All about correspondence courses

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi everyone

Since this topic comes up so many times, I thought it might be a good idea to have the info all in one place!

Who chooses distance learning?
Reasons for wanting to do a distance-learning course can vary- some of us may have families to look after and can’t make a regular commitment, some of us may be working around a ‘budget’, or some may just want to study a course for enjoyment. There’s also those who are already qualified practitioners, but wish to further their studies (continuous professional development, or CPD.)

What are the advantages of distance learning?

*less expense
* flexible study (can start, pause and finish whenever you like)
* no pressure or time limits
* you can learn about something without having to leave home and travel.

What are the disadvantages of distance learning?

*it can be very difficult to keep up motivation if studying alone
*you may end up wasting my money if you don't complete the course
*I won't gain a qualification if I don't complete
*you won't have the opportunity to meet anyone new
*you may not have as much confidence in your techniques and abilities if you don't have experience of working with/on other people
* the qualification or accreditation may not be nationally recognised.

What qualifications and accreditation do correspondence courses offer?

This really depends on what course you enrol on, but generally correspondence colleges seem to offer two types: a diploma or certificate (of completion). Certificates are usually offered for courses in the mantic arts -astrology, palmistry, psychometry etc or things like dream analysis, or shamanic healing, ‘creating a therapeutic environment’ or angelic guidance. Diplomas are offered for a wide range of courses from aromatherapy and Chinese medicine to counselling and beauty therapy. On successful completion you are entitled to use the name of the college or awarding body followed by the subject- for e.g. Azalia Aotearoa S.A.C dip. (Aromatherapy) However, impressive this might sound, most correspondence courses are not nationally recognised and don’t have any value with the exception of some counselling courses which are accredited by a national awarding body.

What about practical courses?
If your chosen course is a practical therapy, such as massage, aromatherapy, reflexology,yoga or even manicure, facials etc, then there is usually one or two days where you will visit a national location to either do some practical training or just to be assessed. You will need to be careful when checking whether this is for training or just assessment of your practical skills.

What media?
You can choose an online course or paper based with most colleges.

What do I get for my money?
This depends on the college you have enrolled with, and subject you have chosen, as this will determine the length of the course.

How am I assessed?
This will also vary from college to college, but most colleges issue a question paper with each lesson and then a final exam, testing you on all topics you’ve covered so far.

OK, so there are a few facts, but I’d like to share my experiences of correspondence courses….

Last year I read through all the information on correspondence courses and decided that it wouldn’t suit me to take a course in something practical such as aromatherapy or reflexology because firstly I think that these are practical therapies, therefore training should be “hands on”. I personally think this is vitally important- not just for ensuring that you are competent in the practical skills of the subject, but also to provide the student with ample opportunity to work on different bodies, and gain confidence in all aspects of client care- working with and on them.

So, having decided against a course in a particular therapy, I settled for ‘Energy Anatomy’ under Stonebridge Associated Colleges. This covered the subject of the subtle energy systems surrounding the physical human body. The course was distributed between 7 lessons and I chose the paper- based option as I wasn’t in a particular rush to receive each lesson, and I would be less likely to lose any of the course material. My first lesson arrived complete with free CD as a gift and a guidebook which outlined how to make the best use of the course. It briefly explained the different learning styles and reminded me that if any queries about the course arose, then I could contact my personal tutor (picture and description included!) on the following number.

My findings

Presentation: Each ‘lesson’ consists of an A4 booklet. I have to say that I wasn’t always particularly impressed with the layout, although it was usually logical, and generally the language used was accessible, although there was some repetition and grammatical errors! Assessment: My major disappointment in the course had to be the assessment papers that came with each lesson. The questions are often phrased badly and have a habit of not asking what they really mean, which is very confusing for the student and tends to make you think they want a very in-depth answer and then you have to do even more study to find the answers to what you think they’re asking. Tutor Support: My personal tutor, whom I’ve contacted on two occasions via phone was reasonably helpful, and phrased the question in a different way which made it easier to see what they actually wanted you to say. Once I got the idea that the questions that were asked in each assignment were intended to be basic, I just scoured the booklet until I found the relevant bit, made sure I understood the concept, and then re-wrote the answer. This has proved tedious and it’s totally unnecessary- the questions should be written properly in the first place. Conclusion: Overall I’m glad that I did the course, but really I could have just as easily learnt as much by simply browsing through books on the subject. Ironically, most of my learning has come from mistakenly thinking ‘Oh heck. How on earth do they want me to answer that? Do I get a PhD at the end of this???!’ and then studying really in-depth reading material until I had a very, very comprehensive and detailed answer. So I suppose in that way the badly written questions have turned me into a very learned student!

My advice from my experience

I would strongly advise you to think twice before deciding to study a “hands on therapy” as correspondence learning for the reasons I stated at the top of this post. I think that often the course material is fairly simplistic and the questions phrased rather badly which I think would be VERY disheartening if you had enrolled in something such as counselling which requires confident and knowledgeable answers (this might prove difficult if you read the question, read through the booklet about 6 times over and think- I still can’t find the answer!!!) I think also, in reality the qualification doesn’t always account for very much as it is unlikely to be nationally recognised, although check with your college as some courses, mainly IT and counselling, are accredited by the relevant recognised bodies.

