The biggest obstacle Smith faced in launching StraighterLine was a process called accreditation. Over time, colleges and universities have built sturdy walls and deep moats around their academic city-states. Students will only pay for courses that lead to college credits and universally recognized degrees. Credits and degrees can only be granted by—and students paying for college with federal grants and loans can only attend—institutions that are officially recognized by federally approved accreditors. And the most prestigious accreditors will only recognize institutions: organizations with academic departments, highly credentialed faculty, bureaucrats, libraries, and all the other pricey accoutrements of the modern university. These things make higher education more expensive, and they’re not necessary if all you want to do is offer standard introductory courses online. To compete, Smith needed StraighterLine courses to be as inexpensive as they could be.

College for $99 a month could literally save a persons life!!! It might even be a darn good Healthcare plan. After all, health has been linked to level of education.

This article discusses StraighterLine, an online college that costs $99 per month. Yep, it's too good to be true. Not because you don't get a quality education, but because their degree is not "recognized". Also known as "Accreditation".

StraighterLine has worked around this by partnering with "Accredited" colleges that will recognize it's credits for those who wish to transfer. Understandably, but unfortunately, some partners have backed off under pressure from students and others arguing that quality of the college's degree is being cheapened.

StraighterLine should perhaps "Partner up" with corporations who'll promise to interview and hire their students. I would also target the masses of people who could not afford an education otherwise.