Complaint Review: Thomson Education Direct - Scranton Ohio

Check to see if Thomson is accredited in your state on the appropriate level. Just becasue they say that Thomson is not accredited , may indicate they are not accredited on the state level. If they won't transfer credits based on entry to college then please try to find out exactly why. Associate degree granting colleges and institutions granting BS degrees are accredited by different agencies. Make sure your guiding your education in the right direction in this sense. It's all about survival out there and colleges and universities are no acceptance. Why? do some research on some of the well known colleges , i'll mention the University of Maryland and ITT Tech both are offering complete courses online. Why? It speaks for itself obviously they see it worthwhile. If distance education is accredited by the DETC which was set up specifically for this type of education, then why would it be considered less than the University of Maryland offering online courses? It's like comparing home schooled children to distant education. Whats the difference between the two? I see no difference. So why would one group be afforded the privledge of college than the other? If there is any diffference it would be the time distance education students spend on their studies and the time home schooled children spend on theirs. I could start alot of arguements by saying, "People who attend well known colleges and obtain degrees lack common sense"! I'm not afraid to say that , i've been in the workforce long enough to know that no matter how many text books , professors or thousands you spend NOTHING IS BETTER THAN HANDS ON EXPERIENCE!!! If a person wants to better themselves it should be encouraged , not defeated by ignorance. In a world of today your not judged by who you are , rather your judged by what your not. Don't give up and be persistent in what it is you want. Nothing is impossible when someone keeps the door open.

Ive been researching this school for some time now and still have not found any college that will accept transfer credits from education direct, or penn foster as it is called now. I was wondering if you had any luck finding one, or if there is any more information on the subject. thanks

i asked my school here in indiana to see if thomsonson education direct was accreditited. they told me that they never heard of this online school. i told them that it was on the commercial. i told them that it was the one with sally strutters was advertising for. they say "oh that one". they also tell me that they really weren't sure. i go to ivy tech community college of indiana. i even called thomson and asked them to send me proof of accredtiation. it's all they sent me was a repeat of our conversation that we had on the phone. it was just to reasure me. well i hate to tell you thomson fans. but that isn't good enough proof for me. they did not send me a copy of accreditation like they were supposed to. they are supposed to send you one if you ask. just look at the anti scam school sites on the computer. they will give you a list on how to not get scammed on these so called distance education schools.

Visit http://thomas.loc.gov search bill number hr 609. In the ACCREDITATION section of the bill, do a Ctrl-F for 'transfer'. '(9) such agency or association shall-- '(A) review, during its onsite comprehensive review, the transfer of credit policies of programs and institutions under its accreditation; and '(B) not adopt or apply standards, policies, or practices that restrict or deny the transfer of credits earned by a student completing courses or programs at other eligible institutions of higher education solely on the basis of the agency or association that accredited such other eligible institution if that agency or association-- (b) Operating Procedures- Section 496(c) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is amended-- '(8) confirms as a part of its review for accreditation or reaccreditation that the institution has transfer policies that are publicly disclosed and consistently applied; '(10) includes, in its evaluation for accreditation or reaccreditation, review of the transfer of credit policies of the program or institution to assure that transfer policies do not deny transfer of credit based solely on the accreditation of the sending program or institution, except that nothing in this review shall restrict the right of the receiving program or institution to determine, on any other basis or on a combination of that basis together with other bases, the credits the receiving program or institution will accept for transfer; and '(o) College Consumer Profile- '(1) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION- No accrediting agency or association shall be recognized by the Secretary as a reliable authority as to the quality of the education or training offered by an institution seeking to participate in the programs authorized under this title, unless the agency ensures each institution subject to its jurisdiction makes publicly available in a uniform and comprehensible manner, a college consumer profile including, at minimum, information on the institution's- '(C) accreditation; '(H) policies and procedures for evaluating and accepting credits earned by students transferring from other institutions and the percentage of such credits accepted;

