Ashworth College Pcdi.com Professional Career Development Institute ripoff - beware of ashworth college aka professional career develop instit. complete scam & useless degree Norcross Georgia

The reporter is grossly mistaken. This school is a distance learning institution, its not for all people.    The school is accredited by the DETC which IS recognized by the board of education as a legit accrediting agency. www.DETC.org --- if your looking to get a ivy league job or get into an ivy league school than  , this is not the school for you. if your like me and trying to get a blue collar job than this school is for you. Ashworth college is not a scam, its not a top tier school but for me and many others it gets the job done. Anorther reason why its not a scam, my former  employer helped pay for my tuition , My current employer does not have tuition reimbursement but in order to have been hired by my current employer , i needed 60 accredited college credits which they accepted from A DETC school. The reporter opinion is well taken but not everyone feels the saem way. i do not work for the school at all so that point is moot. every one has a different agenda, ashworth or pennfoster has worked for me and i will continue to go to DETC accredited schools as long as they continue to be nationally accredited or regionally accredited. To all who are going to a DETC school, if your planning on transfering credits or going to another college, do your homework, call that school and ask them if they will take DETC credits. some schools will some wont. but in the end the school is not a scam and is Nationally  Acredited.

Ashworth College is indeed an accredited member of  DETC as well as 106 other institutions.
Check out the DETC 2011-2012 DIRECTORY OF ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS.

Not all "colleges" are meant for all students, all degree types etc.,  but that does not mean that they have lied or have mislead in their advertisment.  I think you need to step back before you make incrimminating remarks in a public domain.  I think the person that negatively portrayed Ashworth, should find an institution that suits their needs and move on.  Of course I see that their remarks WERE made in 2005 and may have been valid then but are not valid in 2011.

Ok, well I recently earned my Bachelor's Degree from a good school (top 100 ranked), but it is in English and I am having trouble finding a job.  I live near an army base and wanted a job that regularly has openings, but I needed a major in early education to get.  I just want something really affordable and quick because this isn't my permanent career, it's just something to pay the bills for now.  The job listing says "Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements."  I came across Ashworth and it seems fast and cheap, but I haven't started yet.  Honestly, I know this sounds bad, but I don't really care if it's the best quality school.  I have a good BA and will probably get my MBA from a more traditional school.  Here's the fact: I came across this site so I decided to check for myself.  I went to the US Department of Education, typed in the school name and it is in fact accredited.  It's very simple; go to the website if you want to check for yourself.  In fact, it's a good tool for anyone looking at lesser known schools to check their validity.  So as long as Ashworth will in fact give me transfer credit for 75% of my degree like their website says from my bachelor's, I think I will give it a try.

One can verify the proper accreditation of Ashworth College at the following link on the US Department of Education website: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/InstAccrDetails.aspx?756e697469643d3138343030312663616d70757349643d30267264743d352f342f3230313120353a32343a323420504d

Let me start by introducing myself.  I am an Enrolled Agent (tax accountant), and I have an LLM in International Taxation.  I hold numerous undergraduate degrees as well as various professional credentials.  I am also a student at Ashworth College in their MBA program.

Ashworth College is accredited.  They are accredited by the DETC (www.detc.org).  The DETC is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education.  However, since Ashworth College is Nationally accredited (not Regionally accredited), their courses usually will not transfer into a Regionally accredited college or university. 

This does not mean that the degree is worthless.  It simply is accredited on a different level than most state colleges.  I have worked as an educator and a tutor.  I tutored an MBA student from a well-known, Regionally accredited college.  Truth be told, the assignments were actually easier than Ashworth College's assignments (for the course I tutored this student).

I have completed over 70% of my MBA at Ashworth College, and I am very pleased with their program.  Their curriculum is demanding and informative.  The MBA program is challenging and I feel that it is well worth the money that I have paid.  I have a graduate advisor who is very responsive.

In addition to the MBA, I have also completed one of Ashworth College's career diplomas.  This was not nearly as demanding as the MBA, but it was extremely informative and the information was current and relevant.

Ashworth College is not a diploma mill.  Trust me.  For some of my assignments (not classes, but individual "capstone" assignments) I have invested over 30 hours of time.  (A "capstone" assignment is a class-end assignment--almost like a mini-thesis or project).  Ashworth College does not give As for everything submitted.  Typical assignments usually takes 2-4 hours.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that have nothing better to do than complain.  In the case that I am responding to, I would consider their post to be libel and therefore actionable under Tort theory.  Ashworth College is real and accredited.

