Penn Foster Career School
Encyclopedia
Penn Foster Career School is a U.S.
for-profit
distance education
vocational school
. The school was founded in 1890, and was known as International Correspondence Schools
, or ICS. The school is located in and operates from Scranton, Pennsylvania
.
In December 2009, Penn Foster Career School was purchased by test preparation
and educational support company The Princeton Review
from its previous owner, The Wicks Group, a private equity
firm that had bought the career school from Thomson Corporation
in 2007.
, but later expanded into many other vocational subject areas. Originally, the school was known as "International Correspondence Schools
" which was later shortened to "ICS." Later, it was briefly named "Education Direct," and then renamed "Penn Foster Career School."
The school reports that by 1945, five million students had enrolled in the school's courses and that the number now stands at 13 million.
by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council
(DETC).. Penn Foster Career School is licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools
, calling a toll-free number, or mailing a form. Parents are responsible for the cost of the courses. After the school receives payment
, the student will be issued a student I.D. number. The student I.D. number is for accessing study materials online and for accessing exams online. Students receive study guides and textbooks through the mail.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for-profit
For-Profit School
For-profit education refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses....
distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
vocational school
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
. The school was founded in 1890, and was known as International Correspondence Schools
International Correspondence Schools
International Correspondence Schools, also known as ICS Learn and ICS, is an educational institute established in 1890 that provides correspondence and distance learning courses...
, or ICS. The school is located in and operates from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
.
In December 2009, Penn Foster Career School was purchased by test preparation
Test preparation
Test preparation or exam preparation primarily refers to educational courses, tutoring services, and educational materials/learning tools designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests, particularly entrance examinations used for admissions to institutions of higher education,...
and educational support company The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
from its previous owner, The Wicks Group, a private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm that had bought the career school from Thomson Corporation
Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies.Thomson was active in financial services, healthcare sectors, law, science & technology research, and tax & accounting sectors...
in 2007.
History
The school was created in 1890 by newspaperman Thomas J. Foster. The school originally provided correspondence courses for coal minersCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, but later expanded into many other vocational subject areas. Originally, the school was known as "International Correspondence Schools
International Correspondence Schools
International Correspondence Schools, also known as ICS Learn and ICS, is an educational institute established in 1890 that provides correspondence and distance learning courses...
" which was later shortened to "ICS." Later, it was briefly named "Education Direct," and then renamed "Penn Foster Career School."
The school reports that by 1945, five million students had enrolled in the school's courses and that the number now stands at 13 million.
Accreditation
Penn Foster Career School is accreditedEducational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council
Distance Education and Training Council
The Distance Education and Training Council is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in the accreditation of distance education institutions.- History :...
(DETC).. Penn Foster Career School is licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools
Admission
Penn Foster offers a curriculum outline, tuition schedule, and information for parents and students. Parents can enroll their child for Penn Foster by filling in a form onlineONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
, calling a toll-free number, or mailing a form. Parents are responsible for the cost of the courses. After the school receives payment
Payment
A payment is the transfer of wealth from one party to another. A payment is usually made in exchange for the provision of goods, services or both, or to fulfill a legal obligation....
, the student will be issued a student I.D. number. The student I.D. number is for accessing study materials online and for accessing exams online. Students receive study guides and textbooks through the mail.