Penn Foster
Reviews and Complaints

I, m enrolled in the Business Management Certificate Program. So far, I, ve had no problem with the school. The txt was in good condition. You have alot of work to do. Its not hard but it cant be done with out effort. As far as your credits transfering, any time you go to any school you should see who accepts the credits every school has different policys! No matter how its accredited!

I authorized Penn Foster to take a 10.00 payment from my debit card, instead they took out a total of 50. They don't seem to care that they've messed up. I need an email address for someone in this company so that I have a paper trail of the complaint. It doesn't seem to be easy to find a way to contact them. Their customer service is lousy. I was previously a student, so I'm sad to see things go so downhill .

I had the same problem with their wedding planning course. needless to say since i dont have the money for a laywer, i still owe them money and they took me to collection. i will not deal with them again!

Ive been also thinking of taking the online vet tech program through Penn Foster but after reading these complaints I am having second thoughts. Any other suggestions on where to take an online Vet Tech program?

Thank you

I agree with you and yes ive been done similar to that . i think its unfair when they threaten you with money that you dont owe . I also don't appreciate them telling me, they can stop me from getting any loans to go to another college over this, yes i've been took also

Did you sign anything? Digitally or otherwise?

I attended PF and loved it. Don't listen to these bums who get on here and say, "Oh they're rude over the phone!" I took one semester with them and transferred nine (9) credits of Graphic Design semester work.

They DO keep track of your work, so YES there is someone on the other end who gets paid for their time. The reason it feels like a "waste of time" to most people is because there's no one giving you criticism in person if you mess up, but the school is designed for self-motivated students, so problem solved!

I'm gonna return to finish my Bachelor's Degree work with them. YOU CAN'T OFFER THEM without accreditation! Check the AZ Dept. of Education and look under Private Postsecondary Institutions. That's for offering the degree itself. The method of delivery has to do with the DETC, which they're also accredited with.

If they lost either of these two accreditations, they'd have to stop offering degrees! Note also that PF was named one of the Best Places to Work in PA this year!

I'm working toward my associates in mechanical engineering and have always got immediate response from my instructors. They have been very helpful in helping understand how to work out those equations that look so intimidating at first. I haven't tried to transfer my credits to a four year college yet but I'm sure there are schools online that will accept Penn Foster credits. Maybe Penn will step up in the future and offer a bachelors degree for Mechanical engineering.

Well most institutions look down upon other online institutions, which in my opinion is very unfortunate because there are a lot of well rounded online schools that do a great job. It's mainly the other colleges issue for not accepting a DETC accredited transfer credits b/c to them online schools are not viewed on the same level as regionally accredited schools, which is so not true. I attended an online college and was able to transfer my credits and work towards my bachelor degree. You have to find the right school that will accept those credits. MY friend who attended Penn Foster was able to transfer and is now in a Masters program. It's important to know the college that you want to attend transfer policy and see if they acknowledge DETC credits. Good luck to you, and don't feel discourage and I'm sorry you had a rough experience with them, my friend gives them high review. I guess with any institution there are good and bad reviews but at least you are keeping it real.

Hello,

I apologize for any inconveniences, but I believe this can be sorted out. Can you e-mail me at adam.mcilwee@pennfoster.edu with your student number so I can see what the discrepancy is?

Thank you, and once again, I apologize for any issues that have come up.

Hello,

I apologize for any inconveniences, but I believe this can be sorted out. Can you e-mail me at adam.mcilwee@pennfoster.edu with your student number so we can straighten this out?

Thank you, and once again, I apologize for any issues that have come up.

Hello,

I apologize for any inconvenience you might have had, and I believe this can be sorted out. Can you e-mail me at adam.mcilwee@pennfoster.edu with your Student ID so we can get any issues straightened out?

Thank you, and once I again, I do apologize.

there are other ways you can get an education, Ive been there where you are and I know they are rude. what about when they actually just pass the test around, not even to Teachers just to whomever. calll your local community college they will help you more than these sharks will. and do not let them intimidate you. I wish the place were shut down .

