BJU Press Video Courses: A Rubric Review

BJU Press sells homeschool video courses for K4 through grade 12 as online courses on the Homeschool Hub and as DVD courses. The publisher's FAQ says its earlier platform, Distance Learning Online, has been discontinued and that homeschool video curriculum is now accessed on the Homeschool Hub. This review covers the video courses the publisher sells today.

Last updated: 2026-10-08 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Recorded video lessons used with textbooks and a Hub dashboard; the publisher says each lesson has a teacher and that kits can be bought with or without printed materials
Worldview	Christian; the publisher says its video course teachers provide an education from a biblical worldview. The publisher pages we reviewed do not name a denomination
Grades	K4 through grade 12; individual subjects can be ordered for grades K5 to 12
Formats	Online video courses on the Homeschool Hub and DVD courses, each with or without textbooks; the publisher says the video content is the same in both
Cost tier	Not rated here; current prices are on the publisher's store
Parent intensity	2 (Every Homeschool rating, 1 to 5)
ESA-common	Not stated by the publisher; the homeschool pages we reviewed do not mention education savings accounts
Accredited	The publisher says that, because online video courses are not an online school, accreditation does not apply to them; its Academy of Home Education offers enrollment with accreditation
History	The publisher's history page lists a first digital learning option through a satellite broadcast system in the 1990s, online streaming through Distance Learning Online in the 2000s, and the Homeschool Hub in the 2020s
Website	bjupresshomeschool.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Our assessment. The video courses run from K4 to grade 12 and, per the FAQ, include the essential student materials when ordered with textbooks
Ease of teaching	4	The publisher says each lesson has a teacher on video and that tests and quizzes are graded automatically for grades 5 and up, while some assessment sections are graded manually
Content quality	4	Our assessment. The publisher says its video lessons include hands-on activities and demonstrations
Flexibility	3	The Hub offers a customizable schedule and individual subjects can be ordered for grades K5 to 12, with two substitutions per grade level; online access is time-limited
Value for money	3	Our assessment. The publisher says grade kits offer the most value; see the cost section
Worldview scope	1	Written from one stated worldview: the publisher says biblical worldview shaping is at the heart of all its materials
Visual/design	3	Our assessment. The publisher says the Hub runs on a responsive web interface on iPad, Android, PC, and Mac, and says families can download and read eTextbooks on the go with the BJU Press Connect app
Support resources	4	The FAQ says families can contact an academic specialist through the Help link, and the publisher lists a Meet the Video Course Teachers page

Who the publisher is

BJU Press describes itself as producing Pre-K through grade 12 educational materials with a biblical worldview and lists a main address in Greenville, South Carolina. Its history page says it launched its first digital learning option through a satellite broadcast system in the 1990s, began online streaming through Distance Learning Online for the homeschool market in the 2000s, and launched the BJU Press Homeschool Hub in the 2020s.

The publisher's online video FAQ says the Distance Learning Online platform has been discontinued and that video curriculum is on the Homeschool Hub. The Hub page describes the Hub as a learning management platform for scheduling courses, tracking progress, and grading assignments, and lists the Online Video, DVD, Textbooks, and non-BJU Press features it offers. Video courses are for residential home educators: the Video Course Agreement says the program is not available for group use and that a school program is available directly from BJU Press.

BJU Press describes its materials as written from a biblical worldview. The homeschool homepage says biblical worldview shaping is at the heart of all its materials and that the Bible's narrative of Creation, Fall, and Redemption should be the students' framework for understanding. The homeschool science page says the science curriculum examines the evidence for a young-earth model.

The core pedagogy

The video courses page says online grade kits include a child's core subjects, among them English language arts, math, science, and history, and can be customized to remove printed materials, shift the grade of certain subjects up or down, or add an elective. It also lists subject kits for math, science, Bible, Heritage Studies, writing and grammar, reading, literature, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, Spanish, and electives. Online options come with eTextbooks and access to the Homeschool Hub.

The FAQ says the video content is the same for the online and DVD options and lists online assessments (grades 5 to 12), online teacher support materials, a gradebook for online assessments, and community features among the online option's features; the Hub page's chart lists the same Hub features under the DVD option, so confirm what comes with the format you plan to buy. The FAQ says average time in video lessons is about 1 hour for K4, about 2 hours for K5, 2.5 to 3 hours for grades 1 to 6, and 3 to 3.5 hours for grades 7 to 12, with individual videos between 10 minutes and 1 hour. The Grade 4 kit page lists an average daily video time of 1 hour 50 minutes, so confirm the figure on the kit page for the grade you plan to buy.

For teacher materials, the FAQ says online video courses with textbooks include the essential student materials, that abridged teacher editions are available on the Hub in PDF format, and that printed teacher editions can be bought at a discount. The DVD FAQ says DVD packages include a printed Guide and Student Handouts Packet with the teacher support materials and answer keys needed for the course.

