Advice needed on Ashworth College VS other NA online schools

Hello everyone,

I am so glad to have found a forum like this, I have spent the last few days simply searching through and reading as many threads as I could find, trying to glean a bit of wisdom for my decisions.

I am looking for opinions from anyone who has attended Ashworth College, specifically their associates programs. I am aware the difference between NA and RA.

I am 25 years old, my educational background is that I was homeschooled for my entire life, and if anyone is familiar with the unschooling philosophy, that's really what my father was trying to accomplish with me, specifically meaning I have had no forced or required lessons in any subject. I am self taught in every subject, the upside of this is that I love to read and have a great vocabulary, and excellent critical thinking skills. The downside is that I have terribly weak math skills.

I passed my GED a few years ago so I could have a credential into college, but due to a combination of factors I have simply been working in entry level jobs since I turned 18. Recently I have discovered a desire to finally go to college but I want it to be on manageable terms. I don't want to go to a local community college and struggle to get the courses I need, I work full time, and actually have two jobs. (But both are what is considered dead end)
Long story short, I am not picky! I simply want to better myself enough that I could get into entry level office positions (short term goal)

So because of cost and ease of entry I am considering Ashworth College to get an A.S and then transferring into WGU to pursue a bachelors (if I make it that far) I know that WGU is RA and it seems to have a decent reputation. I'm not interested in working for Harvard or NASA anyway..
Has anyone here been successful at transferring Ashworth degrees into other schools? My first choice was actually Cal Coast for an A.S but seeing as how both of them are NA the cost of Cal Coast (9,000 plus books) versus Ashworth (3,800 or so, books included) is crazy. Can anyone tell me how they compare from personal experience? There are so many intelligent and educated people on here, I hope some of you are still active (I've read so many old threads)
I think I understand the limitations of the NA degrees but I still don't want to choose the bottom of the barrel...
Thank you in advance if anyone can help shed some light on this path for me, I appreciate it greatly. :hail:

 

DETC-"Accredited" Engineering Degrees – Hope for the Numerically Challenged?

Vaso Bovan
Sr. Component Engineer
Top Contributor


Some members may not know about DETC.

So here you have an advise from Vaso Bovan

 

Lanalane,

It seems to be that based on your background the best fit might be following a testing plan (such as one of the several excellent ones by Sanantone) and completing a degree with one of the Big 3 (Excelsior, Thomas Edison State College, Charter Oak State College).

This will be both economically prudent and might match up well with the manner in which you have learned thus far in your life.

 

Can this be deleted, it was supposed to go to a different discuss.

 

One of my degrees is from Ashworth College. It was a good experience. Great materials, lots of quizzes and exercises, intelligent tutors that went the extra mile countless times. Very economical.

I like to write a lot of essays; if you do as well, then you'll fit in fine. If you like to read thousands of pages of text (and you have to), you'll fit in fine. If you like working 100% at your own pace, you'll really fit in.

There are honestly very few issues. The only two issues I had were:

1. The discourse on the boards is somewhat useless and often unintelligent. The majority of this comes from the Diploma students. Based on how well you write, you'll quickly understand what I mean.

2. Every now and then you'll get a customer service person who simply hates his/her job. Don't sweat it. Just hang up and call again. There are a lot of other professionals there who will help you get things situated.

One last thing... in addition to Western Governors, you might also consider Patten University. It's RA and is self-paced and very economical.

 

Friendorfoe got his associates in CJ from Ashworth and somewhere on this site he has an informative essay (blog?) that relates his experience in transferring his Ashworth NA credits to Southwestern College in Kansas. Unfortunately, I could not find that but maybe someone with more time, that's a little more search savvy, can find it. Best of luck to you.

 

Thank you so much for your input. May I ask which degree you got at Ashworth? I actually found a way to access the boards on their student website and I was a bit off-put and a little worried by how the average students seemed, I try not to generalize though.

I love reading and writing, and it sounds like the course work would be do-able.

Have you ever attended Patten? I just checked it out and it looks very affordable as well, thank you for that info. I wonder if they accept NA credits? I just sent them an email so hopefully I will hear back.

Thanks for everyone's input, I appreciate it.

 

Psychology.

Yeah, it's one of those things you eventually just ignore anyway because it doesn't have much use for you.

I haven't attended Patten, but it looks like a viable option for a self-paced, very affordable RA. I'd be surprised if they didn't accept NA credits since the school is owned by the same system (UniversityNow) that owns New Charter University which happens to be an NA school. Patten has a chat system, I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving you a quick answer... and a sales pitch

 

Since you are 25 years old and have been home schooled, I would recommend taking a traditional program for few reasons:
-Traditional schools provide more than just education, they provide you with the networking and services to contact employers and get you into the industry of your choice,
-As you have been home all your life, I believe it is important to get some experience with group projects and presentations. Employers are not just looking for a diploma but for someone that knows how to interact with others and work as a team member.

I am sure that you have community colleges close to your place. State schools are usually cheap and affordable.

Nothing wrong with distance education or NA schools but this type of programs seem to be geared more towards adults (like 35+) that are already working in a field and just need the diploma for advancement and not for a young person that needs to break into a particular industry.

If you still insist in a NA online school, I would recommend taking classes that are ACE reviewed (The American Council on Education). The reason for this is that these credits can be transferred to an RA school like Excelsior if they are ACE reviewed. So in a way, it is like taking RA credits even though are NA credits.