Thomson is definitely accredited! Your credits will transfer to many schools.. Thomson Education Direct Center for Degree Studies is nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Just like SACS (the regional accreditor that approves most bricks and mortar schools in your state), DETC is fully recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Thomson's national accreditation alone makes them a completely legitimate institution. This is because national accreditation is equal to regional accreditation in every measurable way. In fact, the federal government (including the incredibly awesome U.S. Military and the Department of Homeland Security) recognizes DETC approved course work. The military will even pay for servicemen to get DETC approved educations. Accordingly, there is no good reason why your state should refuse to recognize it. That said, however, credit transfer between nationally and regionally accredited schools can sometimes be a little tricky. Not too worry, though! In addition to being DETC accredited, Thomson has had almost all of their degree level courses successfully evaluated for college credit by the American Council on Education's ACE CREDIT program. This makes transfer even easier. Often times, regionally accredited schools that unfairly reject nationally accredited coursework will still accept ACE CREDIT recommended credits. That's not all Thomson achieved candidacy status (back in 2003, I believe) with the Middle States Association (MSA-CHE). MSA is the regional accreditor that covers Pennsylvania and several other surrounding states. They accredit schools such as the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, both of which are Ivy League. Some may think this is great, but since Thomson is already accredited, I personally feel this move towards regional accreditation is an unnecessary waste of time and money. So basically, the last I time checked, Thomson has been fully accredited by the DETC, successfully evaluated by ACE, and granted candidacy status by MSA. Note: candidacy status confers many (sometimes all) of the benefits associated with full accreditation. There are also some other things going for you. For one, agencies such as CHEA and ACE (agencies to which almost all traditional schools are members) have published statements urging equity in credit transfer. In addition, credit transfer will be a big issue when Congress addresses higher education in the near future. More traditional regionally accredited schools have been unfairly treating students like you for far too long. As a result, federal legislation has been proposed in an effort to outlaw discriminatory transfer activity. Fearing such legislation, many traditional schools have joined a higher education transfer alliance called HETA. The HETA database is by no means exhaustive, but it is a good place to start a transfer search. This is because schools in the HETA database have promised not to deny transfer applicants based only on the source of another school's recognized accreditation. Based on all of this, here is what I recommend: Apply to the traditional bricks and mortar schools you wish to transfer to. Some of them may even participate in the HETA transfer alliance. But, no matter where you apply: If you are rejected on the basis of Thomson's accreditation (and not your grades, for example), don't take it lying down. Appeal the decision! You can do this by sending an appeal letter to the school that rejected you along with proof of Thomson's accredited and ACE evaluated status, and copies of the CHEA and/or ACE transfer statements. You may also want to remind the school that the organizations to which they belong are opposed to rejections based solely on the source of equally recognized accreditation. In addition, you could enclose a copy of the proposed transfer legislation (HR 609), and explain to the school (who is likely opposed to such legislation) that they are not doing anything to help their cause. Finally, if all else fails, contact Mike Lambert, the executive director of the DETC and ask him to intervene on your behalf. From what I understand, he has helped students in your position before. Most national accreditors seem willing to help their graduates further their education. It should be noted, though, that since Thomson has DETC national accreditation, MSA regional candidacy, and ACE evaluated status, gaining admission to a traditional school as a transfer student should not be too difficult. This is especially true now that you have the HETA database to help you find schools that treat all transfer applicants fairly. So, go start filling out those transfer applications. Good luck!! ***Important links (paste into your browser): Thomson's accredited/ACE status can be verified by visiting: 1) The official USDE higher education database at: http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ 2) The CHEA institutional accreditation database at: www.chea.org/search/default.asp 3) DETC's own national accreditation website at: www.detc.org/degree.html#HLD 4) MSA's own regional accreditation page: www.msache.org/msache/content/candplease.asp 5) Education Direct's accreditation page: www.educationdirect.com/05-accred_cert.html 4) The ACE CREDIT database: www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Student_Services&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10370 or see www.detc.org/ACEcredtRecomm.html Help with national to regional brick and mortar transfer: 1) HETA official database of schools that will accept your credits: www.chea.org/heta/default.asp 2) Degreeboard unofficial list: http://forums.degreeboard.com/showthread.php?t=975 2) CHEA Public Interest Transfer Statement: http://www.chea.org/pdf/transfer_state_02.pdf 3) Transfer legislation (enter hr 609): http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/query 4) ACE Joint Transfer Statement: www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10082 Proof that the federal government recognizes and pays for DETC approved education: 1) Visit http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov and search any job requiring a college education. You will get the following under Qualification Requirements: Essentially, they must (1) have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in that regulation, and is accredited by an organization recognized by the Department of Education DETC obviously qualifies, as they are a USDE approved accreditor. 2) Visit this site for links to VA and DANTES for servicemen: www.educationdirect.com/05-accred_cert.html and/or www.colsouth.edu/Admissions/Dantes_VA.html. ~ DETC schools are approved for educational tuition assistance benefits to active military members through the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES) and for veterans under the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).