I paid a recent visit to the Facebook group of Penn Foster College, and came across an interesting question. PFC asked it's Facebook friends "What degree program would you like to see offered by Penn Foster College?" I have also seen the same question posed in student surveys sent to my student account. In the past, I indicated that I would like to see PFC offer bachelor degrees. Many other students must have given the same answer, because PFC does now offer bachelor degrees.
After giving it some thought, I have some other suggested degree programs that Penn Foster College should consider offering:
Masters degrees. Ashworth College follows the same type of business model that PFC does, and they have offered masters degrees for a long time now. I think PFC should throw its hat into this arena and offer an MBA, a MS in Marketing and and MS in Criminal Justice, to start.
Bachelor degrees. How about a BA in Communications? So few distance learning schools offer this program, and from what I can see there is a demand for it. A BS in Marketing and a BS in Accounting would be good, too.
Association degrees. These seem to be the real bread and butter of PFC and they already offer several different programs. Again, an AA or AS in Communications would be great.
Also, I would like to see PFC take a stab at gaining regional accreditation for its degree programs. The courses in their degree programs are already ACE reviewed, which makes transfer to regionally accredited schools easier, but I'd like to see the school itself gain regional accreditation. I think this would help them attract even more students, make credit transfer easier, and make their programs more valuable to its students. When the school was known as Education Direct it made a bid for regional accrediation, but dropped out and soon changed its name to Penn Foster College.
How about you? Which degree programs would you like to see Penn Foster College offer?