Steve M. Windham, LLM, EA

If you think these books are for 5th graders than you are too educated and you don't need a degree. There are 5,000 happy students on facebook. Give a 5th grader on of these lesson and see if they complete it.

I signed up with Ashworth College, for their Associate Degree program, back in 2004.  I completed 1 semester and have been inactive since Aug 2005.  I have now started back up with my 2nd semester classes and found that Ashworth is by far one of the best online Higher education schools.

The original reviewer cited that DETC accreditation is a bogus accreditation.  DETC (Distant Education Training Council) is registered with the U.S. Department of Education and carries the same weight and value as any of the other 6 National accreditations.

The books that the original reviewer cited, are NOT in house written books.  These are all University level books.  The current course I am working on (for my Business Management degree), the title of course and book is Human Resource Management (ISBN: 0-618-47706-3).  Go ahead and look it up - it is far from 5th grade level.  The book, Introduction to Business that the reviewer cited also was not a 5th grade level book, far far from it.

I went on hiatus from the college, after completing 1 semester.  My semester tuition (including the books and shipping for the books) was $789.00 per semester.  I just started my 2nd semester, after a 4 year absence and the price for me is still 789.00 per semester.  Even though new student tuition (including books and shipping) is $1,200.00 per semester, my price per semester remains the same till I complete my Associates Degree with them.

I highly recommend Ashworth College as they do hold a National Accreditation with the US Department of Education, their course study is University level, their Credits ARE transferable to other KNOWN Universities, i.e. UCLA, USC, Stanford etc.  Sorry, I live in California so I am only looking a Calif. Universities.

I did my home work on Ashworth 5 years ago when I originally registered and nothing has changed as to their Accreditation or transferability of credits.

Excellent College, WELL worth the money.

Jason,

This accreditation smoke screen is not a legitimate conclusion. PCDI might be accredited with the Department of Education, and Ashworth might be accredited through PCDI.

However, Ashworth them self is not accredited directly through the Department of Education. And that may be the reason why other schools do no want to associate with that arrangement.

Simply stated, I have not discovered a direct association linking the Department of Education with Ashworth College. Secondary association does not grant the accreditation foundation with higher education norms.

Help me out if you find something that indicates different. Be smart, be legitimate, and be informed.

You won't find Ashworth College on the ope.ed.gov/accreditation site because they are registered as PCDI. Look it up. They are accredited.

Concerning accreditation I suggest seekers go to this website and type in the name of an educational provider and check for yourself.

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.asp

I may be on an incorrect channel, but this information site does not list Ashworth College for any Accreditation.

To settle the Ashworth College dispute once and for all, I recently emailed the DETC to set the record straight and to verify the college's credibility. Below is a copy of my email and the response that I received from a representative of the DETC. Some personal information has been removed to protect the privacy of the writers but I'll be happy to email a copy of the unedited correspondence upon request.


From : Rob C.
Sent : Wednesday, November 16, 2005 8:41 AM
To : Dave
Subject : RE: Ashworth College

Dear Dave,

Ashworth College in Norcross, GA, is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of
the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) and is a member in good
standing. The institution was first accredited in 2000 and was recently
re-accredited in 2002. It has been found to meet or exceed the Commission's
published academic and ethical standards.

Accreditation by the DETC Accrediting Commission means that all courses and
programs offered by this institution have been examined by independent subject
matter experts and have been found to meet or exceed DETC's published academic
standards. These standards require that the institution's courses/programs be
equal to or better than a comparable course or degree program offered by a
residential college or university accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S.
Secretary of Education, such as a regional accrediting agency.

The Accrediting Commission of the DETC is listed (and has been since 1959) by
the U.S. Secretary of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
Like the regional accrediting agencies, DETC's Accrediting Commission is
reviewed periodically by the U.S. Department of Education to make certain that
it meets the criteria for federal recognition as published in Title 34 of the
Code of Federal Regulations. Federal law does not discriminate against national
accrediting bodies such as the DETC.

DETC's Accrediting Commission is also a charter member of the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation (CHEA). CHEA publishes a Joint Statement on Transfer
and Award of Academic Credit, where it recommends that quality, comparability,
and appropriateness and applicability be applied when considering the transfer
of academic credit. CHEA also states that institutions need to assure that the
transfer decisions are not made solely on the source of accreditation of a
sending program or institution.

The DETC Accrediting Commission meets and adheres to the same standards required
for recognition by the U.S. Department of Education, as do the regional
accrediting agencies, including the North Central Association of Colleges and
Schools. Therefore, we request that you please review Ashworth College's
credentials in the same manner as you would a regionally accredited institution.

