Penn Foster College

[palefrost]

Ive seen this advertised a few times and was wondering if anyone has any feedback on them. They have an interesting court reporter program but it is a little higher in price then i wanted.

[technoflutemom]

I think Penn Foster is only accredited to grant high school diplomas. I may be wrong about that. I am fairly certain any credits you get there would not be transferrable. If you developed a portfolio of what you learned while taking their course, that might be a valuable thing to show a prospective employer.

[johann]

Hi -

Penn Foster is DETC (nationally) accredited - I know that covers their Associate Degree courses (about 20 of them) and you can check:

http://www.detc.org to make sure their vocational courses are covered. I can hardly imagine them NOT being accredited, as the degree programs are!

Their new name indicates their roots. Penn from Pennsylvania and Foster for the founder of ICS in the 1890s. Predecessor organizations were Thomson Education Direct and - originally I.C.S.

School has good rep and now they offer accredited Associate Degrees (2 yr) at about the lowest tuition you'll find. Another DETC-accredited school you might want to look into is Professional Career Development Institute. PCDI also runs Ashworth College for 2-year degrees. Last time I looked, tuition at both schools (for degree purposes) was in the same range.

No - I'm not on the payroll of any school. Check out as many as you cna find before you part with your money.

Johann

[technoflutemom]

By "accredited", I mean regionally accredited, which would allow students to use Pell Grants and other forms of federal financial aid beyond DANTES to help pay for the education.

Regional accreditation is also usually a criteria for credits to transfer to 4-year schools.

I actually have looked at taking classes from Penn Foster for personal development. If you think at any time that you might want to get a 4-year degree, be aware that classes from your community college would probaby count but those from Penn Foster probably wouldn't, although with a good portfolio you still might get credit or advanced class status.

[johann]

That's right, Penn Foster is nationally, not regionally accredited -BUT - I understand MOST of their individual courses for associate degrees are ACE reviewed, which (I believe) means that these individual courses qualify for credit at regionally accredited schools.

I don't know if this means ALL RA schools accept them or not. Maybe you know.

One Penn Foster student in another forum wrote he'd found something like 54 credits of his 60-odd hours Penn Foster degree program were ACE reviewed and he was told he'd have no trouble putting these credits towards a Bachelor's through - I forget which - TESC, COSC or Excelsior - the "Big 3 " Regionally-accredited distance programs.

In fact, I've read of people taking individual ACE-reviewed courses from Penn Foster (at something like $55 a credit hour) and using them for credit at the Regionally Accredited institutions named above, because it was a bargain way to go.

Of course you are perfectly correct about the financial aid differences and the NA to RA transfer (or non-transfer) situation of completed programs. But NA can still work well for many people - depending on their aims. :-)

[johann]

Thought I'd add this, for Technoflute Mom. I'm a fan of Community Colleges too. They do a fine job - I've graduated from two, here in Canada, since I hit 50.

The college-to-university transfer system is much more straightforward in the U.S. Here, it's piecemeal. If you have a two year College diploma (most provinces other than BC don't deal in associate degrees) you'll get credit for something, but who knows what! I know a college grad here who, after a thorough evaluation, was offered credit for two COURSES by one university, and credit for two YEARS by another.

This is common, but seems strange when you consider that they are BOTH governed by the (Provincial) Ministry of Colleges and Universities...but the Universities individually call the shots re: college credit.

Despite these anomalies, I'm a diehard fan of Community Colleges in both countries - great places to learn! :-)

Johann

[Unregistered]

I am currently taking their AAS in Business Management and talked to my local state college (universty of Oregon), and they accept most of their credits, so I am okay with that.

[ShotoJuku]

I took my Mathematics class at PFC and had the credit transfered.

[karenlyn]

Wow, johanne, that sounds hard to keep track of. I don't know why I assumed your transfer program would be more similar to ours.

[johann]

Yes, Karenlyn, it can be hard to keep track of. Plus, it varies by Province.

In British Columbia, 2-year Associate Degrees can be earned at a Community College, just as in the U.S. Here in Ontario, up until not long ago, College always meant 2 to 3 years, and a Diploma, not a degree, on graduation.

It still does in many cases. However, there are some new wrinkles in very recent times. It is now possible to get a four-year degree (usually B. Tech.) by coming back after a 3-year tech. diploma and taking about 10 more courses. You can usually get the classes at your college, but the program is administered through a University.

There are also a small number of 2+2 programs, where you end up with a Diploma and a Degree - 2 years at College, followed by 2 at University. I've also seem a limited number of B.A.A. programs (Bachelor of Applied Arts) that take four years - one in Paralegal Studies. Also, recently there's a a B.Sc. in Nursing that starts at College as a regular Nursing program and is extended to 4 years to complete the degree component.

The sticky part, as I said before, is (in Ontario) getting credit for your college courses if you're not in a program like the above. (I got my diploma and 3 certs at night.) One good on-line option for us guys is Athabasca University in Alberta. I've seen people with good GPA's get "time served" (2 years) for their College diplomas there. Athabasca U. is pretty big in the DL market and is also U.S. Regionally Accredited, so they attract students from south of the border too.

