Opinions Please! Ashworth College vs. Penn Foster (Education Direct) - Which is best?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by sean_jessica05, Jan 2, 2006.

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  1. Ryan IV

    Ryan IV New Member

    Stupid question

    For the $39 x 20 months that you pay at Ashworth per quarter, how many credits do you get? If that is the cost for just one standard 3 credit class, that seems awful expensive. What am I missing here?

    Thanks, Ryan IV
     
  2. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Re: Stupid question

    The cost covers 15 semester hours.
     
  3. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    That's not per quarter, it's per semester. Ashworth charges a flat rate for its degrees. An Associate degree is about $3,000. A Master's degree is about $5,000. Ashworth does not charge interest for its payment plan.

    Put another way, an Ashworth Associate Degree is about $50 per credit hour. A Master's degree is about $139 per credit hour. You likely won't find cheaper accredited degrees, even if they are NA.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2006
  4. sean_jessica05

    sean_jessica05 New Member

    Just curious -- Ashworth offers associates and masters. What do you need to get the masters? Can you do the associates and then get the masters thru them? If not, I dont understand why they dont offer anything in between...
     
  5. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    You need a bachelors to get a masters at Ashworth. No, they do not offer one. I don't know why...they just don't.
     
  6. miguelstefan

    miguelstefan New Member

    As a PCDI graduate I am not going to claim to be objective here. I do have a soft spot for PCDI/Ashworth as my experience has been a good one in general. However, the point I want to get across is that given your fiancé’s current health and economic situation he may be better off with a Career Diploma from either institution. Check their offerings at http://www.pcdi.com/courses/. It will be substantially cheaper and faster than an associate’s degree. I finished the Financial Specialist Program in two moths, and would have finished it in less time if the materials would have arrived faster. Furthermore, he should take advantage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which gives him a fairly broad range of choices.

    On a side note, I admire what the both of you are trying to do and I already added your fiancé’s health to my daily prayers.

    Godspeed!
     
  7. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Ashworth plans to offer bachelor's programs within the next five years according to emails and phone calls between them and me.
     
  8. MGKRILL

    MGKRILL New Member

    sean_jessica05..

    This is just my opinion.

    Penn foster is the why to go.

    Evreything Tcord has said is true. Penn-Foster has been reviewed by ACE and is more widely acceptable for tranfer.

    I've taken the ASB in Applied Computer Science with Penn-Foster. I completed almost 3 semesters. Almost all of the courses I've taken tranfered to a degree progam with Excelsior College which is regional accredited.
     
  9. Ryan IV

    Ryan IV New Member

    Re: Re: Stupid question

    Thanks for explaining it. I knew there had to be more to it than I was seeing.
     
  10. sean_jessica05

    sean_jessica05 New Member

    Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. My fiancee and I are both christians and try to always make Him first -- its wonderful to meet others that are the same:).
     
  11. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Hi Sean and/or Jessica:
    You're getting a good discussion of your questions, and I hope you find some useful information. Best wishes to you.
    Janko
     
  12. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist


    Well, I hope you don't mind an Aetheist throwing in his $.02. ;)


    I posted this info on your other thread, but it looks like that one is far down the list now...

    ==================================

    Jessica,

    I wish you and your Husband the best of luck. If your Husband should decide to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice (and knowing that money is tight right now for you two), I would recommend that he look at the online BS in Criminal Justice program offered through Peru State College. Peru is a regionally accredited college located in Nebraska. The tuition at Peru is only $114/credit hour, which is cheaper than some DETC schools! BTW, they also offer a Bachelor's in Business Administration. Maybe you could both take an online degree from Peru.

    Peru - BS Criminal Justice
    http://www.hpcnet.org/peru/onlineeducation/bscj

    Peru - Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Business Administration - Management
    http://www.hpcnet.org/peru/onlineeducation/basm

    Peru - Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration - Management
    http://www.hpcnet.org/peru/onlineeducation/bsm

    Peru - Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration - Marketing
    http://www.hpcnet.org/peru/onlineeducation/bsmarketing


    As many people here have already mentioned, there are many fields available within the world of CJ. Perhaps your Husband would enjoy teaching CJ online? This would require at least a Bachelor's degree and 18 additional graduate level credits (with a Master's or PhD recommended). It's a long road, but it might prove to be very fulfilling.

    Best of luck.

    - Tom
     
  13. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Great recommendations, Tom! Peru State is a really "customer-friendly" school and RA and all that good stuff. If these are areas that interest Sean and Jessica it's a terrific school to deal with, and cheap for a US school.

    The home url for Peru State is www.peru.edu/

    The state *college* system in Nebraska is full of good things. Here are the other two schools, FWIW:

    Wayne State www.wsc.edu/ (not to be confused with WSU in Detroit!)

    and

    Chadron State www.csc.edu/
     
  14. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member


    The thing I like about Peru State is that they will accept an associate degree from Penn Foster as transfer credit into their bachelors degree programs. So, you could earn your associate from Penn Foster for about $60 per credit, or about $3,600, and then transfer to Peru State and pick up your bachelors for $114 per credit. It would save you a few bucks doing that rather than getting all of your credits from Peru State. I have been looking at Peru State's marketing program for when I finish at Penn Foster, and they have responded to my emails in a very timely manner.
     
  15. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Is that because of Penn Foster's ACE approval, or does Peru accept any nationally-accredited coursework/degrees... like from Ashworth, for example?
     
  16. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    The dean who responded to my email did not specify. I assumed it was because of Penn Foster's ACE-reviewed courses, but Peru may very well accept degrees from any nationally-accredited school. If any Ashworth students wanted to check, they could email the dean of the program they are interested in at Peru. They are very good about responding to email.

    Either way, Peru seems like a well-respected and cost-effective place for Penn Foster students to follow-up with their BA or BS studies.
     

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