A Message From Our CEO:
3/23/2020: As instances of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to rise across the country, we remain focused on supporting our students, graduates, employees, those considering enrolling, and the communities in which we live and work.
As an organization, we are following the precautionary measures recommended by the CDC and are also abiding by local government recommendations for each of our regional offices. We are taking measures to ensure that our Academic and Student Services Teams have the tools they need to support you.
Our digital platform is built for anytime, anywhere remote access so you can still proceed with your studies at your own pace and without interruption. We are employing our best efforts to maintain the high-quality level of support you are accustomed to receiving from our instructors and service staff but due to current circumstances, shipping and services delays may occur during this time.
Thank you for learning with us. We take our role in the development of your educational journey very seriously and will remain focused on sustaining our commitment to you to earn the skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We will keep you posted with additional information as it becomes available.
Best,
Frank Britt
CEO
Important information on shipments & mailings
During this time, we are open and operating as close to normal as possible. Many of our employees are working remotely and will continue to provide the support you expect. In order to best support your needs, we want to make you aware of areas within our typical services that are impacted by our office closures. In general, for the fastest service or response, please email us rather than through the mail. You can find the contact information via your online Learning Center or Student Portal.
We have resumed shipping course materials for those programs which include physical items. Over the past months, we have improved our ability to support students digitally so that not all program require physical materials.
- For courses that include textbooks: We have substituted ebooks wherever possible. Where ebooks are not available, we have recently resumed shipping textbooks, so all students should be able to proceed with their programs at a regular pace (this does not apply to courses or programs where textbooks are not required).
- For graduate diplomas, degrees, certificates and transcripts: We have resumed mailing these documents out to our graduates and are still working to mail everything that was delayed. If you are waiting for your graduation documents, please allow a little extra time as we work through the backlog and get everything shipped.
- For billing and payments:
- For Penn Foster, NYIAD, NYICD, ICS Canada, NYIP: During this time, paper statements and billing reminders will not be mailed, but you can still make tuition payments the same way you have been doing so. Checks mailed to us will be received and processed, with some delays. If you haven’t done so already, please consider signing up for automatic payments by accessing the payment area of your Student Portal or Learning Center.
- For James Madison High School, Ashworth College, Madison School of Healthcare, and PCDI: Your current payment process will stay the same. Please contact us for guidance if you encounter any issues.
For materials that are mailed to the school, they will still reach us, however, please expect delays of up to a week or more for processing depending on the volume of mail we receive. We are doing everything we can to ensure that mailed documents are getting to the right people within our organization:
- Paper exams and grade sheets (where applicable): Please note that in-person proctoring is unavailable until further notice. We strongly encourage everyone to use remote proctoring whenever possible.
- Incoming transcripts: To minimize delays, please ask if your existing or previous school can send a digital copy or use a service like Parchment (a digital credential service).
- Physical projects: Our faculty is working to develop digital alternatives which can be submitted online for many programs and courses. You will receive specific details on these projects if and as alternatives are developed. We encourage you to contact your instructor prior to mailing in any projects for the time being.
- Student account updates: Any updates that need to be made to your student account may take longer than usual, however the best way to ensure everything is accurate and up to date is to email us.
- Offline proctor exams: There may be a delay in mailing and grading offline proctor exams. Please use remote proctoring tools whenever possible.
- Online proctor exams: Please use remote proctoring tools whenever possible. If your course uses proctor codes, we will continue to email proctor codes to your designated proctor. We understand it may be difficult for you to complete your online proctor exam if you are prevented from meeting in person. Proctor codes do not expire until the exam is started.
If you have additional questions, we encourage you to review your self-service tools and send us an email via your online Learning Center or Student Portal.
COVID-19 Testing Practices & Procedures Training
Attention healthcare students and professionals:
In partnership with Guild Education and Southern New Hampshire University, we’ve developed an easily-accessible, informative course for qualified healthcare volunteers and professionals. This COVID-19 Testing Practices and Procedures Training is free and can be completed online in just 30 minutes to help you to gain the broad understanding needed to safely administer these tests in the coming weeks.
Here’s what’s covered in this course:
- Learn how COVID-19 spreads, how to recognize symptoms, and how to prioritize patients.
- Understand the diagnostic kit contents, throat swab procedures, and proper specimen identification and storage.
- Review how to keep yourself safe, standard precautions, and more.
We appreciate you taking the time to educate yourself on the COVID-19 virus, and hope this training contributes to your safety on the path ahead.
Externships
As developments related to the COVID-19 outbreak continue to unfold, we want to make you aware of this important information related to your externship. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
As you are aware, many businesses and local communities are putting in place policies to limit the number of people in shared spaces. These policies may impact the ability for you to complete (or begin) your externship at this time.
As of now, students will be able to place their externship on hold for 6 weeks at a time, as well as extend their semesters of study for as long as needed during this COVID-19 crisis. Please know that we are continuing to monitor this situation and will report on any changes. Our goal is to ensure that you complete your requirements. Also, know that we will be waiving fees if extensions are needed to complete your studies because your externship has been delayed.
What you should do now:
- Stay in touch with your site supervisor/preceptor to make sure you are up to date on any changes to staffing for your site. Each site may have its own unique policy.
- If you are currently in externship, notify your evaluator, coordinator, or program director of any difficulties or if you are not able to complete your externship related to COVID-19, they will assist in setting up the hold if required.
- If you have not yet been approved to begin your externship but you’re worried about study time, reach out to us. We’re here to help.
Please click on your school below to find out how to contact us for more information.
