Savvas Learning Company Acquires Dual Credit Online Course Provider Outlier.org

  • By Kristal Kuykendall
  • 02/27/24

Savvas Learning Company has acquired Outlier.org, an ed tech startup whose portfolio of online college-level courses enable high school students to earn dual credit without leaving their school campus, according to a news release.

Outlier.org “combines cinematic video and charismatic professors with the best in modern, evidence-based teaching techniques to virtually transport the student to a college lecture hall,” Savvas Learning said. Its diverse catalog includes courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, taught by instructors from NASA, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and other top-ranked institutions. 

“There’s a growing demand for dual-enrollment and dual-credit opportunities for high school students across the country,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. 

High school administrators considering such programs for students typically face challenges such as limited funding for on-campus dual-credit course offerings, transportation to other campuses that do offer them, and other logistical issues. Forsa said the acquisition will allow the company to offer dual-credit opportunities to “the millions of high school students served by Savvas.” 

Outlier’s platform also offers career and workforce training, including opportunities for students to earn credit-bearing professional certificates from leading technology companies like Google, Meta, and Salesforce, Savvas noted in its announcement. 

Outlier courses carry transferable college credits recognized at Outlier’s university partners, the University of Pittsburgh and Golden Gate University. The platform’s asynchronous 14- and 15-week (semester) and 39-week (full-year) general-education courses “offer high school students an introduction to the fundamental ideas typically taught on college campuses in STEM, humanities, economics, business, and other classes,” Savvas said, and each is designed to fit within a standard 45-minute period. Any high school teacher can support any course, aided by easy-to-use dashboards that provide faculty real-time visibility into student progress, the company said.

Learn more at https://www.savvas.com/.

About the Author

Kristal Kuykendall is editor, 1105 Media Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].


Featured

  • a cloud, an AI chip, and a padlock interconnected by circuit-like lines

    CrowdStrike Report: Attackers Increasingly Targeting Cloud, AI Systems

    According to the 2025 Threat Hunting Report from CrowdStrike, adversaries are not just using AI to supercharge attacks — they are actively targeting the AI systems organizations deploy in production. Combined with a surge in cloud exploitation, this shift marks a significant change in the threat landscape for enterprises.

  • student reading a book with a brain, a protective hand, a computer monitor showing education icons, gears, and leaves

    4 Steps to Responsible AI Implementation in Education

    Researchers at the University of Kansas Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL) have published a new framework for the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence at all levels of education, from preschool through higher education.

  • figures sitting around a round table, discussing over an open book, papers, and glasses

    Alliance for Learning Innovation, Digital Promise Form National Education R&D Advisory Committee

    The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) and Digital Promise are bringing together a coalition of education leaders to help develop a national education research and development agenda and foster innovation in schools and districts across the country.

  • red brick school building with a large yellow "AI" sign above its main entrance

    New National Academy for AI Instruction to Provide Free AI Training for Educators

    In an effort to "transform how artificial intelligence is taught and integrated into classrooms across the United States," the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the United Federation of Teachers, is launching the National Academy for AI Instruction, a $23 million initiative that will provide access to free AI training and curriculum for all AFT members, beginning with K-12 educators.