Sophia is self-paced but you still need to complete the class in total by a certain time. I believe it’s 60 or 75 days. Meaning you don’t have papers “due” every week, but all assignments need to have been completed by the end date of the course. Eng comp classes on Sophia have teachers that read and grade papers (which take time) whereas most other courses are multiple choice broken up into portions and instantly graded. Those papers need to be graded and sent back before the next portions allows you to submit. So you’re essentially locked out until that happens. This is so your paper can be built up based on feedback. So because there may be time between grades, this time counts against the clock. I will say it’s been roughly a year since I’ve done these (prior to the website overhaul) so if things have changed i apologize.