Started over 125 years ago, Penn Foster is the pioneer of distance learning programs.
For decades, Penn Foster has been providing educational programs that are not only self-paced, personalized, and flexible but also fit into everyone’s budget.
With the advent of the internet in the 1990s, Penn Foster started providing online courses to its students. These courses make learning and growing a mobile activity. Moreover, study material and instructors were never that easily approachable.
When the word “online” precedes the word “education”, a general idea is that the institute is not as trustworthy or recognizable as the traditional schools.
On the contrary, what is not known to everyone is that every educational institution, whether it is a traditional school or an online school, needs to get a license and several accreditations to provide degrees and graduation to its students.
What is Accreditation?
Accreditation is a public notification that the accreditors publish to state that the educational institution meets their prescribed quality standards. It is a status that shows that a school meets and maintains a high level of standards set by the accreditation agency.
A school can be accredited from more than one agency. However, the type of accreditation or accreditation agency varies according to different courses and industries.
Why Is It Important to Seek Admission in an Accredited Institute?
The word “accreditation” might sound like a college jargon to you.
As a student, you might feel that as long as the course suits your pocket, the school offers a good learning experience and is able to provide you with a diploma degree, the school is decent enough to invest. Right?
Well, unfortunately, this is not completely true! A higher education degree from an unaccredited school might be able to offer you an excellent learning journey and intellectual growth.
However, this unaccredited program will not be able to make you eligible for federal financial aid, to transfer credits to another school, or gain an apposite professional license for pursuing your dream career.
A simple mistake of choosing an unaccredited course in an educational institution might land you in debts and worthless credit points. Neither will your credits be accepted in any other good school, nor will the employers respect your higher educational degrees. Even if your degree is from an accredited institution but the accreditation is questionable, the validity of your degree and the potential of your candidature will be doubtful.
Who Accredits Schools?
For a secure future, it is important not only that your school is accredited but also that the accrediting agency is reputable.
The US Government directly does not regulate accreditation. Instead, it has appointed other bodies to do the same.
Six regional accrediting boards divide the United States into six regions.
This means that all the schools in PA will be accredited by the regional agency of PA. However, it doesn’t imply that a diploma degree obtained from a school in PA will not be recognized outside PA. Below are these six regional accrediting boards –
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
- North Central Association (NCA)
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
There are many more good accrediting bodies that recognize schools. However, it is important to check about the accreditations and the accrediting agencies of the prospective school where you wish to seek admission. This is because the accrediting agencies play a crucial role indirectly in shaping your dream career.
Is Penn Foster Accredited ?
Long story short – YES, Penn Foster is an accredited school (Check Penn Foster official site as well). It has three different schools – High School, College, and Career. All of these schools are accredited from trustworthy and reputable accrediting boards.
Further, these boards evaluate each Penn Foster school regularly to ascertain they maintain the quality standards of online education.
Is Penn Foster High School Accredited ?
Penn Foster High School – Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accredits the online high school diploma program of Penn Foster. It is also accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). It is a national board that accredits all the distance and online learning courses.
Is Penn Foster College Accredited ?
Penn Foster College – Penn Foster College provides both Associate and Bachelor’s degrees. This college is accredited by the DEAC. Additionally, some industry-specific programs have been approved by some other relevant accrediting boards. For more information on this, read here what accreditation other schools have.
Is Penn Foster Career School Accredited ?
Penn Foster Career School – Like the other Penn Foster schools, the Career School is also accredited regionally as well as nationally.
Like all other traditional or online educational institutions, Penn Foster too is evaluated by the accrediting agencies regularly to check whether it continues to meet all the quality standards. Over the decades, Penn Foster has been excelling in these accreditations, affiliations, and reviews.
Hence we can conclude that Penn Foster is officially accredited across USA – NY, West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Maryland, Tennesse, etc…