I agree, I too completed the Private Investigator Program at Penn Foster, completed the program, all I had to do was pay if off. It was around $138.00 that I owed. I too feel on some financial hard times and was unable to continue paying. My payment was $50.00 a month. I called them and explained the issue, I offerd to pay them the $39.00 that I had available, needless to say I was told that I had to pay the $50.00 to keep it from going to collections. So, they refused my payment, and sent it to collections, but not befoer charging me over $21.00 a day for late fees, a day!. They locked my account and told me I had to deal with the collection company. My bill ended up being almost $300 for a $138 bill. The collection company sent me a letter statting they were offering me a settlement offer at a reduced rate to clear the bill up. It was tax season, I had the funds, so I payed it. Months went by, and still no certificate that I earned by completing the course. I call PF they tell me the account is not paid off. I call the collection company only to find out that by, accepting the settlement offer I will not receive my certificate. Posted a not so nice post on PF facebook, a rep from the school messaged me back, asking for my account information so she could look into it and possibly get it taken care of. Pretty much the same comment from above from PF rep stating they will look into it and get it figuerd out. That was at the beginning of the year. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT ENROLL IN ANY CLASSES WITH PENN FOSTER, THEY ARE THEIFS, AND LIARS!

Hello,

I apologize for any inconveniences, but I believe this can be sorted out. Can you e-mail me at adam.mcilwee@pennfoster.edu with your student number so we can straighten this out?

Thank you, and once again, I apologize for any issues that have come up.

I agree this school is not a good school. They cancel your courses for no reason and then force you to pay the rest of the money. I was doing very well in the diplomaa course I was taking with them. They are rip offs. Also when I tried to complain they told me I am not allowed to complain. By law you are wronged and you feel that you have been scammed by a so called reputable company than you have the right to file complains that is your right as a law abiding consumer. They can't take away your right to complain. IF they done something wrong they need to own up to it and resolve the issue and fair about it and not try to threaten other people that do complain. It is their right by consumer protection act. They can't stop anyone from complaining. Anyone that is considering this school please reconsider and do your research well. There are other schools out there such as Ashworth College and they have high school and career school and masters degree which Penn Foster does not offer. Also Ashworth does not charge you extra if you need extra time to complete your course. Penn Foster will charge you $75.00 and will only give you six months extra and keep charging you for every six months if you need extra time. But Ashworth College and their high school program is different they treat students rights and don't cancel classes in the middle and force you out for no reason. Ashworth is also accredited by the US Dept. Of Education and the online education accreditation and is acceptable to transfer in most colleges and universities. Penn Foster is very limited in their accreditation. So Be Very Carefull When Choosing Penn Foster! THEY HAVE MANY BAD REVIEWS OF SCAM!

I am very dissapointed also PennFoster is not good school.
people so rude in the offices, books they are no really books, only copies of paper when you want to reach teachers no teachers no communication at night when you want to summited exams the techical support in Foster no good.
Only they are attention thoses people is charge a lot of money
Please don't make mistake like me don't go to the school .

I have done all the requirements and I still have not received a P for passing in class participation. And in the forum, she said the forums don't count toward anything? This is all very confusing, I would just like to do my school work and can not get my next shipment. what do I do please help!

I'm currently a student, at the tail end of the second semester. There is absolutely no requirement to look at some "teenaged girl's Facebook" to obtain your participation grade. I have no idea where you got that idea, but I'm wondering if a lot of your complaints stem from a lack of understanding of how the program actually works.

Of course the instructors are going to get snippy with people. They have to read a ridiculous amount of emails from people who refuse to read simple instructions themselves and expect everything to be explained to them in baby talk. This is a distance learning program, and requires a certain amount of independence and the ability to figure things out for yourself.

I don't want to be rude towards anyone's opinion, but my experience has been totally different. Any school online or brick and mortar, will have it's difficulties with instructors or the school itself. You just have to roll with the punches and concentrate on your studies. I have found with online courses it is easier, you just move on, with brick and mortar it causes a lot of confrontation, distracting you from your studies.
I am a Penn Foster student enrolled in the Veterinary Technitian Associates Degree Program. I have enjoyed all of my studies and classes. This course is accredited by the AVMA and afterwards I will be able to take the State Exam. I have enjoyed my studies and classes so far. I think some people think an online education will be a walk in the park. The classes I am taking are not easy and the tests and exams are not easy either. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. The instructors I have delt with are professional and have never been rude. However, if you are not following the rules or guidelines of the school, they will let you know. If this happened at a brick and mortar school, you would have a face to face conversation not an email, explaining how to follow the rules. I am not a genious but I have been able to follow the rules just fine. If I do not understand, I can simply post it on the school boards and receive imput from the students or moderators to guide me. The school also offers mentors. As soon as I started I was offered a mentor, which I choose. She is also a student and has helped guide me through my studies and been a great friend. Right now I am on a team for my semester study hall and leading another study hall for other students. I am still in my first semester but I take things seriously and find time to dedicate to help others while helping myself retain the information. If you are an outgoing person and not just in it for the ease of going to school on line, Penn Foster is a great place to be. They are less expensive than any school I have checked out and the payment plan is more than reasonable. All books are included and are text books I have seen for sale at local college book stores. I also want to say that I am 29 years old and haven't been in school since high school and work a full time job as well. To all of those who think online school is an easy way to get a degree or certificate, I want to tell you to rethink that.

