Thanks Gabalyn for restoring my hope!!!

As for HES, yes, as far as I'm aware - many of the same faculty at Harvard teach at HES. I'm not saying every class that's the case, but they same faculty do teach at both. HES also has a number of faculty from neighboring colleges and universities teach their as well. It's part of the 'community' concept of HES. Anyone can scroll through the course offerings and see who's teaching a course.

Two articles from The Atlantic and Washington Monthly on HES (look at the comments please) - http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/the_other_harvard.php
http://www.theatlantic.com/educatio...-my-degree-taking-online-classes/279644/

One point about HES is that it seems to be more receptive to non-traditional students (ie. pg 14/16-yr-olds or younger) than other colleges and universities and, as a result, it may be an option for some. Perhaps, there might be less grade inflation there as well.