BYU Independent Study

What BYU Independent Study does

BYU Independent Study is an accredited online education provider founded in 1921 and operated by HSDL, LLC, a subsidiary of Brigham Young University, itself owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and headquartered in Provo, Utah. The organization delivers 470+ accredited self-paced courses spanning middle school, high school, and university-level curriculum, supported by a faculty of 148 PhD- and MS-credentialed teachers out of 166 total staff. It holds a broad U.S. accreditation stack — NWCCU, Cognia, MSA-CESS, WASC, NCAA approval, and SARA reciprocity — that enables its credits to transfer across U.S. secondary and post-secondary institutions and to be recognized internationally. The platform has served learners in 153 countries and recorded more than 2,000,000 cumulative enrollments, with current annual high school enrollment on the order of 50,000.

The core product is self-paced online coursework delivered through Canvas and Agilix Buzz LMS infrastructure, augmented by Student Success Center tutoring, proctoring services, and an adaptive pretesting system that places students into appropriate course levels. Adjacent product lines include the High School Suite (a B2B digital curriculum licensing product for schools and districts), the Purchase Order Program for institutional buyers, the BYU Online High School full-time diploma track, and the KSA Curriculum with digital badges for workforce readiness. International Student Services and dedicated academic consultants support cross-border enrollment.

Revenue is generated through a multi-channel model: per-course fees from individual learners ($256/credit hour at the university level, $130–$319 per 0.5-credit high school course, plus resubmission/retake/extension fees), recurring licensing revenue from the High School Suite B2B product, and institutional volume through the Purchase Order channel. The business is structured as a mission-aligned nonprofit subsidiary of BYU; pricing sits well below typical accredited online alternatives and is supported by the lower-cost Utah operating environment and BYU's nonprofit back-office infrastructure.

Name

BYU Independent Study

Legal name

HSDL, LLC

Website

https://is.byu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

BYU Independent Study is an accredited online education provider (founded 1921, Provo, Utah) delivering 470+ self-paced courses to middle, high school, and university students across 153 countries via direct-to-consumer enrollment, B2B school licensing, and a full-time online diploma program, backed by multi-agency U.S. accreditation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Distance Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension) (EDAHALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

University/College Continuing Education (Extension) Programs (EDAAAEAA)

Keywords

• Online education
• Distance learning
• High school courses
• University courses
• K-12 curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Provo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Per-Credit University Course Sales: University courses priced at $256 per credit hour. Online courses are $256 per credit; Special Enrollment is $352 per credit hour. University half (0.5) credit courses are $256 per course. Grades posted on official Brigham Young University transcript.
2. Per-Credit High School Course Sales: High school courses priced per 0.5 Carnegie unit semester credit. Standard Courses: $215, Specialized Courses: $319, Best Value Courses: $130, Quarter-credit Courses (0.25): $130.
3. Purchase Order Program: Schools receive line of credit with BYU to purchase courses for students. Monthly invoicing with net-30 terms. Bulk discounts available. Course extensions available for $20.
4. High School Suite Digital Licensing: Yearly subscription for digital curriculum licensing of 380+ courses for entire school or district. Schools can import courses into existing LMS or customize. Pricing based on commitment length with savings for long-term agreements.
5. Course Fees and Services: Assignment and Quiz Resubmissions: $10 each; Exam Retake: $15; Course Extension: $20 per course; Withdrawal/Refund: $30 per course; Express Mail: $20 extra per shipment; International Mail: $20 additional per shipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BYU Independent Study provides accredited online courses for university, high school (grades 9-12), and middle school (grades 7-8) students, offering 470+ self-paced courses with credits that transfer to other institutions. The program also licenses its digital curriculum to schools and districts through the High School Suite and provides free tutoring through its Student Success Center.

Product overview

BYU Independent Study is a single unified online learning platform offering accredited courses across multiple educational levels (middle school, high school, and university). The core product is BYU Independent Study itself — 470+ self-paced courses spanning university, high school, and middle school levels. Supporting modules include the Purchase Order Program (for schools to bulk-purchase student enrollments), High School Suite (digital curriculum licensing for schools to use BYU content with their own teachers), Student Success Center (free tutoring), KSA Curriculum (skill-credentialing program with digital badges), Course Scholarships (needs/merit-based financial aid), Proctoring Services, and International Student Services. BYU Online High School is a related full-time diploma program. The architecture is best described as a core platform with modular add-on services and sub-branded programs for different market segments (schools, individual students, international students).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BYU Online High School: Full-time online high school program operated by BYU Independent Study.
• BYU High School Suite
• KSA Curriculum (Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes)

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,000,000+ enrollments historically
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Academic Consultants NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam of 7 full-time marketing representatives based in Provo, Utah who travel nationwide to meet personally with counselors and educators. Each academic consultant oversees a group of field representatives located throughout the country.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Arizona State University Online: ASU Online is one of the largest online university programs from a major research institution. Comparable to BYU IS for self-paced university courses, but operates as a broader degree-granting incumbent with significantly larger scale.
• Western Governors University: WGU is a major accredited online university offering competency-based degree programs. A broader incumbent in the online university space that overlaps with BYU IS's university course offering but serves degree-seeking students at scale.

Emerging players

• Outschool: Outschool is a marketplace for live online classes for K-12 students, increasingly expanding into credit-bearing offerings. Partial overlap with BYU IS's high school segment, focused on enrichment and supplemental learning with a different delivery model (live vs. self-paced).
• edX (2U): edX partners with universities to offer online courses and degree programs, including many with transferable credit. Comparable as a self-paced online course provider serving college-bound learners, though typically at a higher price point and broader scale.
• Study.com: Study.com offers self-paced online courses for high school and college credit with ACE credit recommendations. Comparable self-paced model targeting credit-recovery and college-bound students, with broader content variety and accelerated pace.

Direct peers

• Connections Academy: Connections Academy operates tuition-free online public schools serving K-12 students nationwide. Directly competes with BYU IS for online high school credit, particularly for full-time and credit-recovery students.
• Penn Foster: Penn Foster operates accredited online high school, career school, and college programs serving self-paced learners. Comparable multi-level online education portfolio with similar student demographics and self-paced delivery model.
• K12 (Stride, Inc.): K12/Stride is a large online K-12 education provider serving full-time and supplemental students. Directly competes with BYU IS in the online high school and credit recovery segments, particularly for state and district contracts.
• Sophia Learning: Sophia provides self-paced, ACE-recommended online college courses designed for transfer credit. Closely comparable to BYU IS's university self-paced course model, targeting similar cost-conscious learners seeking general education credit.
• StraighterLine: StraighterLine offers low-cost, self-paced online college courses that are accepted for credit by partner accredited universities. Highly comparable to BYU IS's university per-credit course offering, with similar self-paced model and credit-transfer value proposition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/byu-independent-study

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BYU Independent Study