When Faith, a Florida high school student, learned she could earn college credits from the University of Pittsburgh from the comfort of her own home and at no cost to her, she couldn’t wait to sign up.
“I was excited to hear that I will be able to take a college-level course in a subject I like and earn credits toward my first year in college,” Faith said. “I’m looking forward to taking Psychology and I’m happy Xceed Anywhere is giving me this opportunity.”
Faith is a student at Xceed Anywhere (XA), a private virtual school for students in grades 6-12 known for its innovative, personalized and flexible educational model. Through a new dual enrollment partnership with the University of Pittsburgh and Outlier.org—the first of its kind in the country—11th and 12th grade students at Xceed Anywhere can earn college credits, online, in a timeframe that aligns with their schedules. The cost is included in their tuition.
“This unique opportunity with the University of Pittsburgh and Outlier.org further extends our mission of building learning plans around our students’ needs, passions and goals,” said Dr. Brent Goldman, founder and CEO of Xceed Anywhere and Xceed Preparatory Academy. “Our students will graduate with credits from one of the top research universities in the country. This is a value-added benefit we are giving our kids.”
“The University of Pittsburgh has a long history of providing opportunities for high school students to gain college credit as they work to complete their high school diplomas and advance their long-term goals. Pitt’s College in High School is one example of our existing efforts—and we are excited to further expand our outreach nationally through Xceed Anywhere,” said University of Pittsburgh Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd.
Xceed Anywhere students will take their courses through the University of Pittsburgh’s partnership with Outlier.org, which was just named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2020. Created by MasterClass co-founder Aaron Rasmussen, Outlier.org is an online education platform working to increase access to quality college education for all and reduce student debt. The virtual learning platform features immersive courses, cinema-quality video and interactive exercises that are just as effective as in-person classes. Courses are taught by engaging professors from leading universities such as Columbia, Yale, Duke, NYU, MIT, Cornell and University College London and include Calculus I, Intro to Astronomy, Intro to Psychology and Intro to Statistics.
“As a former dual-enrollment student in high school, it was formative in building my confidence in my ability to do college-level work,” said Aaron Rasmussen, founder and CEO of Outlier.org. “Part of our mission is to increase access to quality college-level courses for students worldwide, and I’m excited about giving this opportunity to students at Xceed.”
Betty Norton, Head of School for Xceed Anywhere, agreed, stating, “Our students are poised to have a competitive edge when they apply for college. To graduate high school with University of Pittsburgh credits on their transcripts is an incredible opportunity.” Both Xceed Anywhere and Xceed Preparatory Academy accept applications for students in 6th through 12th grades on a rolling basis. For more information, please visit www.xceedanywhere.com or www.xceedprep.org.
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