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Draft:Penn Foster

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  • Comment: Find a Grave? Seriously, no. This is a deprecated source.
    No press releases may be used as references, not any type of announcement nor PR piece. If you have to lose the fact they assert then please lose that fact.
    Please read WP:BACKWARDS, because ei thin you have written the draft and then striven to find references to suit. We want thje reverse of that process, please 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 FiddleTimtrent FaddleTalk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 23:06, 2 June 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: prnewswire cannnot be used as a source. qcne (talk) 21:59, 10 March 2025 (UTC)


Penn Foster
Formation1890
FounderThomas J. Foster
Founded atScranton, Pennsylvania, United States
TypeOnline education
CEO
Kermit Cook
Parent organization
Penn Foster Group
Websitewww.pennfoster.edu
RemarksThe name "Penn Foster" collectively refers to the institution’s three main schools: Penn Foster High School, Penn Foster Career School, and Penn Foster College.
Formerly called
International Correspondence Schools (ICS)

Penn Foster is a private online education provider based in the United States, offering high school, career training, and college-level programs. The organization originated as the International Correspondence Schools (ICS), founded in 1890 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.[1]

History

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19th century

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The institution was founded by Thomas J. Foster, a Civil War veteran[1] and newspaper editor.[2] He used his newspaper, The Shenandoah Herald,[3] (later renamed The Colliery Engineer[4]), to help prepare mine foremen and inspectors to meet new state certification requirements.[5] In 1888, Foster began publishing instructional materials, which eventually evolved into a formal correspondence education system.[5]

Thomas J. Foster, Founder of Penn Foster, 1905
International Correspondence Schools Printery, Scranton, PA, circa 1915

The first official student, Thomas Coates[6] of Peckville, Pennsylvania, enrolled on October 16, 1891, at a cost of $25.00.[2] ICS was formally incorporated in late 1894 under the name International Textbook Company, and by early 1895, the school operated under the name International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania or ICS for short.[4] ICS sent printed lessons by mail, which students completed and returned for grading, a model that became an early example of distance education in the United States.[5]

Printed promotional material for architecture courses published by ICS in 1899.
A 1898 promotional publication from the International Correspondence Schools.

20th century

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ICS experienced significant growth in the early 20th century. The first class had 500 miners, by 1900, enrollment reached 190,000, and by 1910, more than 1 million students had enrolled.[4] The school expanded internationally to the United Kingdom in 1904, where it continues to operate as ICS Learn.[5] During World War II, the U.S. War Department commissioned ICS to develop training materials.[4]

In 1916, ICS founded the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences in Scranton, which provided training in domestic fields such as dressmaking and cooking.[4]

Despite early success, ICS and similar institutions faced declining enrollment by the mid-20th century. Factors contributing to this included the expansion of public high schools, the rise of community colleges, and the availability of federal education benefits through the G.I. Bill.[5]

In the 1980s and 1990s, ICS gained visibility through direct-to-consumer advertising, including television commercials featuring Sally Struthers, a popular spokesperson at the time.

Undated ICS publication highlighting its Railway School and affiliated railroad companies.

21st century

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In 2005, ICS was renamed Penn Foster.[7] In 2023, the organization restructured under the name Penn Foster Group, which includes various educational entities such as Penn Foster Career School, Penn Foster College, and Penn Foster High School.

50th anniversary seal of the International Correspondence Schools, 1941.

Programs and Offerings

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Penn Foster provides asynchronous, self-paced online courses in fields such as veterinary studies, healthcare, skilled trades, and business, across high school, career training, and degree-level programs. As of 2025, the institution reported over 13 million students since its establishment.[7]

Accreditation

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As of September 2025, Penn Foster Career School, Penn Foster High School, and Penn Foster College hold a combination of national and regional accreditations.

