RA vs NA

Is a degree form a NA school worthless? I was looking into Penn Foster College. I love that fact I can work at my own pace.
But if I want to take my degree farther would a RA school take any of my credits?
Any one here going to Penn Foster?
Thanks
Patricia in Alaska

 

I went to Ashworth College which is NA (DETC) and transferred into Southwestern College which is RA. So my degree was far from worthless. Your results may vary though. I will say that a NA degree is more difficult to transfer but not impossible. Penn Foster is ACE reviewed, which should help.

www.sckans.edu

If you think Penn Foster is perfect for you go for it. Follow the above link for a school that will accept a Penn Foster AA or AS degree.

Something else you could do is call the admissions dept. of various colleges you are interested in and ask if they will accept you as a 3rd year student from Penn Foster College. Don't mention accreditation as this murks things up quite a bit, if they ask, say “I don’t know, can you look it up” or if they say “yes” still ask them to look it up. Just have them look the school up in their Dept. of Ed. book or CHEA book. It'll be in there.

Note: I was told "no" by Southwestern College 3 times before finally getting a yes because of confusion over accreditation.

 

I am still in my first semester of studies at Penn Foster College, and I have been extremely pleased with the experience so far. As friendorfoe mentioned, many of the courses in Penn Foster's degree programs have been reviewed by the American Council on Education, which means they will be accepted by most regionally-accredited colleges.

Ditto on the advice to check with the school you want to transfer to. I did this when I was considering getting a BA from a nationally accredited school and then pursuing a graduate degree from the University of Oklahoma. An OU admissions person told me that the undergrad would have to be from a regionally-accredited college.

I plan to transfer my Penn Foster College degree to either Charter Oak State College or Bellevue University. Bellevue will accept an entire DETC-accredited degree as a prerequisiste to their programs, and they are regionally-accredited.

I also contacted Peru State College awhile back, asked whether they would accept a Penn Foster degree and mentioned the accreditation issue. Their answer? "Sure, we'll take the degree. We don't want you taking the same courses twice!"

There are colleges which will take a DETC-accredited degree in transfer. Just ask around until you find the program that suits you.

You can read more about my experience at Penn Foster by searching this message board for "My studies at Education Direct" or by following the link below to my blog.

 

Thanks guys! I am going to go with Penn Foster and then Peru.
I love the fact I can pay for Penn Foster out of my pocket.
And go at my own pace.
No student loans until Peru!
I am not too happy I have to find a proctor but it looks like I will need one for only 4 tests.
Now I just have to decide which program. I have many years of business experience so Business Management looks good.
Patricia in Alaska

 

You should check with Penn Foster to determine whether the school will allow your exams to be proctored by a full-time staff member of your local library, typically a librarian or someone in a similar senior position. I have been doing this with some of the courses which required proctored exams during my studies at American Military University.

 

I'm sure you've already checked, but make sure Peru will accept your Penn Foster undergrad. They probably will, but double and triple check.

 

Excellent! Good for you. I wish you the best Patricia.



Abner

 

Penn Foster offers 143 courses that are ACE evaluated. These will transfer MUCH more easily into RA schools. Check out the following ACE links...

This one lists the Penn Foster courses that have been ACE evaluated: [https://www.acenet.edu/nationalguide/results/index.cfm?sid=34493
This one shows which colleges and universities are participating members of ACE. I think you'll be surprised at how many colleges actually participate...including some very big names: http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=College_Services&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=15935

Pug

 

Take a look at the various Penn Foster programs and see how many courses from each are ACE evaluated. I believe nearly all courses in the Business Management program are ACE...something like 57 of the 66 hours I believe.

As far as selecting a proctor, it can be virtually anyone with at least an Associate degree that is not related to you or works for you as a subordinate. Boss, member of the clergy, librarian, colleauge at work...all good possibilities.

Pug