Thinking of switching from TESC to PennFoster

[sanantone]

In the past I worked for security companies here in the U.S one of my colleagues had a criminal justice degree from Penn Foster which was viewed as substandard meanwhile I had a certificate from The Security Institute of Ireland and our education was viewed as similar, we worked together for three different companies and she experienced similar responses at each. It coloured my view of PennFoster to the point that I'm wary of even ACE credit from there. (well done those who've attained credit that way) A search for Clovis College on these forums along with most NM colleges should allow you to gain credits in online classes fairly cheaply, e.g N.M residents can gain credit for around $45 per credit hour. There are plenty of options without going to Penn Foster. Don't forget that as a military spouse there is free test prep available through petersons that you can downloaded for free which can be helpful. University of Maryland also has programs for the Military as does Trident which you may be able to avail of as a spouse. As far as I can remember there was an advisor available at the USAF base near London/Sussex that administered CLEP exams in the past who may be able to give you some pointers.

While many companies don't know the difference between RA and NA, they probably do know that Penn Foster is a for-profit, vocational school. Unlike most DETC schools, Penn Foster advertises everywhere giving the impression that it's like University of Phoenix, Capella, or those local vocational schools that advertise during Maury (not a good thing). While the federal government pretends not to care about RA vs. NA (I'm sure they care a little about prestige though), some state and local governments do not recognize NA degrees. TCLEOSE (the law enforcement licensing agency in Texas) will not accept credits toward licensing from NA schools.

The OP should also look into Central Texas College. They offer many courses online and have some campuses at military bases. Several of their courses are self-paced within 8/12/16 week terms. They specialize in working with the military and their spouses. They also have a very liberal CBE policy (AP, CLEP, DSST, and ECE) if you're interested in an associates degree along the way. They'll even consider ACE-approved credits.