Penn Foster College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, for-profit

online college Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

headquartered in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. It was founded in 1890 as

International Correspondence Schools ICS Learn, also known as International Correspondence Schools Ltd, is a provider of online learning courses in the UK. It was founded in 1889 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The UK branch was set up in 1904, and it now serves around 25,000 current stu ...

and presently offers

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

and

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

programs in 22 certified programs, as well as

academic certificate An academic certificate is a document that certifies that a person has received specific education or has passed a test or series of tests. In many countries, a certificate is a qualification attained in secondary education. For instance, studen ...

History

In 1890, Thomas J. Foster, a newspaper editor, founded the school to provide coal miners with education needed to advance in their careers and improve worker safety. At the turn of the century, the school was officially known as the

(ICS), and one out of every 27 adults in the U.S. had taken an ICS course. It was the first

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

institution in the United States. In 1904, Foster expanded his school to the United Kingdom; this is now a separate distance education school called ICS Learn. ICS was renamed Penn Foster in 2005, with

Penn Foster High School Penn Foster High School is a for-profit online high school based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The high school is regionally and nationally accredited and is the largest high school in the United States with over 60,000 students currently enrolled ...

and

Penn Foster Career School Penn Foster Career School is a U.S. for-profit, regionally and nationally-accredited distance education school offering career diploma programs and certificate programs. It was founded in 1890 as International Correspondence Schools, or ICS. Penn ...

being separated into separate institutions. Wicks Group, a private equity firm, purchased the school from

Thomson Corporation The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organisation Ltd (ITOL) and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to fo ...

in 2007. In December 2009, Penn Foster College was purchased by test preparation and educational support company

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

, and in 2012 the Princeton Review brand name and operations were bought for $33 million by

Charlesbank Capital Partners Charlesbank Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm focusing on management-led buyouts and growth capital financing of middle-market companies. The firm typically invests $50 million to $250 million of equity per transaction in com ...

, a private-equity firm. The parent company was renamed Education Holdings 1, Inc. In 2013, Education Holdings 1 filed for bankruptcy; it exited two months later. In December 2015, Penn Foster acquired a

competency-based learning Competency-based learning or competency-based education is a framework for teaching and assessment of learning. It is also described as a type of education based on predetermined "competencies," which focuses on outcomes and real-world performance ...

platform built by UniversityNow.

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...

purchased the Penn Foster schools in 2018.

Academics

Penn Foster College offers associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, and undergraduate certificates through asynchronous online courses and instruction. The college does not participate in any federal or state aid programs, claiming that its education is affordable. The college is accredited by the

Distance Education Accrediting Commission The Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), formerly the National Home Study Council and then as the Distance Education and Training Council, is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in t ...

(DEAC). Penn Foster College's

Veterinary Technician Paraveterinary worker is the professional of veterinary science that performs procedures autonomously or semi autonomously, as part of a veterinary assistance system. The job role varies throughout the world, and common titles include veterinary n ...

Associate Degree and Veterinary Technology Bachelor of Applied Science Degree are accredited by the

American Veterinary Medical Association The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 99,500 veterinarians in the US. The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publicatio ...

(AVMA) through their Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA). The college is also licensed by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, authorizing Penn Foster College to award

Associate of Science An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

degrees,

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degrees, and undergraduate certificates.

References

External links

* {{authority control Distance education institutions based in the United States Distance Education Accreditation Commission

History

Academics

See also

References

External links