I started the BS program in Business Management over a year ago. I have had to call quite a to try to get the correct information for tuition reimbursement from my company. The customer service folks were very helpful and did the best that they could considering my company's requirements for reimbursement are so strict. I also needed to take some time off for medical reasons. Again customer service was very nice and did everything that they could to accomidate me. The lady that I spoke to was very compassionate and helped me to the best of her ability. In my opinon the materials are up to date. I often relate some of my classes with my daily business. I was not impressed with the lack of responses from one of my instructors. I passed this info when I phone customer service as well as in the survey at the end of the course. As for the folks that have issues with the fees, consider this, you agreed to pay the tution. You agreed to the monthly payment, they don't even charge you interest as a traditional student loan would. Further, if you enrolled in a traditioal community college and failed to pay your tuition you would also be dismissed as well as turned over to collections. Why should Penn Foster have the right to follow the same process? As far as the typo's in the book I admit that should not happen, however consider that Penn Foster doesn't write or print the books, they purchase these books, agreed maybe they should find another publisher. But you can't blame them for publishing errors.

I am very leary now. I don't know what to think. I was searching for a school for graphic design. I saw an ad offering a free laptop if I enrolled at Penn Foster, so I sent for info. Nothing about a laptop in that. Guess it was a ploy to lure some in? I am just guessing. I want to take this course. I am very interested in this particular subject but do not know where to go from here now. I can't afford to be scammed or anything. I'm a single mom and lost my job of many years. Things are just way too tough as it is. I want to make sure I am getting what I pay for and will get an education that will better my career opportunities.

yes I kknow how you feel, i've even gotten threats that i will never be able to attend a college because they will see to it that i dont if i dont give them all their money. I dropped because I was accused of plagerism when i wrote about my own life! haha if they searched it on the net to see if i had it out there the net is a big place, i am going to see what i can do legaly if anything because i dropped too, and now they think i owe them 600 dollars for nothing, i cant believe the books they use either and I dont know where they get them from but even with the shipmnt and courses they cant ad up to 600.00

I have been a Penn Foster college since June 2009, and I think it's going very well for right now. I have not encountered anyone being mean to me over the phone at all! I have called them several times with questions and emailed questions to them. I have got nothing but nice things to say so far... I do agree with the study units for textbooks. Penn Foster really needs to do a better job and update the materials... Also It's an online college not to take sides here but, GROW UP PEOPLE! If you are serious about your studies, then do the work and stop complaining... I haven't had to get rude with any of the staff because Im getting something for my money... education! I don't agree with everything people are saying. So, okay they need a better staff I agree with that. Customer service is a MUST! But, over all, I haven't had any sserious problems.

I wish I would have read all of your complaints before enrolling in this school. I was very disappointed when I received their books (study units). The second one had 3 typos in it and one was the answer to a quiz! They can't take the time to proofread a book? You'd think they would pay someone to do this. I'm sure with all the money they are ripping off from us they have enough to do that. After reading all the problems people have withdrawing from the school I am not sure if I should just keep with it so I don't get reported to the credit agency or try anyway. So far I only called the school once to ask about withdrawing and the lady I spoke to was very nice. The next one probably won't be. Thanks for all the info too bad I didn't read it earlier.

I am having problems getting a P for my participation grade. I was told I had more than enough hours of participation, that I just needed to be patient. Then a week went by and no answer to my e-mail. I called the school and was informed that the woman in charge of my program had decided that I needed to slow down. It may be 3 more weeks before I got my Participation grade. I informed her that the school is "self paced" what right did they have to do that? She tells me that the lady in charge changes things at her whim. I have got nothing but abusive e-mails, and read some abusive posts from faculty directed at the students. Another student had the same complaint that I did about participation grades and was told not worry, if her time lapsed before it was posted she could add six months to her semester for $75. I really think the school should be reported!

