But the fact is many community colleges do a poor job of getting students through. About half drop out before getting a degree.

While independent students can sense if they' re learning by how well they get through questions and exercises, there are no grades and no certificates of completion.

If you breeze through a practice exam, it's likely that you' re ready to certify.

You can increase student aid a ton and you still won' t have a huge effect on college completion.

The online students will not get Stanford grades or credit, but they will be ranked in comparison to the work of other online students and will receive a "statement of accomplishment.