pennfoster college are they scam

Are you going to get a job at a Fortune 500 company with a degree from Penn Foster? Probably not is true but that's because its true for 99% of college graduates. There are a myriad of factors outside of one's education that contribute to employment. There are plenty of inept applicants who interview poorly with degrees from any number of high reputation schools. This is only a small part of the equation.

What about a mid-career guy who has owned businesses, been very successful in life without a degree, interviews very well, is a purple heart veteran, and gets a degree from Penn Foster and applies to a Fortune 500 company? Does he have a chance? Depends on the quality of the hiring official, the education policies of the hiring company, and 100 other factors.

Does it stack your chances to get a degree from Virginia Tech instead of Penn Foster. Maybe. But not if the hiring official is a UVA fan.

:nana:

 

I finished an associates in CJ in October 2013. Some classes were fairly easy for me, since I do have a law degree, but some were especially difficult. If you don't take the work seriously you will not get good grades, period. I think that most of the people that complain about PF are not good distance learners, and because they struggle with the work they have an axe to grind. I just know that I had to work for my degree and I was satisfied with the courses and materials.

 

which school were you able to transfer to?
I want to get my associate's degree in paralegal studies then finish with my bachelor's. ..which school accepted you after penn foster?

 

If you enroll in Penn Foster for something like Dental Assistant you have to look at your states requirement. They will not allow you to sit for the exam in California if you take Penn Foster classes. Not sure why they dont just block certain states from registration if this is the case. They do tell you to check before you enroll:
"
State Requirements
Please review your state board requirements that are applicable to your field of study. State boards may impose a variety of different requirements for dental assistant programs. This is particularly important for residents of California and Florida.

The key to working with a school like Penn Foster is to know what you are getting into and what you will not get. The national accreditation is pretty much not acknowledged by any state universities, and with some of the certificate programs you will need to get a lesser certification and then a more well-recognized one (Medical Billing and Coding). If you go in well-informed you wont be disappointed later.

 

That's an interesting take. Thing is, getting a job at a Fortune 500 is no big deal, there are many types of jobs and levels at Fortune 500 companies, and some that only require a high school diploma. So yes, people can and do get jobs at Fortune 500's with Penn Foster degrees. The real question is, will they get executive level jobs? Probably not, because those ranks are usually reserved for well-known schools and Ivy leagues. However, I knew a VP at a large company that only had a high school diploma and never did a day in college.

 

That's why they don't block certain states, because they tell you before you enroll. Besides, what if you live in one state but plan to move to another? What if you live in two states (this is not unheard of)? Blocking would prevent people in those situations from enrolling.

Penn Foster itself is not the issue, it's California's very specific requirements. You'll find through research that this is an issue with many schools both regionally and nationally accredited where a program doesn't meet the requirements for licensure in certain states. It's a very common issue.

That can be said for every school.

There is no verifiable evidence for this claim. There is nothing about national accreditation that inherently conflicts with state universities. Every school has its own policies when it comes to credit transfer and state universities like all other types have schools that accept credits from nationally accredited schools, and some that don't.

Not sure what you're saying there.

 

Yeah there is verifiable evidence for that claim. Find one state university that is regionally accredited that will accept credits from Penn Foster/an ONLY nationally accredited school. ONE.

Yes that is true for every school but there are FAR MORE obstacles with Penn Foster, like the accreditation issue. Not arguing with you on this, because anyone with a degree from a regi0nally accredited college/uni knows differently. I just hope people don't listen to you, but not going to worry about it LOL!

They dont "tell you before you enroll" they tell you to CHECK because they are LAZY. If they TOLD YOU then they would say Penn Foster is NOT ACCEPTED to sit for the exam in CA. How many CA residents would enroll. Probably NONE but they count on people NOT CHECKING. THIS IS WHY people think they are a scam. Its basically a lie of omission and they throw their hands up and shrug their shoulders if you take the course without looking. Its the same with accreditation. Its like the smoke and mirrors that you (for some bizarre reason) are throwing up here on their behalf.

Dont be obtuse.

School said: ↑
and with some of the certificate programs you will need to get a lesser certification and then a more well-recognized one (Medical Billing and Coding).
Not sure what you're saying there.

The certification that you can sit for with Penn Foster isnt accepted by ANYONE for employment. And even if they are accepted by one or two companies, its NOT COMPETITIVE with other certifications. Thats what I mean.

Bye. Now that I have explained all of that to you I'm not wasting any more time with a Penn Foster apologist. If I wasnt already enrolled, I wouldnt because of people like you.

 

You said you won't argue with me, but then you went on an entire tirade arguing with me. You're new here and you won't last long with that know-it-all attitude, we're all vastly more knowledgeable on this subject than you are. The sad part is that you actually think you know what you're talking about. You haven't a clue. What you are is the typical internet passerby who heard some things about nationally accredited schools from the media or some other internet know-it-all who doesn't know what he/she is talking about, the information you got is wrong, and you didn't bother to research for yourself (and that's obvious because your information is wrong), but nevermind that. You still had the audacity to come to a place full of people deeply knowledgeable on the subject and act like a brat when your misinformation is not agreed with.

