Are you looking to improve your career opportunities or get into university?
Maybe you’re at another level of education, and you’re looking for more resources to help you improve your grades.
If so, keep reading to learn how study.com could help you and whether is study.com a reliable source or not.
What Is Study.com?
Study.com is an online learning platform that gives its students access to flexible and comprehensive online learning. Click here to learn more about study.com.
Study.com has approximately 30 million students using its platform per month, and each student benefits from an abundance of source material, including:
- Quizzes
- Scheduling Tools
- Flashcards
- Mobile App
- Chapter Tests
- Course Practice Tests
Study.com is open to students of all ages and abilities.
Students can include professionals looking to develop additional skills or younger students looking to kickstart their careers in a new sector, with some extra accreditation to demonstrate their abilities.
Study.com was founded in 2002 by Ben Wilson and Adrian Ridner, who were frustrated at how inaccessible the education system has become.
The main goal of study.com is to make education affordable, accessible, and effective for all students.
Is Study.com A Reliable Source?
Yes – study.com is a legitimate educational platform.
Unlike some other learning platforms, which don’t offer any real accreditation beyond a completion certificate, study.com can help students gain inexpensive college credit, which can be transferred to a school to save money on tuition fees, and help students graduate faster.
This can be accessed through the College Accelerator feature.
According to the study.com website, with the college accelerator, students can gain the college credits they require for significantly less money than a traditional institution.
All study.com students can use the College Accelerator for over 100 courses; the credits gained from each course can be transferred to over 2000 universities!
However, it should be noted that study.com does not confer degrees, and it is not an official college.
Despite this, you can still access NCCRS and ACE courses which many universities allow you to transfer the credit to.
ACE (the American Council on Education) and NCCRS (the National College Credit Recommendation Service) are both official bodies that recommend courses to educational institutions.
Because both of these bodies recommend study.com as an official educational source capable of transferring college credit, many universities will accept your study.com courses as authentic.
These bodies have also determined that the courses supplied by study.com are in line with the standard of traditional college-level education, so you can expect to complete assignments, take quizzes, and a final exam to gain your certificate.
Although you can use the college accelerator to transfer college credit to a traditional university, not all courses on study.com are recommended for credit by ACE and NCCRS.
A full list of accredited courses can be found on the study.com website.
If you want to use the college accelerator program, study.com recommends contacting your university first to see if they accept credits recommended by NCCRS or ACE.
What Courses Does Study.com Offer?
Study.com has over 150 courses recommended for college credit on its website.
If you take your course with study.com, you can study online whenever you want and learn at your own pace.
Some of the most popular courses recommended for credit include:
- English Literature
- Beginning Spanish
- Intermediate Spanish
- History of Western Art I
- Ethics – Theory and Practice
- Calculus
- Educational Psychology
- Microbiology
- Pathophysiology
- Criminal Law
- Forensic Science
- Financial Accounting
- Computer Concepts & Applications
Study.com also offers courses for other educational levels, including:
- High School
- Adult Education (see also ‘What Is An Adult Learner?‘)
- Middle School
- Graduate and Post-Graduate
- Elementary School
- Pre-K
- Professional Development
Those looking for professional development opportunities can access a range of different courses, including:
- Critical Care Nursing
- Human Resource Management
- Effective Communication in the Workplace
- Introduction to Pharmacology
- Introduction to Textiles & the Textile Industry
- Java Programming Tutorial & Training
- Economics 101
- Project Management Training
… and more.
Study.com isn’t just for students, either. Teachers can also use the platform to access lesson plans, curriculums, and teaching resources.
Study.com provides teachers with over 75,000 video lessons to help students succeed and make lessons more engaging.
Study.com can even provide teachers with resources for in-class activities. Study.com’s Teacher Edition also allows teachers to manage their curriculum by:
- Using interactive classroom quizzes
- Importing existing Google Classrooms
- Sending assignments
- Creating free student accounts
- Making custom courses in advance
- Simplifying grading
Study.com will even walk teachers through how to use the resources by showing them how to set up classes, view and export grades with the virtual classrooms, create assignments, and more.
With over 10,000 teacher resources at your disposal, the study.com teacher edition is an excellent resource for teachers looking to diversify their teaching material, and make learning more exciting and accessible for their students.
Does Study.com Give Out Certificates?
Yes. Study.com will provide all students with a certificate of completion once they’ve finished their course.
If you’re taking a course with the college accelerator, you’ll also get the credits required to transfer to your university (if applicable).
Suppose you’re not taking a college-accredited course.
In that case, your certificate of completion can simply be used to provide proof of study to an employer, to show off on your Linkedin profile, to track your own process, and even to put on your resume.
Your certificate of completion can be accessed through your study.com account when you’ve completed a course.
Do Employers Recognize Study.com?
Most employers will recognize distance learning courses, such as those through study.com, as valid.
However, if you’re taking a course that’s not college-accredited, don’t expect your course to take the place of a degree.
Your employer may recognize your study.com course as proof that you’re committed to continuing your education and improving your knowledge in a specific field, but it’s unlikely to prove that you’re entirely qualified to do a job, especially if this is the only course you’ve completed in your chosen field.
If you want to bolster the reputation of your study.com course, especially if you want to change careers, we’d recommend taking more than one course in your chosen field.
Having some practical experience in your field is also useful to put on your resume.
The Bottom Line
Study.com is a reliable, legitimate online educational institution that can be used to gain credits for college, improve your professional development, and even help teachers improve their lessons.
We’d recommend study.com to anyone looking for an affordable and accessible alternative to traditional education.
