The Penn Foster Blog

Each year, Penn Foster takes time to celebrate an exemplary Penn Foster graduate. The Graduate of the Year is selected by student peers and a cross-functional Penn Foster committee. Graduates are encouraged to enter in the contest by submitting an essay about their Penn Foster experience, why graduating is an important milestone in their life, and what their next steps are post-graduation. This year, we could not be more proud to announce the winner, who perfectly exemplifies the grit, determination, and passion that we admire in our students and graduates. Congratulations to our 2016 Graduate of the Year, Omar Haughton! This is his story.

Penn Foster was recently asked to present at the NJCA's Professional Development Innovation Webinar Series. The webinar addressed the need for skilled candidates for today's job market, why it's important to offer post-secondary courses and create career pathways for Job Corps students in particular, and how individual Job Corps centers can offer programs for in-demand skilled trades on center.

Career schools and colleges face a competitive recruitment landscape in 2017. While traditional and nontraditional student enrollment are on an upward trend, the sheer amount of available education choices makes it difficult for schools to stand out. You need a strong recruiting strategy in place before the new year rolls around to catch the attention of people making resolutions to change their lives by going back to school.

Harvey County Detention Center in Kansas is finding that offering inmates a high school diploma program is a significant stepping stone in helping inmates realize a brighter future.

Educators face a widespread problem with students committing plagiarism, and often focus only on eliminating obvious types, such as neglecting to cite information from internet sources and copying another student's work. This approach, however,  overlooks the many other forms of  plagiarism, and neglects to address the fact that students may not even know about these other types of plagiarism. It's essential for educators to teach students about  all forms of plagiarism so they don't suffer the negative consequences.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of both our students and our partners throughout 2016. As a skills solutions organization, we are proud to play a role in providing individuals with the education and skills they need to take the next step in their career and positively impact their future. However, much of this would not be possible without the partnerships we have formed that enable students and employees to pursue our programs.

These days, an accredited high school diploma is a must-have precursor for long-term career success. While a diploma itself may meet the baseline requirement for many employers, offering a diploma with an additional career concentration in an in-demand career field can provide many additional benefits for employers. Whether offered by high schools, colleges, workforce boards, or employers themselves, career concentrations can go a long way to creating a more prepared, career-ready workforce.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) International conference in Chicago. This year's theme was "Partners in Progress: Unite to Educate America's Workforce," and the sessions examined partnerships among universities and colleges, corporations, government, non-profit organizations, and workforce developers. This year's theme was timely as it took place against the backdrop of the results from the Presidential election.      

Too many career colleges cater to students fresh out of high school, leaving adult learners without the support and programs they need for success. Adult learners have varied academic and life experiences, and need specialized consideration and attention to make the most of their education. Making sure your school a welcoming environment for this experienced and diverse demographic can open up a new channel for enrollments, and help you cater to students who are eager to further their careers. To help guide your marketing and outreach efforts, here are a few things adult learners look for in a career college.