I think I made a mistake when I enrolled into this program. I can't recall exactly what possesed me to choose this "school." After the intial enrollment I began to notice little things about the website that brought me to question its credibility. I came to discover, after research, that Ashworth College is owned by PCDI (Proffesional Career Development Institute). When choosing a degree I had hoped to atleast get a degree from a real school. Not some type of degree mill. I later found that PCDI's reputation prooved to be rather unflattering. I believe that I deserve a more prestigious degree of achievement.There are no general education requirements and the tests are allowed to be administered with an open book. I've always thought of the general eductaion to be the most critical part of your education and why even study for a test if you have the book to find your answers. You might tell me that this program is accredited by the DETC which is recognized by the US Depeartment of Education as a legite educational institution, but the entirety of this program to me seems just downright unsatisfactory. I believe i should drop out of this program before I waste too much of my money and enroll myself into a RA school. Do any of you have any opinions on the value of a degree from Ashworth (pcdi)? And what do you think about me enrolling into a RA program?
Your decision to withdraw from Ashworth and enroll in an RA school is strictly a personal one, but I wonder just how much research you did before you enrolled in the school. All of the information you listed your post is freely available on their website. Did you read it at all before you enrolled? I'm not sure exactly what you have read about PCDI. The only unflattering information I have seen about the organization is about their collection methods if you happen to withdraw from the program, so beware. I have been in contact with many Ashworth students, some of which have graduated with a degree from the school. They were happy with Ashworth, and some went on to enroll in an RA school to further their education. Others received promotions at their job as a result of their Ashworth studies. Yes, the tests at Ashworth are open-book. So are the tests from Penn Foster, where I am a student. It is another DETC-accredited school, but the courses are also reviewed by the American Council on Education, a service used by most, if not all, RA colleges. If you feel Ashworth courses are not rigorous enough for you and you aren't learning anything, then I think you would be justified in withdrawing and seeking a degree elsewhere. I would not base my decision on information that I did, or did not, read on a web site.
For starters, Ashworth College www.ashworthcollege.com is not a degree mill. Yes, it is owned by Professional Career Development Institute, which is famous for their mid-day television advertisements about get your high school diploma at home, or your career diploma, or your associate's. Ashworth is a legitimate school which has recently achieved national accreditation (NA) through the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) www.dfetc.org . For an accreditation agency to be legitimate, it must be recognized by either the United States Department of Education (USDOE) www.ed.gov or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) www.chea.org . DETC does meet that criterion of legitimacy, and so Ashworth does have good accreditation. As our august former Senior Member Dr. Richard C. Douglas has so often pointed out, NA degrees may have some utility problems relative to RA (regionally accredited) degrees. The reasons for this may be threefold: (a) historically, national accreditors started out accrediting vocational programs before getting into accrediting the more academic programs; (b) lack of understanding on the part of human resource officials who use the term "regional accreditation" when they really mean "national accreditation"; and (c) thoroughly ingrained elitism on the part of the RA schools. That said, as a relatively new school with national accreditation, Ashworth does not yet have a very high degree of prestige, and their students have complained about the difficulty in trying to get any customer service from them. But, they're a legit school. Now, if you'd like to transfer to another associate's elsewhere, fine. Just tell us what you want to major in, and I'm sure the good people on this fine board will feed you links to relevant programs.
Last summer I talked a friend of mind out of Ashworth and into a RA school. She wants to be a CPA. I was able to give her a fair appraisal of the pros and cons of RA vs. DETC because I have been lurking on this board for over three years and I know all the arguments. I did NOT have to trash Ashworth to convince her. At the same time, I was impressed with her textbooks, her exams, and the amount of effort she had to give to complete her Ashworth coursework. She is now a 4.0 student at her RA school. I think DETC schools like PCDI have their place. Some offer programs not available elsewhere. They offer a less intimidating alternative to those who are simply scared to attend their local college because of failure in high school or the amount of time since they last attended school. I can't tell you how many times I wish I had some of the skills taught by PCDI! Keep in mind that some RA schools accept DETC credit in transfer. And learning is never a wast of time, no matter the subject, or the school as long as the school has legitimate accreditation. And DETC is legitimate. Rob
Well, since I am an Ashworth grad I guess I’ll give a little insight into what you bagged on as open book exams where there seems to be little or not point in studying. The Ashworth College format is made up of reading assignments completed at the student’s own pace, and then you take your achievement exams online. The achievement exams are not particularly wrenching if you READ your assignment. Now as to the proctored final, there were 10 questions per subject and at times they really picked some tough questions, where even an open book and reading the assignment still makes matters tough, the tests were certainly not “give-me”s. I maintained A’s and B’s throughout the curriculum and have maintained straight A’s in my RA 4 year school, which accepted the credit transfers and builds upon the stuff I should already know. I find that in research papers and such, I frequently will reference my Ashworth College texts and have had a lot of success in doing so. Thus far I’ve not really needed to go to the library much. As for Ashworth’s reputation. It is true that they leave something to be desired in customer service. It is also true that the diploma you receive ultimately looks like something off of a printer. It is also true that they advertise on T.V. which is where I found them. Now here is some more truth: 1.) I would not have gone back to school (most likely) had not I had such success at Ashworth College. You may notice on my signature line that I have attended a local College and I will tell you now, the poor customer service by Ashworth on its worst day beat the best I’ve seen from the tax funded local black hole of customer service that is that school. 2.) Ashworth College propelled me into Southwestern College which is RA and I am having a lot of success and fun there. 3.) I paid about $4,000 for my AS degree. It got me accepted into a RA school and the credits transferred. That was an intelligently spent $4,000. A community college is about the only other thing I have seen that would have been comparable in cost. 4.) My degree has shown that I am serious about my profession which I believe helped me to receive a promotion. 5.) Ashworth introduced me to distance education, something I had never heard of prior to enrolling in their school. So if you don’t like Ashworth, don’t go there. If you want to bag on ‘em, for being a mill have a blast, but you should try to get some facts first. If you think you can enroll and coast, good luck to you, but I don’t think you will find those “open book” exams as forgiving as you seem to believe they are.
Ashworth is not a degree mill. It's nationally accredited and meets stringent standards set by the DETC. Do a bit of homework. Contact the DETC and actually find out what the standards are for an applicant school to be accredited. I'm sure you'd be surprised. I'm not here to sell DETC accreditation. I makes no difference to me which school you choose. Why didn't you do your research before enrolling at Ashworth?
