The view of Penn Foster College

I am in need of a degree. However due to work and other things it needs to be self paced and something I can do on my time .I have been considering Penn Foster College and then transferring it to another college that will accept the credits .My question is how was the fact that you studied at PF, when some people may only think of Sally Struthers and look down upon your degree .I am considering them due to cost and the their are not to many schools that are self paced that include books .

 

No one is going to care about the Sally Struthers connection, and it's highly unlikely anyone you encounter would even know, especially since the school was called ICS when she did commercials for them... and that was a long time ago.

 

When transferring Penn Foster courses your options are a bit limited. There are two types of accreditors for post-secondary institutions: regional and national. Trying not to start an argument of whether or not one is better than the other, the perception is that regional accreditation is better than national accreditation. All of the top, major, and traditional colleges have regional accreditation. For colleges that accept transfer credits, most will probably have a disclaimer that says they only accept credits from regionally accredited schools. You can probably convince the school to accept credits from a nationally accredited school, but it's just so much easier to transfer RA credits and not have to argue a case for their acceptance. On the other hand, I have never heard of a college that accepts NA credits and not RA credits.

Before you decide to enroll at Penn Foster, I strongly recommend that you look at these options:

1. Western Governors University. It's RA, self-paced, and you can complete as many credits as you can in a 6-month term at about $2800 per term.

2. Northern Arizona University: Their competency-based programs are self-paced like WGU's, and they charge $2500 per 6-month term.

3. University of Wisconsin System: They are starting their self-paced programs soon.

4. College for America by Southern New Hampshire University: They are currently only offering a competency-based associate's program. They charge $2500 per year.

5. The Big 3 (Excelsior, Charter Oak, and Thomas Edison): These schools accept 114 to 120 transfer credits. They will accept transfer credits from any regionally accredited college. A lot of universities offer self-paced, independent study courses that people transfer over to the Big 3, but this is not the most inexpensive way of doing things. In addition, they will accept ACE approved credits which includes many of Penn Foster's courses. Straighterline, Propero, Saylor, Sophia Learning, TEEX, Javaonline, ALEKS, and Coursera also offer self-paced courses that are cheap (or free), ACE or NCCRS approved, and are accepted by the Big 3. The thing that makes the Big 3 great for those wanting to work at their own pace is that they accept an unlimited number of CBEs (credit by exam) such as CLEP, DSST, Ohio exams, Uexcel ECEP (formerly Uexcel and Excelsior College Exams), and TECEPs. You study for a test at your own pace, and then you go take it. If you pass, you can earn 3-12 credits depending on the test. Most of these tests are $100 with the testing center fee. Compare that to paying $50 to $500 per credit hour for a 3-credit course.

 

Keep in mind that Penn Foster does have a number of ACE evaluated courses which will open up plenty of opportunities to transfer to an RA institution if that's something you even care about. And, IIRC, Penn Foster has transfer agreements with a number of RA schools.

 

A big thanks to the above schools I will check them out .I did not know there were other options available.

 

Maybe instead of picking out one school and inviting criticism you could tell us what degree you'd like, a few details about your situation, etc. and let's see if we can help you out. We don't need to embark on a campaign of criticism (Sally Struthersor otherwise) in order to lend advise. BTW, I have no criticism of PF in this context.

 

I never held Sally Struthers against ICS. Better than using her TV father. Would you go to a school endorsed by Archie Bunker? :jester:

Johann

 

The ACE thing works fine as long as you pick and choose the right courses, but it doesn't if you complete a whole degree program. A lot of the criminal justice, business, and education courses are ACE approved, but if you were to major in one of their other programs, not many of those courses are ACE approved.

 

Does anyone know if the Career Diploma programs offered by Penn Foster is fully online, as in no physical presence required to take examinations (at Penn Foster or via proctor) ,etc?

 

The only reason I mentioned Sally Struthers and her commericals for Penn Foster is that whenever I mention them that is what they remember. I mention PF,ICS and they have no idea what I am taking about but if I mention her ,that is something that is apparently memorable .I have read online that has both positive and negative reviews for Penn Foster. I am considering Human Resources Associates degree as of right now ,I am not considering a Bachelor.

 

:smile:

I suggest you call them and ask because they have likely changed more over the years, than just their name. :smile:

I took a Career Diploma program with them around 2002, when it was called Education Direct and everything was "distance learning." At that time I had to mail some of my work to them, and do some parts online. I did not have to have any proctors or anything like that.

I actually knew this because I was interested in it when I saw the Struthers commercials. I was a SAHM at the time, looking for options to further my education while still being able to stay home with my children. I got some of their literature but never signed up when it was ICS. We didn't have Internet then (in the '80s and '90s) so, seeing a TV commerical was one of the ways I learned about Distance Learning options.

After getting my Master's Degree, I signed up for their Visual Basic career diploma program, around 2002. Of course I read all about their history and name changes, and at that time they called themselves Education Direct. I didn't like that name, but the program was good and I learned Visual Basic. :smile:

And yes, I know about them changing their name to Penn Foster. I have some history with this school so I would be more likely to know about Sally Struthers and ICS but nobody I know in real life would have any clue about this.

Indianadreamer, I'm wondering where you got the idea that a lot of people who might be in the position to hire you someday, would know anything about the name history of this school and Struther's endorsement in the earlier days. And I honestly don't get why that would be viewed as a bad thing. Penn Foster can meet some needs of many people and is reasonably priced. But it all depends on your goals. The advice given by others to check other schools with self-paced programs is good, especially if you think getting an RA degree may be important to you.

 

I completed a PF Career Diploma program (Administrative Assistant) late last year and I can tell you that all courses and assignments were online. You are sent materials (study guides and textbooks in some cases) to study and when you are done with studying individual lessons and particular courses, you go online to take your tests. As at last year December, there wasn't any of their career courses that required proctored exams. I still believe there are no proctored exams for most of the career courses. I would write or call to know if any of their newly added career programs are proctored. By the way, PF career courses, in my opinion, are well ''built.''

 

Dunno how you missed it, Maniac. The connection has been mentioned quite a few times. The last was less than two weeks ago:

"Penn Foster was founded in 1890 as the "International Correspondence School" (ICS). They used the "ICS" name for more than 100 years. The "Penn Foster " name is relatively new; the traditional "ICS" name is still used in Canada" - CalDog, July 20, 2013

In this thread, pages 2 and 3: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/46193-distance-education-other-than-college-2.html

Johann

 

Not every member reads every thread. Even Mods.

 

I know that.

But Maniac said he did. So... If he hadn't, I wouldn't even have mentioned it.

Johann

 

Some of the career diplomas/certificates from Penn Foster Career School will give you advanced standing in degree programs from Penn Foster College, but these aren't transferable college credits. PF says they are more like continuing education credits. One member learned this the hard way when he found out his electronics certificate couldn't be used for credit at all anywhere except for at Penn Foster.