Penn Foster High School Transfer Credits

[TrailRunr]

It has been awhile since I've been on the forums and I see there have been some changes. Good to see the BACS from TESU is easier to earn than when I finished it. I'm not planning to get another college degree at the moment but who knows. Anyway, I have a high school question.

Does anyone know if Penn Foster High School takes any transfer credits? I understand they take traditional high school credits that will reduce the tuition. Are there any other options for transfer credit, especially credits we talk about here like CLEP/AP, actual college credits, or anything ACE approved, that they don't talk openly about and is there a time limit on transferring credits like WGU not accepting credits after enrollment? It would be nice to get college credits while in high school just like homeschools can. 

Are there any other things a parent should know or tips about this high school program? I'm thinking the kid can finish in four months unless there is some sort of "governor" in the program that prevents it. 

Thanks.

[cookderosa]

It has been awhile since I've been on the forums and I see there have been some changes. Good to see the BACS from TESU is easier to earn than when I finished it. I'm not planning to get another college degree at the moment but who knows. Anyway, I have a high school question.

Does anyone know if Penn Foster High School takes any transfer credits? I understand they take traditional high school credits that will reduce the tuition. Are there any other options for transfer credit, especially credits we talk about here like CLEP/AP, actual college credits, or anything ACE approved, that they don't talk openly about and is there a time limit on transferring credits like WGU not accepting credits after enrollment? It would be nice to get college credits while in high school just like homeschools can. 

Are there any other things a parent should know or tips about this high school program? I'm thinking the kid can finish in four months unless there is some sort of "governor" in the program that prevents it. 

Thanks.

Quick question, is homeschooling off the table? If your state doesn't have graduation requirements (most don't) you can switch to homeschooling and create your own diploma requirements- which won't have to include ANY high school courses, especially expensive ones. Homeschoolers build their own program, something you can do using ACE classes, CLEP/AP, etc.
If you are interested, let me know what state you're in and I can help you look up what would be involved in simply switching to a homeschool. I've homeschooled for over 20 years, it's a great option with the ultimate flexibility.

[TrailRunr]

The state is West Virginia. The parent is in no shape mentally to oversee/plan/administer a homeschool program other than to provide signatures. The kid is 16 and I'm the interested relative in California. I'd be doing all the work. Two trips to WV would exceed the cost of Penn Foster High School if I had to meet anyone at the school district. Or we could just do PF and be done with it in four months from now.

[cookderosa]

The state is West Virginia. The parent is in no shape mentally to oversee/plan/administer a homeschool program other than to provide signatures. The kid is 16 and I'm the interested relative in California. I'd be doing all the work. Two trips to WV would exceed the cost of Penn Foster High School if I had to meet anyone at the school district. Or we could just do PF and be done with it in four months from now.

Ohhh I thought it would be you. Ok, well though WV doesn't have graduation requirements, there is paperwork to be filled out and submitted. In addition, it would require the parent keep and submit some records- if this parent isn't up for it, then homeschooling would be a bad plan. In order for the homeschool diploma to be valid, the parent has to homeschool legally, which does not mean physically teaching- but it does mean being the administrator of the school. So, probably PF is the best option.

[bjcheung77]

Just wondering, have you thought about Homeschooling the kid and running their program similar to a Dual Credit option? Such as having them finish their High School at the same time they finish a College Associates Degree? Since you're doing "all the work" of the administrator, the parent can just "sign off" the printouts you create for the student, this program may work exactly as planned.

This is what I propose, for the cost of their education at Penn Foster, the $ can be used for the Cornerstone at COSC. They can take all the required courses through CLEP/MS for FREE and/or if they want to do them mostly at home, 44 credits from Onlinedegree.com at $9/course. An Associates (or 2) can be had for under $2 grand if they follow this model. If they need other courses, Saylor.org can be $25/course. At the end of the day when all the studies are complete, you do the High School transcript for the student!

If the student would like to further their education to the Bachelors level, simple - continue on with StraighterLine and Study.com to get the UL requirements of a Bachelors degree OR they can transfer everything to WGU and try to complete everything in a term or two. See here for details for WGU: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid279380

If you're adamant in sending the kid to Penn Foster, another option you may want to look at is Ashworth College as well.
Here is an example Penn Foster Pathway, it's the only one that shows "homeschooling info": https://www.pennfoster.edu/high-school/a...ly-college

¹ Many colleges use ACE recommendations to determine credit transfer values. Credits earned in Penn Foster programs may transfer to some, but not all, learning institutions. Students who plan to continue their education with another school should check with that school regarding credit transfer policies.

