Penn Foster accreditation

[oak1day]

Hi!

So Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education is not considered regional accreditation?

I am still in the research phase. I am trying to see if PF would be more cost effective than all the CLEPs and/or DANTEs I will need to take.

I only have about 15 credits.

I posted in the Big Three section asking for comparison between the two and about the PLA and I have kind of been talked out of the latter by reading this forum.

I am thinking it is not necessarily easier to get the credits thru PLA as I at first assumed. So sticking to trying to do it that way would be an ego trip.

Penn Foster looks like it might be extremely cost effective.

Thoughts?

[JBjunior]

Hi!

So Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education is not considered regional accreditation?

I am still in the research phase. I am trying to see if PF would be more cost effective than all the CLEPs and/or DANTEs I will need to take.

I only have about 15 credits.

I posted in the Big Three section asking for comparison between the two and about the PLA and I have kind of been talked out of the latter by reading this forum.

I am thinking it is not necessarily easier to get the credits thru PLA as I at first assumed. So sticking to trying to do it that way would be an ego trip.

Penn Foster looks like it might be extremely cost effective.

Thoughts?

No, they are definitely not regionally accredited. They are nationally accredited through DETC. The Arizona accreditation is something specifically for Arizona and is not a regional accrediting body.

Just some information: I have taken individual courses from Penn Foster and felt that the time and effort placed in them was worth the credits. They weren't overly challenging and the ones I took were ACE approved to transfer into my degree. I just started searching for an online AVMA accredited veterinary technology program for my wife and was considering Penn Foster due to their price point. For around $5200 total including books you would receive an AS which is required to sit for most states certification boards. I am now probably planning on having her to go a more expensive college (several thousand more) because of the customer service and the program. The downside points to Penn Foster is first off the way their semesters are structured. You take classes one at a time for up to a year per semester and then take a group of finals when you are done with them all. This could mean as much as 06 months or more between finishing one class and the final. For most test takers this would be a huge hurdle. Also, all of the finals (six or so) must be taken in one sitting. Not being regionally accredited and with the minimal instructor interaction I think is another huge drawback. For a few courses, I personally have done it and feel it was worth it. For an entire degree I think it would be both overwhelming and not worth the headache for a lot of learners. This of course is pertaining to this individual program but the exams and class structure is the same throughout. If anyone else has differing information let me know.

[oak1day]

Wow. That was such a helpful answer. So comprehensive. Thanks very much. I will post another thread about my situation now that i have that out of the way. Don't mean to gush, but that was aces.

[ShotoJuku]

Many students have utilized a few PFC courses (that have been ACE Reviewed/Approved) and transferred them to their "RA" schools such as EC.