A Virtual High School

Nghi Nguyen

October 28, 2013

EDTC 650

Assignment 2

PENN FOSTER PROMOS

Our experienced and accomplished faculty is here to help. They work to provide a strong education and student experience, and to make sure the doors to success are wide open and ready for you.

Penn Foster’s mission is to help our students acquire the skills needed to advance in their chosen field, begin new careers, or simply pursue their passion.

VIDEO PROMO

Go here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3cuzRPto8, if you can’t view the video above in Slide Show mode.

LOCATION AND HISTORY

Penn Foster High School925 Oak StreetScranton, PA 18515

Penn Foster High School is named after Thomas J. Foster, a Civil War veteran, who established the Colliery School of Mines in Scranton, PA, in 1890, to educate miners in safety and engineering.

The school was considered a distance education format because its delivery was done through the mail.

Today, along with the high school, Penn Foster also operates a college and special certificateprograms for kids and adults.

 

HISTORY (CONT)…

The school was originally called the International Correspondence Schools (ICS) but was changed to Penn Foster in 2006.

Penn Foster currently has over 150,000 students who are enrolled in its 200 plus courses and programs for high school diploma, bachelor degrees, and other programs.  

The Penn Foster High School was founded in 1956 and was first accredited in 1972. Its accreditation ends in January of 2015.

The current CEO for the school is Frank F. Britt while its President/COO is Joe Gagnon.

INSTITUTION MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Penn Foster High School is to provide a positive, supportive, and meaningful learning experience for students who need to complete their high school education in a non-traditional setting. Penn Foster High School is committed to providing an academically comprehensive curriculum which is supportive of the diverse individual needs, goals, and learning styles of adult learners and all students.

Penn Foster High School strives to fulfill its mission by providing a solid core curriculum in traditional high school disciplines, complemented by academic and vocational electives. The curriculum is supported by applicable technology, a qualified faculty, and a wide array of student services aimed at the needs of the distance learner.

The school assesses fulfillment of its mission and achievement of institutional effectiveness through ongoing studies of student learning, measurement of student satisfaction, and evaluation of career outcomes of graduates. The mission is supported by an admissions policy that allows students with a minimum eighth grade education to enroll in the program without regard to race, religion, gender, color, national origin, or physical ability.

ACCREDITATION

The Penn Foster High School is an accredited school both regionally and nationally.  • Licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed

Schools

• Accredited for Grade 9 through Adult by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

• Also accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)

 Penn Foster High School, in addition to the other programs, is also approved for veteran’s education benefit. All programs are affiliated with the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES).

TUITION INFORMATIONRates Information

$1,495- This is the flat tuition rate for signing up with a specific program within the school.

- This is the price is the student decides to pay $49 a month (interest-free) and pays through the mail.

$1,297 (Discount Plan)If student signs up with the auto monthly payment, they can save $198.

$1,147 (Discount Plan)If student pays full payment then they can save $348.

• Penn Foster reduces tuition by $50 if a student transfers credit over to the school. Not all transfer credits are accepted, it’s up to the school to accept the credits.

• Military members in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard can sign up through the Armed Forces Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and have 100% paid tuition.

STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC

- The students population consists of 70% female.  - The average age of the students is 24. - The average completion/graduation rate for 2008 was about 57%.

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Programs Descriptions

High School Diploma

Students earn their high school diploma completely online. Those who dropped out of high school can finish their diploma through Penn Foster.

High School Diploma with Early College Courses

Students are introduced to beginner college level courses to prepare them for their first year of college. Courses include Computer Applications, English Composition, Art, Music, and Economics.

High School Diploma with Health Care Concentration

This diploma helps prepare students who are focusing on a healthcare career when they attend college.

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS (CONT)…

Programs Descriptions

High School Diploma with Information Technology Concentration

This diploma prepares students who are focusing on an Information Technology career.

High School Diploma with Building Technology Concentration - Carpentry

This diploma prepares students who are focusing on a carpentry career.

High School Diploma with Building Technology Concentration - Electrical

This diploma is for students who want a career as an electrician.

High School Diploma with Building Technology Concentration - Plumbing

This diploma program is for students who want a career in plumbing.

NEWS AND MEDIA

Penn Foster has been featured in several newspapers and online news websites.

The following are some quotes from newspapers and news websites that are about Penn Foster.

NEWS AND MEDIA

“Penn Foster, a Boston and Scranton, PA based learning institution, is just one of the distance learning schools that offers certificate programs that align with open jobs in the workforce today. We serve a diverse range of over 150,000 active students and with scale comes the reality that a one-size-fits-all education strategy is no longer realistic in today's workforce and economy. In fact, most of these middle-skills jobs don't require four-year degrees; the Georgetown Center on Education and Workforce estimates there will be 47 million job openings between 2008 and 2018, with nearly half only requiring an associate degree. Penn Foster now offers over 200 proven distance learning programs, and more than 50% of the programs align with the in-demand professions today. A key element of Penn Foster's value proposition is lower price which completes the triad of quality, convenience and affordability often missing from traditional ground-based academics” (O’Connor, 2012)

NEWS AND MEDIA“Penn Foster is more concerned with promoting our students and the employers we work with than ourselves. We do have a rich 123-year history as the original correspondence school, and our school graduates 25,000 students yearly and enrolls approximately 140,000. But, we are focused on helping our students, who include adult learners underserved by traditional for-profits and higher ed (except for community college), to achieve success. We are also concerned with helping the thousands of employers we work with to provide their employees with the training they need to reduce workplace turnover” (Kim, 2013)

“Penn Foster is one example of an online school that charges students less than the average cost of credits among U.S. News-ranked schools, a move made possible in part by trimming faculty costs. CEO Frank Britt says the for-profit school, which has national and programmatic but not regional accreditation for its postsecondary degrees, has a different instructor-student ratio” (Haynie, 2013)

VIDEO COMMENTARY

Please watch my video commentary on Penn Foster High School. If you can’t view the video above in Slide Show mode, please go to this link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4bbVPt-DCA

NOTE ON REFERENCES- All information, including all the photographs, were taken and gathered

from the Penn Foster High School official homepage.

- The information such as tuitions, school programs, and demographics in this presentation is up to date based on the year that is provided on the Penn Foster’s website.

- The video attached was taken from YouTube and the link is provided.

- The news and media quotes were taken from the respected media’s websites.

- The video commentary was done using TechSmith Camtasia and Closed Captions were also done in the video editing software program.

REFERENCESHaynie, D. (2013). U.S. News data: Online education isn't always cheap.

Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2013/08/28/us-news-data-online-education-isnt-always-cheap

 Kim, J. (2013). The biggest for-profit EDU you’ve never heard of. Retrieved

from http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/biggest-profit-edu-youve-never-heard

 O’Connor, C. (2012). Minding the gap. Retrieved from

http://www.boston.com/business/blogs/global-business-hub/2012/10/minding_the_gap.html

 Penn Foster High School. (2013). Online high school program. Retrieved

from http://www.pennfoster.edu/programs-and-degrees/high-school