² Homeschooling Requirements: Penn Foster High School students who are of compulsory age must also comply with home school requirements dictated by their school district, or those students will be considered truant. You need to check the requirements of your district to ensure the Penn Foster High School Program meets the district's home school requirements.

[TrailRunr]

I'm not a big fan of the Penn Foster HS because it seems not possible to get college credit at the same time. But there are some pros. First, there is no work from me until the kid gets the high school diploma. Secondly, all of the recordkeeping is done at PF. Third, the records from PF don't seem to come with gotchas such as requiring a California Private School Affidavit in some instances like dual enrollment at California community college for 100% online classes. Fourth, no GED or homeschool diploma stigma although I think this stigma is overblown. Fifth, the kid can start the easier ACE credits including CLEP/MS today and do anything else that requires a high school diploma this summer upon completion of PFHS.

[dfrecore]

I'm not a big fan of the Penn Foster HS because it seems not possible to get college credit at the same time. But there are some pros.  First, there is no work from me until the kid gets the high school diploma. Secondly, all of the recordkeeping is done at PF. Third, the records from PF don't seem to come with gotchas such as requiring a California Private School Affidavit in some instances like dual enrollment at California community college for 100% online classes. Fourth, no GED or homeschool diploma stigma although I think this stigma is overblown. Fifth, the kid can start the easier ACE credits including CLEP/MS today and do anything else that requires a high school diploma this summer upon completion of PFHS.

A homeschool diploma wouldn't have a stigma if 1) you named the homeschool something that no one would know was a homeschool; and 2) the kid immediately started taking college courses, which would mean that they would basically bypass the whole "homeschool" thing.  If you are a college student, people don't ask much about high school.

[TrailRunr]

Aside from not wanting the lifetime job of homeschool record keeper for a kid that's not mine, I didn't want the job of homeschool administrator when the mom could overrule me on issues such as curriculum.

I took a closer look at PFHS and there are no good options for highly portable ACE credits. There are a few PF college courses https://www.pennfoster.edu/high-school/a...ly-college and you can bring in high GED scores as well. So only the less portable ACE credits are doable. I would have preferred CLEP/MS, especially for someone who might end up at a traditional school. On the good side, PFHS is easy and fast as long as she doesn't run afoul of the 10-15 exams per week limit for academic integrity purposes. So there should be plenty of time after graduation to explore many educational options prior to age 18 at a leisurely pace and do CLEP/MS as the default cheap option.

[cookderosa]

Aside from not wanting the lifetime job of homeschool record keeper for a kid that's not mine, I didn't want the job of homeschool administrator when the mom could overrule me on issues such as curriculum.

I took a closer look at PFHS and there are no good options for highly portable ACE credits. There are a few PF college courses https://www.pennfoster.edu/high-school/a...ly-college and you can bring in high GED scores as well. So only the less portable ACE credits are doable. I would have preferred CLEP/MS, especially for someone who might end up at a traditional school. On the good side, PFHS is easy and fast as long as she doesn't run afoul of the 10-15 exams per week limit for academic integrity purposes. So there should be plenty of time after graduation to explore many educational options prior to age 18 at a leisurely pace and do CLEP/MS as the default cheap option.

Currently, it is possible to get the GED and earn up to 10 college credits in the process. I know you're worried about stigma, but I think that's splitting hairs. The big picture is that he graduates in some way from somewhere that allows him to enroll in a RA college program should he choose to do so. All 3 of the options in front of you accomplish that goal. (GED, homeschool diploma, Penn Foster diploma)

WV is not a super easy state to homeschool, I would put that at the bottom of the pile based on your assessment of the parent.

GED for college credit https://homeschoolingforcollegecredit.com/17-ged-exam/

[sanantone]

Hopefully, he knows that he will never join the military. The military changes the waivers that are available all the time based on recruitment goals. Over 10 years ago, I had a coworker who said that the branch he was trying to join wouldn't recognize his Penn Foster high school diploma as equivalent to a traditional high school diploma. It also didn't help that his ASVAB scores were terrible, so he had to earn some college credits before enlisting. There's also a limit to how many GED holders the military will let enlist.