For more information on these agencies, you may contact them at:

- U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Accreditation
and State Liaison Division, 1900 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006 (Phone:
202-219-7011; Web site: www.ed.gov); and

- Council for Higher Education Accreditation, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 510,
Washington, DC 20036 (Phone: 202-955-6126; Web site: www.chea.org).

In addition, the DETC does have a formal complaint process, and when we receive
a complaint against a DETC institution we forward it to the school and the
school must respond to both the student and the DETC within a set number of
days, and we follow the issue until it is resolved.

For more information on distance education and the DETC, please visit our web
site at www.detc.org or call me at 202-234-5100, ext. ***.


Best,

Robert C.
Information Specialist
Distance Education and Training Council
www.detc.org
202-234-5100 ext. ***


-----Original Message-----
From: Dave [mailto:*****@****.net]
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 8:49 PM
To: Rob@detc.org
Subject: Ashworth College


I was considering enrolling in Ashworth College's online MBA program
(http://masters.ashworthcollege.edu) because of its apparent quality and
good value but I recently found some very disturbing information on an
online list of scam businesses. Ashworth College was reported by numerous
people to be a scam and a fraudulently-accredited organization. A few of
those unedited comments (and their URLs) are presented below:



"Another note...the campus claims to be accredited by a seemingly 'industry'
& legit organization... See the snipit that I included from the "about us"
page of their website..Well, dig a little deeper and you'll find that the
Distance Ed and Training Coucil is nothing more than a fictitious group of
'educators'. In fact, one of the board members is....an executive from PCDI!
What a crock..." (http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff162798.htm)

"It turns out that quite a few on the Yahoo Ashworth college groups have had
problems with Ashworth's student services. From losing proctored exams,never
sending the results via postal mail of the proctored exams, sending the
wrong exams and taking months to send the right ones out, and grading tests
answers wrong when they are right."
(http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff37687.htm)

"I used to think ashworth wasn't a rip off but now that i am in my third
semster there i really belive it is. first of all alot of people dont know
that nationally accredited is the lowest accredation there is. Just found
out myself. second they will hold your shippment for a $5.00 late fee they
have even billed to you yet and third after your first two semsters they
treat you like trash because they get scared you might accidently graduate."
(http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff148077.htm)

"I had similar problems with Ashworth; however, my main concern was their
false advertising stating I would have "access to Criminal Justice
professionals." They did not exist. Ashworth stated in their workbooks
"About your Professors," however, if you contact any of their "professors"
you will find out that they are not involved with or act in any way as your
professor. In fact, once I investigated Ashworth's practice of misleading
their students, Ashworth immediately stopped referring to them as
"professors" and began calling them "faculty writers." I reported Ashworth
for their false advertising to the GA Governor's Office, the Better Business
Bureau (check out the number of complaints filed against Ashworth each
year), and many other agencies interested in Internet and consumer fraud. I
received a full and complete refund of all monies I paid to Ashworth along
with their request that I stop reporting them. In fact, Ashworth sent me a
complete refund via next-day air Federal Express (I live overseas). I had
their refund in my bank within a few days of my contacting Ashworth and
telling them I was on to them."
(http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff137578.htm)



I'm interested in pursuing my MBA with a properly accredited online college
but have been quite discouraged by what I've read. This is just a tiny
sample of the dozens of complaints that this college has had lodged against
it. I've always thought that the DETC and the institutions which it
accredited were highly regarded in the academic and professional world. I'm
very disappointed to find out that not only does your organization appear to
have some serious credibility issues, but I'm also deeply concerned about
the fact that you might have accredited one or more seemingly fraudulent
academic institutions.

Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this. Thank you for your time.

Most often people will seek less expensive institutions to obtain some form of education. This is the strategy that lower forms of education provider rely on. It really is not a forum to scam or cheat people out of their hard education dollars. It is a system to make money by selling information.

I notice that these cheaper methods provide only surface information so people can get some form of knowledge. There is really no provision to Drill Down to hard-core learning. Good information is not cheap, and if people are seeking a cheap degree they will be getting cheap information.

RA universities may recognize this weakness and that may be the criteria causing them to reject the credit transfer.

I have a masters degree from a very good RA school, but I wanted to supplement the degree with a National Accredited (NA) institution just for the information. The process of credit evaluation did not work. Each school wants to protect their identity, and therefore make the transfers difficult.

It is both political and personal to their survival to prejudice outside credit transfers. RA universities cannot afford to damage their reputation by associating with NA credited institutions; no matter what name they give them selves.

Here is a website to locate non-accredited colleges. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:pUyM7Ygx58UJ:www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf+breyer+state+university&hl=en