Omg! I thought it was just me they are so rude!I glad im not the only one who feels this way

I was enrolled with Penn Foster and every person ive talked to has been extremly rude. Its like they are so nice when you start out so they lure you in then once your taking classes they turn out to be a$$es about everything. I was 2 months behind in my payments (ok it was $39 a month) so a totalt of $78 and they turned it into their credit agency they go through, which is a joke, I called to get everything straightened out and even everyone there was rude. I had to payoff the entire balance in 3 months or they threathed to take me to court. I thought it was rediculous. I would deffinatly not reccommend this school to anyone.

I am thinking about enrolling in to Penn Foster, for my associates degree. I am a little nervouse considering I have been out of school for 11 years now. My job requires me to have at least an associates for my license. From the comments I have just read I am not sure if this would be the right choice for me, any suggestions?

I have been enrolled for a few months now at Penn Foster. Everytime I call student services they are extremely nice to me, They never change any schedules or classes, and everything is on your own time, there is no participation grade!I work for the Government full time and I have NEVER had to adjust my schedule with school, and my job is very strict! And all the books I received that were INCLUDED, I looked up on Amazon.com and they were a couple of hundred bucks. It is an ONLINE COLLEGE, what do you expect? Someone to hold your hand through it all?

I am enrolled in this program. When I started I made sure to pay my tuition in full. I had the option to receive all my study materials at once, which I did. Long story short you DO receive text books so for those complaining you obviously have not reached the point in the program where the text books are required! This is a great program and I am a little over halfway done.

I am a current student of Penn Foster and its been nothign but problems. My class is extremely disorganized. They change the class schedule over and over and no notice is given. I have to adjust my real job schedule to accommodate. The teacher tells people over and over she has too many students and is tired of all the emails. They are rude to people and make you feel stupid for "bothering" them.

They have a participation requirement that is completely unclear. They make you spend time reading about teenage girls face book pages in order to make a participation grade.

The school is a Joke and judging by the quality of the other student this degree would carry no weight.

To bad they don't allow you to cancel as I will be out $1000 for almost no education. Their techniques were outdated and the books were flimsy booklets that looked photocopied. I know other people dont get these bu tin my course we do.

Steer clear folks, if your unhappy your screwed they charge a hefty cancellation fee.

On the positive side, it should still only cost $29/month interest free and you are more likely to get a better paying job with an AA than a certificate.

I attended penn foster over 9 years ago and cancelled my enrollment and sent their stuff back to them and they are still on my back about it.
The statute of limitation ran out on the credit reporting act 2 years ago and it should have been removed from my credit report but, these scam artists at penn foster somehow are now claiming that i enrolled this year when ive had nothing to do with them since i cancelled.
The fact of the matter they are out to ruin peoples credit even if they pay what is in the writing.
I have all the proof and will be in contact with my lawyer and the proper government agencies about this and with any luck a class action will follow.
I would report them through the BBB but, From what i read the BBB and Penn Foster are in the same bed so to speak and will just close the case instead of investigating the issue.

I am also a student at Penn Foster and I have been fighting with these people for 3 months. They are very disorganized...their materials do not correlate with the exams. My shipments are always late. It is taking them longer an longer to grade my exams. When I do complain they will not respond or when they do the response has nothing to do with the question I ask. They mark answers wrong and will not change them even when you prove you are right. The instructors have a bad attitude and they defend each other. I have an English tutor with a masters degree and they say she does not know what she is talking about. I paid my fee in full and I can't wait to get this class complete. This is the worst experience I have ever had taking a class.

I am a current student of Penn Foster. My class is extremely disorganized. They change the class schedule over and over and no notice is given. I have to adjust my real job schedule to accommodate. The teacher tells people over and over she has too many students and is tired of all the emails. They are rude to people and make you feel stupid for "bothering" them.

They have a participation requirement that is completely unclear. They make you spend time reading about teenage girls face book pages in order to make a participation grade.

The school is a Joke and judging by the quality of the other student this degree would carry no weight.

To bad they don't allow you to cancel as I will be out $1000 for almost no education. Their techniques were outdated and the books were flimsy booklets with no meat to them.

Steer clear folks, if your unhappy your screwed they charge a hefty cancellation fee.

I had to wade through multiple pages searching for an honest opinion on Penn Foster. Seems all the opinion pages have been messed with in that you can't access them. Every page had something to do with Penn Foster posted by Penn Foster, which leads me to believe that Penn Foster is attempting to cover something up. Contact your Attorney General's Office and file a complaint. I would do a spell check before sending out any further correspondence.