Outlier by Savvas Dual Enrollment Courses: What’s New and Getting Better
Since introducing Outlier by Savvas dual enrollment courses, we’ve received feedback from educators like you. And we’ve recently rolled out a variety of enhancements to make Outlier’s diverse catalog of digital, all-inclusive courses even better for you and your students.
Outlier adapts to any academic environment, accommodates a variety of in-classroom support models, and works equally well offered as high school electives or dual enrollment courses. With the recommendation of the American Council on Education (ACE)* Outlier courses earn students highly transferable college credits.
Take a sneak peek at the new resources, supports, and licensing options available to high schools nationwide.
Expanded Support for Educators and Students
High school educators are essential to student success in Outlier courses. Educators manage the day-to-day course activities during dedicated class periods. Using the tools and data in the Partner Dashboard, educators coach and support students as they work through rigorous college courses. Educators also work closely with school administrators to align Outlier course milestones with their academic calendar.
To better support in-classroom delivery, we’ve added new resources to set up your educators and students for success.
New Educator Resources
Skills crosswalks align each course learning objective to sections, practice materials, and assessments in the course. So you can be confident Outlier meets the needs of your school/district. Available as a printable PDF with each course.
Course component walkthroughs define each student-facing component of a course, such as guesswork, problem sets, active learning, guided notes, quizzes, and assignments. This resource familiarizes educators with the structure of the course, so they can confidently guide students when questions arise. Available as a printable module with each course.
The Coaching and Supporting Students module offers guidance for educators on how to best support students as they take on a rigorous college course, including advice on tracking student progress and checking in with students throughout the course. Available as a printable module, applicable to any Outlier course.
Chapter summaries provide a one-page overview of each chapter in each course, including the chapter’s learning objectives, sections, and any assessments. Available as a printable module, one per chapter in every course.
The multi-language learner (MLL) support resource offers strategies for supporting multi-language learners as they navigate challenging academic language and subject-specific terminology in an Outlier course. This resource includes:
- General best practices
- Specific activities educators can use with each course component
- Overview of platform features and resources available to support MLLs
Available as a printable module, applicable to any Outlier course.
Comprehensive section lesson plans outline how to administer a quiz or exam, conduct study sessions for exams, and manage work sessions for major assignments. Lesson plans include activities and step-by-step instructions for every section of every course:
- Learning Objectives
- Instructional Resources/Materials Needed
- Lesson Content
- Anticipatory Set
- Coursework
- Discussion Questions
- Group Activity
- Quick Write Activity
- Quiz
- Assignment
- Exit Ticket
- Homework
- Differentiation Strategies
- Key Terms
- Assessments and Evaluation Criteria
Available as a printable module, one per section per course.
New Student Resources
In every Outlier course, students get an immersive learning experience. Professionally produced video lectures from experts in the field captivate students. Interactive digital textbooks and learning tools — built by game designers and based on decades of educational research — maximize students’ retention and comprehension.
And we continue to build on this high-quality learning experience with new student resources.
Graphic organizers support students with active reading and note-taking. Outlier now provides 5 graphic organizers that can be used in any course:
- Cornell Notes
- Active Learning Card
- Outline
- Concept Web
- Chart/Table
Available as printable PDFs in every course.
Glossaries have been valuable resources available in many Outlier courses, and we’ve now expanded them to be included in all courses. When terms are introduced in active learning cards, they link to the Section Glossary, adding to the interactive learning experience. Available within each course.
Visual aids offer step-by-step guidance for key concepts and math problems to improve academic outcomes. These visual aids support the cinema-quality video lectures at the core of each lesson. Available within each course.
Accessibility Updates
We’re also in the process of ensuring all course PDFs are WCAG 2.1AA compliant to improve accessibility for students with disabilities. This includes accessible keyboard navigation, high-contrast text, and proper alt text.
Flexible Course Options and Pricing
As 100% online, asynchronous courses with convenient 39-week cohorts, Outlier has always offered the flexibility to fit your school’s schedule. And without the need for a subject matter expert to lead the course, any educator can facilitate any Outlier course — expanding opportunities for your students without hiring new staff.
Now, Outlier offers even more flexibility to meet your school’s unique needs.
Virtual vs. In-Person Course Delivery
You can choose between 2 delivery options:
- In-person delivery is the most affordable option designed for in-person high schools. With this license, a classroom teacher leads the course and handles manual grading for select subjects.
- Virtual delivery is designed for virtual schools, learning hubs, and international schools. With this license, remote proctoring and manual grading is included.
College Credits
Both in-person and virtual options come with transfer credit recommendation from the American Council on Education (ACE). More than 3,000 colleges and universities nationwide accept or consider ACE recommendations when evaluating student transcripts — ensuring highly transferable college credits for Outlier courses.
Want to maximize credit transferability for your students? You can choose to offer them the opportunity to earn an official transcript from the University of Pittsburgh in addition to the ACE Recommendation. With this option, Outlier also handles all grading, making the process seamless for both educators and students.
FLEX Ordering
No matter which license you choose, you can use FLEX ordering to purchase Outlier licenses now and select the specific courses later. FLEX ordering allows you to identify which students want a college-level course during your academic planning and budgeting cycle, and then assign the actual courses and students over the summer or at the start of the school year.
To explore pricing and discuss how Outlier can meet your needs, contact your Savvas Account Manager today.
See It For Yourself
If you’re looking to expand early college opportunities for your students, Outlier makes it easy with a diverse catalog of all-inclusive online courses. And with feedback from educators like you, Outlier will continually enhance and deliver exceptional dual enrollment courses for your students.
Take an in-depth look at what’s new and improved within our Outlier by Savvas courses. Request a FREE Virtual Sample.
*American Council on Education or ACE evaluates formal education courses and programs for college credit. For more information, visit ACE Learning Evaluations online at www.acenet.edu/evaluations.