Penn Foster Group

The Penn Foster Group, established in 1890 to enhance coal miner safety, has grown into a multifaceted online education provider. Its mission is to provide accessible, affordable learning for a diverse student body, with a goal of 150,000 yearly completions by 2029.

Recognizing the challenges faced by students balancing work, family, and education, the Penn Foster Group sought new support resources that could be easily accessed and utilized by students.

Penn Foster Group is proud of its commitment to offer an affordable education and to support a diverse student population, including those for whom English is not their first language. By making education more convenient and effective, students are empowered to complete their courses and achieve their career goals without incurring significant debt.

The Penn Foster Group piloted ReadSpeaker integrated into the D2L Brightspace platform, providing lifelike online and offline text-to-speech capabilities for all participants.

The pilot had outstanding results: 30-day course completion rates improved by 54% and the average time to complete the first exam dropped from 13 days to just 9. This aligned with the Group’s focus on accommodating diverse learning styles and schedules through multimodal learning experiences.

“ReadSpeaker fits really nicely into our learner-centric and differentiated learning model… The combination of ReadSpeaker and Brightspace enables far more multimodal learning experiences, which can make a huge difference if you don’t have the time to sit at a computer and read, or if you’re naturally an auditory learner.”
– Andy Shean, Chief Learning Officer

ReadSpeaker webReader and docReader within Brightspace allow students to customize their experience by adjusting reading speed, translating words, and choosing preferred voices. Seamless integration ensures accessibility across all supported devices.

This approach supports students with reading difficulties, impaired vision, or language barriers, aligning with Penn Foster’s mission of delivering affordable, accessible education wherever learners are.

Learners appreciate the flexibility and convenience: 25% find speech helpful for tests, and many highlight the ability to learn while multitasking — during chores or commutes — as a key benefit.

By offering these accessible tools, Penn Foster empowers students to meet their educational and career goals. The partnership with D2L and ReadSpeaker delivers a transformative, learner-first experience.

“For this kind of solution, testing, learning and iteration are really key… With ReadSpeaker and Brightspace, we’re on this path to be transformative.”
– Andy Shean, Chief Learning Officer

Read the full D2L customer story or learn more about ReadSpeaker for Brightspace.