Academic calendar
Continuous Enrollment 2025-2026 runs Jan 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Continuous Enrollment 2025-2026Relevant now
- Academic Year 2026Penn Foster College Academic Year 2026
- Summer Semester 2026
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 35 of 35 terms
A
- ACE
- American Council on Education; the organization that evaluates Penn Foster courses for college credit transfer.
- Ambassadors
- Experienced students who volunteer within the online community to mentor new learners.
- AVMA
- American Veterinary Medical Association; the body that accredits the popular Vet Tech program.
D
- DEAC
- Distance Education Accrediting Commission, the national accrediting body for Penn Foster's distance education programs.
- DECA
- A student organization for those interested in business, marketing, and management.
- DET
- Delta Epsilon Tau, the international honor society for students in distance learning programs.
F
- Fast Track
- The process of completing lessons and exams at an accelerated pace allowed by the self-paced model.
- Fast-tracking
- The act of completing lessons and exams at an accelerated pace to finish a program faster than the suggested timeline.
N
- NAHA
- National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy; relevant for students in the aromatherapy certificate program.
- NHS
- National Honor Society, specifically available for Penn Foster High School students who meet GPA requirements.
- NSHSS
- National Society of High School Scholars, an organization that Penn Foster High School students are frequently invited to join.
O
- Open Book
- The standard exam format where students are permitted to use their study guides and notes.
P
- PF
- Common shorthand used by students in forums and social media to refer to Penn Foster.
- PF
- The standard abbreviation for Penn Foster used in student forums and social media.
- PFC
- Common abbreviation for Penn Foster College.
- PFC
- Penn Foster College, the specific division of the school that grants Associate and Bachelor's degrees.
- PFCS
- Penn Foster Career School, the division focused on high school diplomas and vocational certificate programs.
- PFHS
- Common abbreviation for Penn Foster High School.
- PFHS
- Penn Foster High School, the division providing secondary education and high school diplomas.
- PFSA
- Penn Foster Student Ambassadors; a student leadership program where members mentor peers and represent the school.
- PFSC
- Penn Foster Student Community, the official online social platform for students.
- Proctor
- A person or service (like ProctorU) that supervises a final or semester exam to ensure academic integrity.
- Proctored
- Refers to a final exam that must be supervised by a third party or webcam service.
- Proctored Exam
- A high-stakes final exam that requires either an in-person supervisor or a remote webcam monitoring service.
- ProctorU
- The third-party online service used to supervise and record final exams for degree-seeking students.
R
- RPNow
- Remote Proctor Now; the software used to take proctored exams from home.
S
- Self-paced
- The core educational model where students set their own deadlines and study schedules.
- SkillsUSA
- A partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce.
T
- The Community
- The Penn Foster Student Community, an internal social network for students to interact and ask questions.
- The Hub
- A common student nickname for the main dashboard of the learning management system.
- The Kit
- Physical materials, such as lab supplies or trade tools, that are mailed to students for specific vocational programs.
- The Portal
- The online Learning Management System (LMS) where students log in to complete all coursework and exams.
- The Student Lounge
- A specific sub-forum within the Penn Foster Community dedicated to casual, non-academic conversation.
W
- Webinar
- Live or recorded online instructional sessions led by faculty to explain complex course topics.
- Webinars
- Live or recorded video sessions hosted by instructors to explain difficult course concepts.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Digital ID
- The official student identification card found within the 'Forms & Documents' section of the portal.
- Digital Library
- The virtual repository of academic journals and research databases available to students through the portal.
- E-books
- Digital versions of textbooks provided within the course modules, often used instead of physical books.
- Extension
- A paid or requested addition of time to a student's enrollment period if they cannot finish within the initial timeframe.
- Externship
- The required hands-on clinical or practical training period for programs like Vet Tech or Medical Assistant.
- Help Center
- The digital repository for all FAQs, technical support, and administrative guides.
- Help Center
- The primary online support database used for troubleshooting, opening tickets, and finding program FAQs.
- LMS
- Learning Management System; the digital platform (often Brightspace) where course content is hosted.
- LRC
- Learning Resource Center; the digital library providing academic databases and research tools for students.
- Open Enrollment
- The policy that allows students to enroll and begin their classes at any time of the year rather than waiting for a semester start.
- Parchment
- The third-party service used by the school to process and send official transcripts.
- Proctored Exam
- A final examination that must be taken under the supervision of an approved third party or digital monitoring service.
- ProctorFree
- The specific remote proctoring software used to monitor degree-level final exams.
- ProctorU
- The third-party online service used to monitor and record remote exams for degree programs.
- Retakes
- The policy allowing students to retake a lesson exam once if they are unhappy with their initial grade.
- Scranton
- The physical headquarters and administrative office in Pennsylvania where all official mail and transcripts are processed.
- Scranton Headquarters
- The physical administrative office in Pennsylvania where graduation ceremonies are organized and diplomas are mailed from.
- Self-Paced
- The academic structure where students set their own deadlines and progress through material as fast or slow as they choose.
- Shipment
- The tracking status for physical materials, such as toolkits or printed textbooks, sent to a student's home.
- Student ID
- The unique 8-digit number assigned to every student, required for portal access and all support requests.
- Student Number
- The unique 8-digit identification number required for all correspondence with the school.
- Student Portal
- The central online dashboard where students access lessons, take exams, and view grades.
- Success Coach
- A staff member who provides non-academic support, such as time management tips and motivational guidance.
- The Bookstore
- The online shop where students order physical textbooks or required course kits.
- The Community
- The official internal social media platform and discussion board for Penn Foster students.
- The Portal
- The virtual 'campus' where students log in to access all lessons, exams, and grades.
- Transcript Request
- The formal process through the student portal to have official academic records sent to external parties.
- Webinar
- Live or recorded online instructional sessions hosted by instructors for specific course modules.
- Webinars
- Live or recorded online instructional sessions hosted by faculty to supplement course materials.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Continuous Enrollment 2025-2026 runs Jan 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 35 approved campus terms and 29 local details are included in full.
- Are all approved campus terms included?
- Yes. The complete approved glossary is available in the scrollable, searchable campus-language section.
- Where does this guide come from?
- Calendar dates, campus terms, and local details come from DormWay's approved campus reference library.