third year through Qualifi’s Level 5 in Business, achieving three years of an undergraduate degree which can transfer to City Vision University for a degree completion program in the final year through instructor-led online courses.

City Vision is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, which is recognized by the US Department of Education and CHEA. Qualifying students in the US may receive federal financial aid including Pell Grants and federal student loans and VA benefits for any courses taken with City Vision.

“City Vision and its partners are taking bold steps toward making quality education opportunities a reality for students. This partnership exemplifies the efforts being undertaken by colleges and universities worldwide to implement innovations that advance opportunities for degree attainment.”

— Dr. Leah Matthews, Executive Director, Distance Education Accrediting Commission.

The following is a summary of the degree path costs:

Associate’s Degree Cost
$600 Saylor Proctoring Fees (Paid to 3rd party for exam monitoring/identity verification)
$100 Qualifi Credit Endorsement and Transcript Fee
$1,300 City Vision Tuition: 5 Associate’s Degree Courses
$2,000 Total Two Year Tuition & Fees of Associate’s Degree

Bachelor’s Degree Cost
$2,000 Cost of Associate’s Degree
$200 Saylor Proctoring Fees
$800 Qualifi tuition & accreditation + Athena support
$2,000 City Vision Tuition for 5 Courses
$5,000 Total Four Year Tuition and Fees of Bachelor’s Degree

While many students may choose to go with independent study online, the degree path is also open to any educational center globally wishing to offer qualifications. Each center can provide local computer lab access and tutoring support to prepare for the competency-based exams provided by Saylor and Qualifi. The ultimate goal is to have hundreds of centers this using Saylor material and Qualifi qualifications to transfer credit to complete their degree with City Vision online.

Jeff Davidson, Saylor Academy’s Director of Strategic Relationships says, “We are thrilled to get this endorsement from Qualifi for our courses and commend City Vision’s innovative, disruptive approach in working toward radically affordable online education. The Qualifi review underscores the rigor of our courses and reinforces the credit recommendation reviews we’ve already had for many of these courses from the American Council on Education and National College Credit Recommendation Service. This first step in establishing the pathway is exciting and we look forward to helping roll this out to international learning centers in the coming months and years to reach even more students.”

UNESCO has stated that by 2025, 100 million students will be deprived of higher education simply because there will not be enough seats to accommodate them, to meet that demand. Programs like this can help mitigate that concern.

Students wishing to enroll in this program can learn more information here.