On assessments, the FAQ says K4 through grade 4 subjects do not have online assessments, and that many have paper tests that can be ordered or are included when the subject is ordered as Online & Books. For grades 5 to 12 it says most subjects have online quizzes and tests stored under the child's login, and that some assessments have an essay or map section that the facilitator prints and grades manually.

Signature mechanics: (1) The same video content online and on DVD. The publisher lists the same video lessons in both formats, with Hub features that differ between its FAQ and its Hub page. (2) Customizable grade kits. Printed materials can be removed, and the publisher allows two substitutions per grade level. (3) The Homeschool Hub. A dashboard, calendar, gradebook, and course resources for scheduling and records.

A day in the life

The homeschool homepage says daily video lessons are delivered to the child by teachers and that lessons, eTextbooks, and assignments can be reached from a web interface on a range of devices. The Hub page says the Day-at-a-Glance dashboard shows a course progress overview, the lessons and assignments due that day, completed work, materials needed for the day's work, and upcoming assignments, and that the calendar has a quick scheduler to skip, replace, or mark lessons complete.

The FAQ says each child needs a login, that grades for online assessments are recorded in online grade books that can be printed or exported, and that the parent enters grades for other assignments in a separate spreadsheet.

What they do exceptionally well

The same video content in two formats. The FAQ says the video content is the same online and on DVD, and the DVD FAQ says a family can order subjects individually in grades K5 to 12. In our assessment, families can choose the format that fits their equipment and internet access; the publisher's DVD FAQ says a DVD-R player is required.

Records built into the platform. The Hub includes a gradebook, reporting that can generate transcripts, and a calendar with rescheduling tools. In our assessment this reduces record-keeping for families who use the online option.

Named teachers and course scope. The Meet the Video Course Teachers page lists each teacher with the courses taught, background, and teaching style, so a family can see the current teachers for each course. The Video Course Agreement says teachers may vary from year to year and are subject to change without notice, and that lessons and teachers can be confirmed when the order is accepted.

What they do poorly

Limited access periods. The FAQ gives a 20-month access period for online courses from February 1 to May 31 and 16 months for courses from June 1. The Video Course Agreement defines the online access period as 16 months after the original shipping date and says no extensions or reuse options are available. The publisher's pages differ on the length and on whether the period counts from the order date or the ship date, so confirm both when ordering. For DVDs, the agreement says DVDs must be returned by the end of the access period, with a penalty of $100 per month up to $500 if they are not.

No accreditation for the courses themselves. The publisher says online video courses are not an online school and accreditation does not apply. The same FAQ says families may join an accredited institution that uses the courses and that the Academy of Home Education offers enrollment with accreditation. The Academy's FAQ names Bridgeway Academy as its accreditation partner.

Per-child logins and licenses. The FAQ says each child needs a login and that a second student in the same grade needs a secondary license requested through customer service.

One stated worldview throughout. The publisher says biblical worldview shaping is at the heart of all of its materials, and its science page says the program examines the evidence for a young-earth model. In our assessment, families who want worldview-neutral materials will be adapting the courses rather than using them as designed.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick BJU Press video courses if: you want recorded lessons with textbooks from one publisher through grade 12; you want the choice of online or DVD delivery; you want a built-in scheduler and gradebook; you want to buy individual subjects in grades K5 to 12; you are a residential home educator who wants a biblical worldview in every subject.

• Skip BJU Press video courses if: you want secular, worldview-neutral, or differently framed materials; you want to reuse the online courses for younger siblings over many years; you need courses that are themselves accredited; you want a program for group use, which the publisher's Video Course Agreement says is not available for its video course program.

Cost honest assessment

The homeschool store sells online grade kits and subject kits with or without printed materials, and DVD packages. Every Homeschool does not quote prices for this publisher in this review; the current price of each kit is on the publisher's store.

The publisher's special offers page lists a multi-course discount for video course kits, a payment plan for larger orders, free shipping within the 48 contiguous states, and a military discount arranged by phone, each with restrictions. The online video FAQ says only grade-level kits with video and textbooks qualify for the multi-course discount, which differs from the special offers page, so confirm the current terms before ordering; the FAQ also says the online option is eligible for the payment plan.

ESA eligibility notes

The publisher pages we reviewed do not state that BJU Press participates in any state education savings account program, and the shipping and purchasing FAQ lists personal checks, money orders, and Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards as accepted payments. Families using an education savings account should ask their program administrator whether the online video courses and the DVD packages are eligible expenses before ordering.

Alternatives

• Abeka, a family comparing video-based Christian programs can read Abeka's own description of its video option on its Every Homeschool page.
• Apologia, a family looking for live online classes rather than recorded lessons can read Apologia's own description of its online classes on its Every Homeschool page.