With more than 200,000 active students, Penn Foster has become a leading distance learning school that was founded by Thomas J Foster in 1980. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Penn Foster really provides a chance for students and career aspirants to get their Associate Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees and undergraduate certificates through online studies.
Do you have a plan to attend one of Penn Foster college programs? Before attending a Penn Foster program, you may need to know regardless of whether Penn Foster college is credible or not. To identify whether Penn Foster is credible or not, you can see our post below!
Is Penn Foster a Credible College?
Talking about the credibility of a college, it will regard whether a college has an accreditation. In order to be a credible college and be eligible for accreditation, a college will need to be licensed.
How about Penn Foster? It is known that Penn Foster is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The DEAC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency and is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
About Penn Foster College, it has been licensed by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education and is also authorized to award Associate of Science Degrees, Bachelor of Science Degrees, Undergraduate Certificates, and Career Diplomas.
Online college degrees at Penn Foster both associate and bachelor’s are nationally accredited through the DEAC. Some programs actually have additional accreditations like Vet Assistant Career Diploma that is offered through the college that has been approved by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA).
Furthermore, the online Vet Tech Associate Degree and the Bachelor’s of Applied Science both have accreditation through the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
How Reliable Is Penn Foster?
Penn Foster provides three schools including high school, college and career where all have accreditation and are evaluated regularly to make sure the courses meet the standards of each board. It’s known that some programs at Penn Foster will have industry-specific accreditation.
In keeping with the mission to improve lives through “acquired knowledge, skills and credentials”, Penn Foster really has an experienced faculty that will help students reach their career goals and also partners with thousands of companies to create personalized training solutions.
The distance school students will really find Penn Foster affordable with a pay-as-you-go model and the customized payment plans that fit their needs. Students can also select to pay the fee in full or monthly through auto-pay. They can also enroll for many of the programs for an average cost of $2 per day. The textbooks are included in the price of tuition.
With their PFx digital learning environment, Penn Foster really helps students access their course while on the go from smartphone or computer. There are also several learning tools that can help progress through study units and also to track goals.
Not only text, the students can also have video recording of lectures, textbook recaps for recalling key points and practice questions to help prepare for the exam. They will also have a separate dashboard in which they can access all this once signed into their account.
New Penn Foster students will be able to connect with a career expert or admissions specialist to get help with selecting a course, transferring existing credits, grading system or others. A student can enroll online, by mail or by phone.
Talking about payment for a course program, it can be made using credit card, checks, PayPal and authorized automatic withdrawals. The students can also pay for tuition in full for a discount or register for low monthly payment with 0% interest.
Penn Foster Accreditation, Licensing and Recommendations
As we’ve mentioned, all the three schools of Penn Foster (high school, college and career) really have accreditation. Of course, some programs have industry-specific accreditation. Here’s what accreditation each Penn Foster school has:
1) Penn Foster High School
Online high school diploma program at Penn Foster is regionally accredited through the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It is also nationally accredited through the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), a national board that works to evaluate and accredits distance and online education providers.
Just like regional accreditation, schools should also meet the commission’s standards to be given recognition. There will always be a renewal period every few years to make sure the quality of the school stays where it must be.
2) Penn Foster Career School
With the career certificate and diploma offer, Penn Foster Career School is also regionally and nationally accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) just like Penn Foster High School for non-degree granting postsecondary programs.
Penn Foster Career School has demonstrated to gain this accreditation that it complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard that is recognized internationally as a standard of good practice. As a result, Penn Foster Career School is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its program. iT aims to qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standard.
Aside from Penn Foster Career School, Penn Foster College is also authorised to offer IACET CEUs for its career diploma program. Just like Penn Foster Career School, the authorization also aims to qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standard.
3) Penn Foster Degree and Undergraduate Certificate Courses
In addition to Penn Foster High School, Career School and College, there are also a lot of Penn Foster Degree and Undergraduate Certificate Courses that have been reviewed by the ACE College Credit Recommendation Services.
It is known that The American Council on Education (ACE) seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues. This major coordinating body aims to influence public policy through research, advocacy and program initiatives.
4) Other Penn Foster Programs
There are also many programs at Penn Foster that have been approved for veteran’s education benefits. The reservists can also qualify for veteran’s education benefits. If you think you are eligible or would like more information about it, make sure to check with your local or regional VA office or make a call to Penn Foster at 888-427-2900 to talk to a VA Support Specialist.
