Nghi Nguyen Assignment 2 Penn Foster High School

1. A Virtual High School
Nghi Nguyen
October 28, 2013
EDTC 650
Assignment 2

2. PENN FOSTER PROMOS
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.
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.

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

4. LOCATION AND HISTORY
Penn Foster High School
925 Oak Street
Scranton, 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 certificate
programs for kids and adults.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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).

8. TUITION INFORMATION
Rates
$1,495
Information
- 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.

9. 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%.

10. 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.
This diploma helps prepare students
High School Diploma with Health Care
who are focusing on a healthcare
Concentration
career when they attend college.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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)

14. 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 123year 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. Newsranked 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)

15. 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

16. 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.

17. REFERENCES
Haynie, 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