The deciding factor

If you’re asking ‘are correspondence course for me?’ I would say ‘it depends why you want to do it’. If you want to study a practical hands on therapy course, I’d say forget it. (Would you trust a brain surgeon who did their training with a distance learning course?!!) If you’re already a Practioner and want something under your belt for CPD, such as a ‘holistic health consultant’ diploma, then I’d say ‘consider it’. If you’re doing a course such as astrology for personal enjoyment, I’d say ‘think about it, and probably go for it!’

So, there you go, I’ve tried to put in the facts as well as my opinions and experiences, so I hope you’ve found it helpful! I’d love to hear other people’s experiences of distance learning, so please do share….over to you

RE: All about correspondence courses

I have done a correspondence course and agree with the comments above.

I thought that the content of the course which was BSY, was extremely basic, and I could have got more out of getting a few books out of the library.

I do believe that insurance companies are now recognising some of the courses though.

RE: All about correspondence courses

I have done 2 and have given up on 1 other.

The two that I have done where with BSY - they where ontime and it ran smoothly - I would use them again. The only problem I had was one of the lessons not making gramatical sence.

I have also taken a life coaching course - which I regret as, however much I asked the second modual never got sent, and the woman who ran this course tried to make money from my own skills. All very unprofessional - so I have discontinued the course - without refund - my choice.

Its was interesting to see the different levels of professionalism towards pupils.

MM x

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi

Just read your post - I'm looking at the BSY as one option for Yoga Teacher Training. Was it Yoga you studied - if so, have you had any problems with your Diploma being widely recognised - this is my main concern.

Any feedback would be gratefully received.

Cheers

Angie

RE: All about correspondence courses

I am currently doing an aromatherapy correspondence course with Stonebridge and am almost half way through 24 lessons. There is a lot of A&P included in this course but I am finding it easy to follow and enjoy doing each assignment, although as someone mentioned previously, sometimes the questions aren't phrased in a clear way and you aren't sure what they are actually asking.

I agree with others with regards to studying practical hands-on subjects via correspondence courses. Apart from anything, I feel it would help you to feel more confident of your abilities if you were attending a class. Stonebridge do offer practical training where necessary at extra cost. I would definitely do more courses with them as I find the tutur support very good and they are always so encouraging.

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi

As a lecturer (A&P and Reflexology) this is a topic that I feel quite strongly about. It's good to see that students also have similar concerns and cautions.

There are a couple of points that students really need to be aware of if they are intending to study a correspondance course:

1. Check out the awarding accreditation properly - for example, the college providing the course may well tell you that the course is complete and requires no further study. Depending on what you are studying, this may be true (or may not be). If it is a therapy you intend to use professionally, ensure your insurance company and / or professional body will revognise a correspondance course.
E.G. A correspondance course in Reflexology will give you a Cert / Dip in Reflexology.

2. Most correspondance courses DO NOT include practical or case study work, and therefore are of little use in hands on therapies. The Irish Reflexology Institute, and to my knowledge the AoR also, certainly WILL NOT accept a correspondance course without a certain amount of "bridge learning" being done (a few weekend study courses and submission of 60 minimum case studies). Therefore, what appealed to most students originally (reduced cost of training) are of little use as the cost to bridge the learning gap and make the qualification sufficient means you may as well have done a properly accredited and recognised course in the first place!

3. Correspondance courses, however, can have their good points. I have recently completed a correspondance course in the Australian Bush Flower Essences. I am already a Registered Bach Flower Practitioner, so already have the working method and insight into this aspect of vibrational medicine. The correspondance courses with ABFE enabled me to add a new set of flower essences into my practice with sufficient knowledge of them and confidence to start using them with clients. My insurance company had no problem with this correspondance course, as they considered it an add-on to an existing insurable therapy.

So, if you want to use a correspondance course for general knowledge, or to add on a slightly different slant to a therapy you already know, have insurance for and are confident using.....WHY NOT?

If, however, this is your first therapy to study for professional practice...it's probably, not the best way to do it!

Gail

RE: All about correspondence courses

I have been asked by azalia to place my opinions on correspondence courses from another thread on here so that others may gain a valuable insight.

I have done three courses with the British School of Yoga and this is my observation:

I found the courses to be average, they were good for the theory aspect but as it was a home study course and not in a class room, then there was no class interaction and you could not get any opinions and feed back from the tutor to see if you were doing it correctly (although BSY has a good tutor on the end of the phone line, they can not see you practically).

If you were deciding on doing a BSY course then I would check to see if there are similar courses locally as these will offer more practical training in a class room (some of the BSY courses do offer a 2 day practical course either in Bath or Devon for indemnity insurance)

If your chosen subject does not require any practical work, then doing a BSY course would be good, but then I would check and see if the BSY qualification is recognised in your chosen field, and more importantly whether insurance companies recognise it.

