Penn Foster College - CIS Degree

SkyPC

Hi!

I was wondering whether anyone has any experience or knowledge of Penn Foster's CIS associate degree.

I am debatting whether to go the local college route (which would be quite a bit cheaper, but longer), or the Penn Foster route.

Thanks for any insights!

phantasm

Hm. Having never heard of it I checked it out and it looks as though it is not accredited for granting degrees. From their website: Accreditation | Penn Foster Career School

"Penn Foster Career School is accredited for non-degree granting postsecondary programs by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA. 215-662-5603 www.css-msa.org."

Other than that I know nothing about them. I would say stick with the local school and ensure the program and school is at least regionally accredited.

veritas_libertas

SkyPC wrote: »

Hi!

I was wondering whether anyone has any experience or knowledge of Penn Foster's CIS associate degree.

I am debatting whether to go the local college route (which would be quite a bit cheaper, but longer), or the Penn Foster route.

Thanks for any insights!

I would go with the local college route. Also check with them and find out which degree program will be transfer to a 4-year institution. At this time you might not want that, but it's best to be prepared in case you decide to later.

petedude

Penn Foster has decent programs for reasonable cost, and its self-paced nature is a huge plus.

Problem is, they only have national accreditation, so you'd have a harder time transferring that AA/AS into a bachelor's program. If you're thinking about a bachelor's degree later, you may want to inquire with that school to see if they'll accept Penn Foster's credits.

Some regionally-accredited, self-paced AA/AS programs you may want to check into:
http://www.excelsior.edu
Thomas Edison State College
Charter Oak State College - Finish Your Degree Online

SkyPC

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions.

Indeed, Penn Foster has a DETC accreditation which may limit the amount of transferable credits to a regionally-accredited institution.

I would like to keep my options open, and possibly pursue for Bachelor's down the road. I was contemplating Penn Foster because of its self-paced nature as petedude mentioned. I figured I would be able to complete courses faster than at a traditional community college.

On second thought, since I am also working on certifications, I don't know that I would be able to finish college courses any faster at Penn Foster.

Thanks for the perspective, I appreciate it!

veritas_libertas

You might also consider Western Governors University: Online University | Online Degree | Accredited Bachelor's and Master's Degrees