The Saylor Academy, formerly known as the Saylor Foundation, is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

headquartered in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. It was established in 1999 by its sole trustee,

Michael J. Saylor Michael J. Saylor (born February 4, 1965) is an American entrepreneur and business executive. He is the executive chairman and a co-founder of MicroStrategy, a company that provides business intelligence, mobile software, and cloud-based service ...

. Since 2008, the focus of the foundation has been its Free Education Initiative which has led to the creation of 241 courses representing 10 of the highest enrollment majors in the US. The Saylor Academy assembles courses from openly available texts and resources. The foundation also funds the creation of new materials when needed, which is then openly licensed for use by other organizations and individuals. In March 2018 Edovo partnered with Saylor Academy.

Courses

On its website, the foundation offers 317 free, college-level courses, which are selected as typical courses in high enrollment majors at traditional U.S. colleges. Content is accessible without needing to register or log into the website, however an account is required to gain access to final exams, and a free certificate of completion. The foundation works with consultants to design the courses, typically university and college faculty members or subject experts. The consultant develops a blueprint for the course, then researches

open educational resources Open educational resources (OER) are Instructional materials, teaching, learning, and research materials intentionally created and Free license, licensed to be free for the end user to own, share, and in most cases, modify. The term "OER" descri ...

(OER) to supply the course with lectures, texts, and other resources. If suitable texts and documents are not found, the foundation works with faculty to compile new materials which it releases to the OER community under a

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

license. Each course is accompanied by an assessment.

Accreditation and credentialing

The Saylor Academy is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

within the NCCRS. According to the company, they have experimented with

digital badge Digital badges (also known as ebadges, or singularly as ebadge) are a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that can be earned in various learning environments. Origin and development Traditional physical badges have ...

s through the

Open Badge Infrastructure Image files that contain verifiable information about learning achievements, Open Badges are based on a group of specifications and open technical standards originally developed by the Mozilla Foundation with funding from the MacArthur Foundati ...

. Through cooperation with other organizations, the Saylor Academy can offer degrees.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saylor Academy Educational organizations based in the United States Foundations based in Washington, D.C. Educational publishing companies of the United States Creative Commons-licensed books American educational websites Online nonprofit organizations Open educational resources Education companies established in 1999 Organizations established in 1999 1999 establishments in the United States