Distance Learning Schools

PENN FOSTER CAREER SCHOOL
Distance Learning & Online Career Diplomas

Accreditation Information

Penn Foster Career School/Center for Degree Studies is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, State Board of Private Licensed Schools. Penn Foster Career School has also been granted the authority to award Specialized Associate Degrees by the Department of Education.

Penn Foster Career School has met the high standards of integrity and performance set by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), Washington, D.C., and is a fully accredited member. The DETC is a voluntary association of accredited home study schools, which was founded in 1926 to promote sound educational standards and ethical business practices within the home study field.

The Independent Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council is listed by the Department of Education as a "nationally recognized accrediting agency." The Accrediting Commission is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Penn Foster Career School has been reviewed and approved as an Authorized Provider of continuing education and training courses by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). This means students can earn CEUs for Penn Foster Career School courses completed. CEUs serve as a nationally recognized unit of measure for continuing education and training.

All Penn Foster Career School courses are affiliated with DANTES, which qualifies U.S. military personnel for tuition reimbursement.

Many Penn Foster Career School courses are approved for U.S. Armed Forces veterans training benefits. Reservists may also qualify for veterans training benefits. Check your local or regional VA office for eligibility requirements.

International Association for Continuing Education and Training: The CEU

As of January 1998, all Penn Foster Career School diploma courses have been assigned CEU values by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).

The original intent of the national task force when it established the CEU (Continuing Education Unit) was to create a unit of measurement that could be used to quantify continuing education and training activities. This new unit of measure was designed to serve the diversity of providers, activities, and purposes in adult education. While standardizing the way in which learning activities were quantified, the task force sought to maintain the diversity and flexibility of continuing education and training. Based on a philosophy that the value of a learning experience is in the eye of the beholder, thousands of organizations have adopted the CEU because of its utility and recognition as a national standard.

Since the inception of the CEU in 1970, there has been increasing emphasis on the CEU as a mark of quality assurance for learning activities. In response to that emphasis, the Council on the CEU, now the International Association for Continuing Education and Training, has undertaken several research projects leading to enhancements in the criteria and guidelines.

Now in its third decade of use, the CEU serves a number of purposes:

• a uniform unit of measure for continuing education and training
• a nationally recognized unit of measure
• a concept that can be used by different sponsors
• a concept useful in a variety of learning formats
• criteria by which the quality of learning activities are judged
• a systematic means for course development and delivery
• criteria by which educational sponsors are evaluated
• a requirement for the documentation of learning experiences.

Reprinted from The Continuing Education Unit:

Criteria and Guidelines, 5th Edition
IACET
International Association
for Continuing Education and Training
1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500
Maclean, VA 22102

Request More Information

Call toll free: 1-877-415-4141