Penn Foster

[DIYcollegeMom]

I am enrolled at excelsior and am interested in taking Financial Management at Penn Foster.

Was wondering how PF works. Is it testing out, a course, a self paced course, proctor exam....etc

I was able to find a very small list of classes they offer, was wondering if I am looking in the wrong place. I am wanting to complete my degree as fast and as inexpensive as possible.

Thanks In Advance!!!

[AngelaP]

I just finished this course. It is a self-paced course, but there is a time limit on it (can't remember how long you have, but A LOT of time). There is no proctored exam, just a final exam that you submit. You have lessons you work through with tests and then a final. You have two attempts at the exams leading up to the final. You can also print out the exams, which I did and completed the problems as I went through the lessons.

Hope that helps some, good luck!

[bricabrac]

Welcome to the Forum!


[URL="http://degreeforum.wikia.com/wiki/Penn_Foster_College"]Penn Foster College

[/URL]Many general questions can be answered by visiting the Degree Forum Wiki pages. The site is an excellent introductory resource to all things Big3 related.

All pages - Degree Forum Wiki

[KittenMittens]

I took Penn Foster Financial Management and finished it in like 8 hours. You're going to get an A in it. Let's just say that. 5 quizzes where you can retake each for the highest grade, and a final with no proctor.

Not all Penn Fosters are non-proctored like that, but for the ones that may have a proctor requirement, it's very lax where it can be anyone that has a college degree. They don't really care.

[LaterBloomer]

Okay, I must have gone to another Penn Foster. I found Financial Management difficult. I wasn't allowed to bites at the apple for each quiz (but I was for a later, different, course with PF.) My exam had to be proctored. My advice? Learn how to use the calculator that they send with the book. I'm not sure, but I think that you're allowed 3 months to complete the course.

[AngelaP]

How long ago did you take the class LateBloomer? I just finished it last week. It is an ebook now (linked to through CourseSmart) along with PF Study Guide, but they did send a calculator. However, I never opened it. I used an online finance calculator.

[bricabrac]

I registered for both Financial Management and Consumer Behavior at the same time in 2010. At the time financial management was still proctored, that has since changed. As AngelaP stated the final is no longer proctored and uploaded online. The quiz questions are in the study guide. You have plenty of time to work through the problems before logging on to your online account and entering the answers on the exam page. The rules were that if you did not pass, or scored low, you could retake each quiz once. I found PF's course structure to be very student friendly. I too found the course easily doable and completed it in 3 days. I then had to wait for the final exams to be mailed. If not, I would have finished it in 4 days. I worked on both courses at the same time, a motivated individual could have finished in less time.

Full disclosure, I had already taken business math so some of the concepts introduced were not new to me. I also enjoy math. Someone who has had no exposure or is a math phobe would naturally take longer but I still think it would be easily doable within two weeks.

[KittenMittens]

Just do some google and forum searches for PF Financial Management. It's a joke now. No proctor requirement anymore either. Anyone who's taken the course will know what I mean. I'm glad I got this course out of the way, but Penn Foster demonstrates how Nationally Accredited schools have no standards whatsoever. I'm not complaining though since some colleges will accept it and it certainly beat taking the DSST in Finance or taking a $1,000+ class.

[topdog98]

it certainly beat taking the DSST in Finance

For me, the Finance DSST was a better option than PF. It costs half as much, and it wasn't really too hard. (I think I scored a 469). I have taken a couple of PF courses (proctored and non-proctored), so I know how those work, too. I can see that PF might be the best option for some, but for those who opt for the DSST, it is nothing to fear (in my opinion).

[KittenMittens]

For me, the Finance DSST was a better option than PF. It costs half as much, and it wasn't really too hard. (I think I scored a 469). I have taken a couple of PF courses (proctored and non-proctored), so I know how those work, too. I can see that PF might be the best option for some, but for those who opt for the DSST, it is nothing to fear (in my opinion).

I think if someone is good at math/background in finance or willing to study sufficiently that the DSST in Finance is fine. What repelled me from it was how its pass rates were noticeably lower than the other ones (it's at 86% versus ~95% for the other ones enough at least for me to think that they couldn't be passed easily in a few hours), and enough feedback saying that the flash cards weren't enough and the DSST was sufficiently onerous to prepare for. This makes sense since the Instantcert flash cards are probably better geared for non-quantitative subjects. I probably would have passed the DSST in Finance, but for me spending an extra $137 was worth it to avoid the time and hassle of doing so, as my goal was to amass as many credits as quickly and effortlessly as possible without spending an arm and a leg.