Athabasca will probably get my money, when I have some to send 'em. I think two years "time served" is better than I could hope for with a U.S. school.

I do have 24 credits earned at my local bricks-and-mortar University (at night) but this particular school is notoriously skinflinty in granting credit for Community College studies - I might get 6 and I'd have to fight hard, so why bother?

Regards :-)

Johann

[MsMcClain]

Anyone else attend Penn Foster. I am studying to be a court reporter but mostly, I want to be a scopist. Possibly a broadcast captioneer. Both of which can be done from home.

[MsMcClain]

Penn Foster is, as far as I can tell, very well accredited. In addition to the the detc, there is the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools. I guess because of my career goals, the detc was enough.

If you plan to transfer credits, I would recommend contacting the institutions that you are considering transferring to before enrolling at Penn Foster.

[johann]

Hi -

You've picked a good school. Great reputation as a career school and for a wide choice of DETC accredited associate degrees at very reasonable tuition.

Very many of their degree-level courses are ACE-reviewed and transfer well to other colleges. And no, I'm not on their payroll! :-)

I wish you every success!

Johann

[SmartyPants]

I am a new student of Penn Foster College in the AAS Business Management program with an option in Human Resource Management.

It's nice to meet other students from the same College.

[andreababes]

Id love for all the people that are with Penn foster to come join my message board :o)

[christyb]

I'm so glad I found this forum as I was searching around online schools! :) I've decided that for what I'm looking for PennFoster is the school of choice. I'm really not interested in transferring anything to a four year school, just want to learn how 'stuff works'.

I'm currently trying to make a decision between the graphic design and IT w/ Multimedia option degree program. This is really exciting.

And while we're here, I just want to give my thoughts on anyone interested in the vet tech degree they offer: GO FOR IT! :) I am a former veterinary technician and am extremely impressed with what they have to offer in the educational field. AND, since the program is AVMA accredited, you will be able to sit for the National and State technician exams when you graduate. This is very important when choosing a tech school because the certification that you receive after passing the exams is what allows you to practice as a licensed technician AND make more money! :)

[Filipinagirl]

Does anyone know how their vet tech program is? I'm thinking about taking it with Penn Foster College.

[CHRISTOPHER]

I Just Started At Penn Foster Is There Any One Having Trouble With Taking Test Online

[CHRISTOPHER]

How Long Have You Been Going To Penn Foster

[BrandeX]

I'm in the Hospitality Management degree program first semester. Everything has been great so far.

[Filipinagirl]

I just joined last week. Everything seems good to me so far. I haven't done much of it yet since I'm waiting for my transcript to get there. Hopefully, I don't have to take all of the general classes. I'd like to hear other peoples experiences with Penn Foster.

[WA8VUV]

Hi all,
I graduated on April 1, 2007 with an AS in Electrical Engineering. This was my second time around, since I graduated with an AST in Electronics in 2003. I have always had an excellent relationship with this school. The people there are always very helpful when called upon. I think anyone who enrolls at Penn Foster has made an excellent choice.

Bill

[cklapka]

Hey Bill, do you know if the college accepts credits from the career school?
I notice that the class names and numbers are the same and was wondering if one could start with a career diploma from them and then transfer into the college with those credits. It seems as though it would be a less expensive opinion for some.

[WA8VUV]

Here is the way I understand it. If you take a Career Course that contains the same lessons, and many do, you will be given credit for the lessons and a reduction in tuition in the semester where those lessons apply. You do not receive credits for the Career Courses. The school awards the CEU for the classes.
If they accept your CEU for the Degree Program Course, and excuse the lessons, you will have to take a proctored exam for the course in order to obtain the college credits.
I have a friend who took the Electrician Career Course and later enrolled in the AS for Electrical Engineering. He was given monetary credit for the courses and the lessons waived, but had to do the Proctored Exams for the college credits.

[step2it]

I enrolled in the Graphic Design Associate Degree program this summer at Penn Foster College and I am doing very well. Before I decided to enroll I checked out a lot of the colleges that offer on-line Associate Degree programs in this field and during my research I did the math. I could have applied for dozens of student loans for the college of my 1st choice which was about 30K, I compared their curriculum with Penn Foster and they were almost identical and I don't have to take out any student loans because the tuition at PFC is very affordable I am not concern at this time if any credits are transferable to any other colleges or universities I just want to learn graphic design and this seemed to be a great place to start. If there is anyone who is currently attending Penn Foster College and you are taking the graphic design course reply to me maybe we can start networking to discuss the course and to motivate one another to stay focus

[Kyle]

Sep2It did you start studing in Penn Foster ?
normally once you start studing they assign you some network friends if I am not mistaken.

[step2it]

No none of my instructors has mention it but I will check it out thanks.

[Kyle]

No none of my instructors has mention it but I will check it out thanks.

Step2It, You still did not answer me. did you start studing? If you did and they do not give you a group forum like Capella University I will build a section in online.degree.net that students from can talk with one another.

[WA8VUV]

Kyle,
I don't want to take anything away from your fine board, but I have a group on Yahoo that has nearly 800 Penn Foster student members. The link below will get you there.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PennFostercollege/

Bill