I could easily name state schools all day long that take NA credits, I've transferred credits to some myself, (and no not from Penn Foster, I never went there) but it would be wasted on you because if I name 1 you'll ask for 10, then 100 and so on. Your act complete with your lame "apologist" accusation has been seen before. We're not impressed.

So, "bye" now?

 

Ouch! Well said, but ouch! LOL!

You know what strikes me as odd (and funny)? His anger. Look at all the angry declarations and shouting, lol. He's like some kind of demon foaming at the mouth against national accreditation, lol. What the hell? LOL! He's not the first either. I really wonder what it is about national accreditation that brings out so much unprovoked anger from some people. Are national accreditors involved in some kind of national child kidnapping ring I'm not aware of?

Hey, I give him some credit though, I hadn't heard the state school one before, that's a new one, false, but new. Where people come up with that kind of nonsense, I'll never understand. But you have to figure, if enough people on random forums say that kind of junk, there is bound to be enough people who'll believe it. Thankfully, this just isn't a place where bad information has a long shelf life.

 

Things are seldom that clear cut.

The degrees from Penn Foster, the bulk of their college catalogue, are AAS degrees. An AAS, compared to an AA or an AS, are typically not built for ease of transfer. They certainly can transfer into bachelors programs. But that isn't their primary purpose.

I know that not too many years ago Penn State would accept NA credits for certain things. They also considered ACE recommended credits. Many PF courses are also ACE recommended. Which, by the way, means that they are accepted by TESU and Charter Oak, so that's two state universities since "Penn State" often causes an argument over whether it is truly a state school.

One of the biggest limitations with PF is that they are offering training in hands on fields. Few people will hire a mechanic who never touched a car as part of their trade school. Accreditation is often a secondary concern. That said, their engineering tech program seems to be represented well in that field.

PF is based in Pennsylvania with corporate HQ, last I checked in AZ. Why would they advertise compliance or not with CA? It would be impractical for a school, any school, to advertise that their program qualifies you, or specifically does not qualify you, for licensure in every jurisdiction that licenses. Even top programs tell you to check eligibility. New York, for example, doesn't have an accreditation standard for psychology. A program is either registered as licensure qualifying for psychology or it needs to be evaluated for equivalency. This isn't just a school reputation issue. It's to prevent people from using non-clinical degrees (say, someone who earns a PhD in Psychology but had no clinical experience and their dissertation was on the psychology of television marketing) to get clinical licenses.

In any case, it isn't "lazy" it's actually industry standard.

I've never heard anyone use this insult outside of Shawshank Redemption. Kudos.

Really? Anyone? Not a single employer in the history of employers? I have to call BS on that one.

I feel that PF has a definite role in the landscape of distance education. PF qualifications, as standalone credentials, are usually not very strong. Taken with years of relevant experience, other education or certifications, however, they can offer value. I had an ex girlfriend years ago who earned the AAS in Early Childhood Ed back when they were still Thompson Education Direct, a far less appealing name than "Penn Foster College." She already had a B.S. and an MSW. She decided she wanted to shift from working with people with addictions and work with kids. So she tacked on that AAS and credited it with helping her to land her first job working directly with children. It came up quite a bit during the interview and helped her overcome a lack of experience involving direct pediatric clinical experience. Again, though, that's as an add on credential.

That aside, I cannot imagine ever accusing LearningAddict, or any regular on this board, as being a "Penn Foster apologist" with a straight face. We've had some fairly heated debates round these parts but nothing that has escalated this quickly or needlessly.

 

After witnessing so many wig-outs about national accreditation over the years, I feel it's time to give this behavior its own designation. From this point forward, I will be referring to the behavior with its own term: "national accreditation rage". "NA rage" for short.

 

I like it. It is certainly appropriate in this instance. Never fails to amaze me when a sort of herd mentality takes place.

 

I think it's funny that it is even a debate. It never really struck me as worthy of one.

Somewhere between "NA is equal to RA" and "NA degrees will destroy your career, ruin your life and cause your spouse to divorce you, your kids to disown you and your organs to fail" there is a balance. It all really does depend on a lot of variables. It's the reason I had concerns about extrapolating conclusions from Rich's doctoral research. Not only is the hiring landscape in the U.S. patchy in terms of degree "acceptability" but companies and even individual HR reps are seldom consistent in their application of their own steadfast opinions.

I once said that I would never hire a person with a degree from an obvious diploma mill. That I would use my "nuclear option" to block it if a manager tried to do it anyway. Then that situation came up and I didn't do anything of the sort. I get the box came with black and white crayons, but in reality I find myself using grey a lot more frequently.