Penn Foster Career School, Penn Foster High School, and Penn Foster College are nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC).[8]

Penn Foster Career School is regionally accredited for non-degree postsecondary programs and Penn Foster High School is regionally accredited for grades 9 through adult, by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA-CESS).[9] Penn Foster High School is accredited by Cognia.[10]

The Veterinary Technician is accredited by the AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA).[11]

Reception and Controversies

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Throughout its history, Penn Foster and its predecessor, the International Correspondence Schools (ICS), have received both recognition and criticism. While ICS played a significant role in expanding access to education through distance learning in the early 20th century, historians have noted that its correspondence-based curriculum may not have matched the rigor of traditional educational institutions.[5] Some questioned its effectiveness for subjects requiring hands-on or instructor-led instruction.[1]

In 2013, Education Holdings 1, Inc., the parent company of Penn Foster, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.[12] The bankruptcy followed a federal investigation into fraudulent billing practices by The Princeton Review Inc. (the affiliated with Education Holdings 1). Although Penn Foster itself was not implicated, the settlement included the sale of Penn Foster to help fund more than $10 million in penalties.[12]

In 2015, the Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission reached a settlement with Penn Foster College following an investigation into its marketing and enrollment practices.[13] The inquiry began after a student complaint and found that Penn Foster College had enrolled Oregon residents without required state authorization and had represented itself as regionally accredited, although it held national rather than regional accreditation. [13] Under the settlement, Penn Foster was required to refund $1,900 in tuition to the complainant, pay $22,000 to cover investigative costs, and donate up to $50,000 to nonprofit or government organizations supporting educational access for disadvantaged Oregonians.[13]

Accreditation remains a topic of public interest concerning Penn Foster. The institution holds national accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC),[8] and some of its programs also hold specialized or regional accreditation. However, credits earned at nationally accredited institutions are not always transferable to regionally accredited colleges and universities, which may limit academic mobility for some students. Some have also expressed concern over the role of private equity and investor influence during Penn Foster's acquisition by The Princeton Review and subsequent restructuring.[14]

Alumni

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Notable individuals who have reportedly studied with ICS or Penn Foster include Walter P. Chrysler (1875 –1940), founder of the Chrysler Corporation; Eddie Rickenbacker (1890–1973), World War I flying ace; and Abelardo Rodriguez (1889–1967), President of Mexico from 1932 to 1934.[1][6] The specific nature of their studies and the impact of training on their careers is not always detailed in public sources.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Stroup, J. S. (2022). American Correspondence Schools in Context. The Independent Review, 27(1), 37–52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48736363
  2. ^ a b "Press Release: Thomas Foster's Quest for Mining Safety Becomes the Largest Home-Study School in the World". digitalservices.scranton.edu. International Correspondence Schools. 1990. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  3. ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the. "Shenandoah herald. [volume]". ISSN 2333-7788. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  4. ^ a b c d e Shomaker, Mrs Elizabeth (2015-09-04). "Library Exhibit: 125th Anniversary of the International Correspondence Schools (ICS)". UofSLibrary News. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Watkinson, J. D. (1996). “Education for Success”: The International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 120(4), 343–369. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20093071
  6. ^ a b Lewis, A. J. (1983, July). America’s enduring tradition. The American Legion, 115(1), 19. https://archive.legion.org/_flysystem/fedora/2022-04/americanlegionvo1151amer.pdf
  7. ^ a b "Mission and History - Penn Foster". 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  8. ^ a b "Directory of Accredited Institutions". DEAC. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  9. ^ "MSA Membership Directory". Middle States Association. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  10. ^ "Accreditation Registry". Cognia. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  11. ^ "Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA)". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  12. ^ a b Falchek, David (2013-02-11). "Penn Foster parent seeks bankruptcy protection". The Times-Tribune. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  13. ^ a b c Hammond, Betsy (2015-05-04). "Penn Foster College must pay more than $73,000 after PCC refused Portland man's credits". OregonLive. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  14. ^ Jaschik, Scott. "Princeton Review Sells Its Test-Prep Business". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
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