I know how convenient and easy are NA online schools, I usually take penn foster college courses to comply with my certification continuing education requirements. They are cheap, convenient and relatively easy. But don't forget that everything comes with a price. In this case, penn foster does not provide with placement services, is not prestigious (not even close), does not provide with Co-op or industry projects, etc.

 

I think by 25 years old, you've probably had a number of jobs and have learned to connect with people just for the simple fact that a job makes it almost impossible not to. I don't believe age is an issue. Now, if we were talking 17, 18, 19 years old, then maybe. That said, this is all tied to individual experiences. There are some 17 year olds with more life experience than people who're 25 or 30, just based on that individual's life path and circumstances.

This type of educational method, in my opinion, matches suit to a type of person rather than a specific age group.

 

The question is, can I get into the job I want with a degree from a school like Ashworth College? Would I reduce my chances by going this route instead of a local recognized college?

I agree that everyone is different and we cannot generalize, if one wants to get into online learning and distance education as a profession, then the distance degree from a NA school might even help instead of harming your chances.

When I wrote this I was thinking more about Engineering that is my field, I really don't see how a person with a resume with experience in retail or as a clerk can get the attention of an employer with a technologist degree from a school such as Penn foster. IF the person is already working in a technology (e.g. electrician) field and just needs the diploma, then the degree becomes secondary.

We don't know the full situation of the OP, but we know that he or she has little experience with traditional education. Attending traditional education would be a safer route for someone with no experience in the field and also would give the person a different experience.

I have done both traditional and distance education and must say that there is a lot you are missing with distance education. My initial career in engineering was mainly because professional contacts developed when attending University. Online group projects have limitations; you are missing the face to face presentations, communication skills, conflict management, interpersonal skills, etc that an online environment doesn't give.

Also, we are talking about NA online schools here. My only experience has been with Penn foster but I assume other similar schools follow the same model. I have taken about 5 courses with them and basically the model is courses with online multiple choice tests straight from the text book with no assignments. Each course took about 5 to 10 hrs of my time. I enjoyed the courses mainly because the books were interesting but must say that the learning experience was not even close to what I had at my traditional university that required closed book with problems exams, group projects, presentations, etc.

Again, you get what you pay for. The OP is old enough to make his or her own decisions but personally I wouldn't recommend a program from these schools for a solid career foundation.

 

RFValve: Saying Penn Foster is not prestigious is like saying the sky is blue. It's self evident. But aren't there so many other colleges, whether BM or DL, that aren't prestigious too? What's prestigious to me may not be prestigious to you and vice versa. It's a subjective thing.

Also regarding the courses the PF offers. I've had to do three projects in Legal Research and Writing, something I covered in my legal courses with NWCU, besides the standard multiple choice tests and the proctored exam upcoming. I know what I'm doing but it was no cakewalk. Most courses now have projects and/or discussion boards that must be completed before credit is given. So things have changed.

 

My intention is not to insult people working on degrees from NA online institutions. If the degree is working for you, good for you.

I think that one should get the best one can get given the circumstances. If one person is married with little time available and low budget and PFC is all the person can afford, then PFC is better than nothing. If a young person with no family commitments has local available colleges that are affordable and have excellent placement rates and good career support, I just think that these options make more sense than going with an online college with little career support and almost no name recognition in the local market. In Canada, we have ICS Canada that is the brother school of PFC, I think I would have a very hard time getting the attention of the job market in Toronto with ICS in my resume as practically nobody would know that ICS is an a Canadian accredited college located in Montreal and most employers would be familiar with local schools such as Sheridan, Humber, George Brown, etc.

Again, personal opinion, don't need to bite me for this.

 

I think you made a lot of great points.

I believe the OP could also get a lot of value out of CLEP, DANTES and ECE tests. Personally had I been aware of all those options I would never have taken 4 years to complete my BA. Even if the OP is dead set on Ashworth, multiple tests to knock out 15-30 semester hours is not only economically but very wise in my opinion. To paraphrase RFValue, please don't bite me.

 

You guys should get together, you both seem to have a lot in common. That said, my comments were for anybody looking in that is interested in PF courses and would like the current assessment of said courses. Sure I took umbrage at RFValve calling PF non-prestigious and for good measure he also said "it's better than nothing". It's like kicking someone when they're down. It's unnecessary. PF serves its purpose and serves it well. One hundred thousand students per year sign up and about 25,000 graduate. They've got to be doing something right. And they are. So consider yourselves bitten.

 

Not sure what the hell that is all about. Just stating I agreed with some points. No need to cast aspersions but if that makes you happy go for it.

 

You know I take umbrage to you blindly assuming what I agreed with RFValue on. I never called out ICS/Penn Foster so why did you lump my opinion in with that sort of characterization. I said I think testing would be a good option even if OP went with Ashworth. No Penn Foster, no NA bashing, so what's up with all the hate? Haterade much?

 

If the OP takes a look at community colleges in his/her state; my guess there is a community college that has an online program.

Also, Clovis Community College is a great deal - even for out of state residents: $1,068 for 12 - 18 credit hours.

Tuition

I also believe that using CLEP/DSST is a great option as well.

I'd look at these options before I looked at an NA degree, especially for the AA/AS degree. The RA degree has more utility.

Good luck!

Shawn