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The Swahili College Readiness Academy prepares high school students for college success through an intensive summer experience in Swahili followed by an online course in the fall. This past summer, twenty-four novice and intermediate students participated in a two-week residential program at the University of Oregon. Many chose to continue learning Swahili by enrolling in a ten-week online course. After completing both portions, students have fulfilled the requirements for one year of high school foreign language study.

The online course follows a narrative-based approach, in which students imagine they are taking a trip to East Africa. Along the way, they have lots of adventures as they experience East African culture. The course allows students to learn new language skills while interacting with native speakers and their fellow students in an online environment.

The course is delivered using the University of Oregon's College of Education learning management system called ObaWorld. ObaWorld allows students to complete work in a flexible manner in their school's computer lab or at home. Videos, textbooks, online articles, links, and podcasts are included in the course.

Swahili College Readiness Academy is funded by the STARTALK Program coordinated by the National Foreign Language Center.