I have enjoyed all the courses I have done with BSY, but if I could find a course offered locally, and then I would opt for that, purely for the practical side of things.

So to sum up, if you only want the theory or just a passing interest or a grounding knowledge in a particular subject then by all means do a BSY course, but if you need the practical to go with it then you are better off attending a local college or work shop.

Magno:)

RE: All about correspondence courses

Here's some more info about Correspondance courses:

Some colleges that offer online courses (as opposed to paper based) have a student forum, where students are able to register and log on to the message boards and 'talk' to other people doing the same course. I haven't checked out all the colleges, but I know that Stonebridge (E-Learn UK), Kevala and BSY have this feature.

PS- If you're a paper based student, but would rather study online and take advantage of this feature, then you should be able to so this fairly easily.

RE: All about correspondence courses

I recently had a meeting with a potential business partner who has a diploma in psychotherapy from the BSY. I was shocked to find that he has a mental disorder, and my life partner who attended with me came to the same conclusion. I then made enquiries and found that it's only a Mickey-Mouse diploma. However, this guy is on the loose treating vulnerable people, which I find very worrying.

RE: All about correspondence courses

What a scary thought,

All BSY courses have been accredited by O.D.L.Q.C (Open and Distant Learning Quality Council), and the A.B.C.C (Association of British Correspondence Colleges)

BSY do not as far as I am aware check a candidate’s background and mental stability before allowing them on the course, some of the courses that are offered by BSY such as Psychotherapy should IMO request a background check in to the candidates stability and suitability for the course.

I do not know anything about governing bodies for Psychotherapists but these are the ones that are accredited/affiliated to the BSY

The diploma is awarded by the A.S.C (Associated Stress Consultants)which used to be a seperate school from the BSY but is now part of the BSY and successful candidates are eligible to register with the C.C.C (Counselling Code of Conduct)

Magno

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi Suzanne
I dont want to cause offense to anyone but having worked in the mental health field for a number of years I would like to point out that being diagnosed as having a mental illness / disorder does not necessarily mean that someone could not / should not be able to work as a psychotherapist / clinician of any kind. It really depends on what type of illness the person has been diagnosed with, what kind of treatment they have undergone and how they manage their illness.
There are many people working in the mental health field who came into the field as a result of direct contact with services and their unique experience is welcomed by many organisations.
I agree that background checks should be made on all people working as a clinician to ensure that any illnesses are well managed / in the past and that they are not using their job as therapy for themselves - this might not be the case with correspondance courses. I know that psychotherapists normally have to undergo a great deal of self analysis as part of the course (including group therapy, psychotherapy for their own issues and clinical supervision) - again I dont know if this is the case with a correspondance course.
Obviously I dont know what the guy you met was like but I think it is very brave and honest of him to be open with you - most people arent so open for fear of being judged.
Michelle

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi Gussie

Thanks for all the interesting comments about distance learning courses.

Some home study organisations have a very trite and simplistic one word answers to questions which I think insults the intelligence of the student. Written assignments at the end of a period of study are more challenging and rewarding to the student.

Counselling courses which are studied by distance learning need interaction between students or some practical work.

RE: All about correspondence courses

I am studying with SNHS school of natural health sciences you can contact other members and ask them how they got on with on the course as well before trying it & the members list shows the members companies and what they have done with their qualifications...They have days where you can go & study with them long distance for me...But I am getting practical training alongside it. They have a lot of offers on but it depends on what you want to do.

I have done a lot of hands on previously in a VTEC but had to leave last week due to illness.

[link= http://www.naturalhealthcourses.com/ ]http://www.naturalhealthcourses.com/[/link]

I have seen BSY group I don't know much about them at all other than it's quite expensive but some of their courses look promising

& Stonebridge is another option but their Anatomy and physiology course is alower grade than the other 2

I would ask them when considering the courses if they are equivalent to VTEC qualifications and how high they rank.

I kept asking this to stonebridge and bsy without much help...

[link= http://www.stonebridge.uk.com/ ]http://www.stonebridge.uk.com/[/link]

There are also course on learn direct...

Ebay has some courses for reiki distance

I can Recommend WingsTherapies

I tried...one company called Mayastar but can't recommend them.

RE: All about correspondence courses

The SNHS course you are better off if you are doing the courses have had prior training due to some of the indepth content in A&P you can do self study or self tutoring....

the one thing is answers to questions have to be 75 words and no more.

hope it helps somewhat.

good luck on your quest it's great to hear of people who want to study & I have great respect and admiration for it!

all the best

Buddhistone

RE: All about correspondence courses

ORIGINAL: Hunnie

Hi Suzanne
I dont want to cause offense to anyone but having worked in the mental health field for a number of years I would like to point out that being diagnosed as having a mental illness / disorder does not necessarily mean that someone could not / should not be able to work as a psychotherapist / clinician of any kind. It really depends on what type of illness the person has been diagnosed with, what kind of treatment they have undergone and how they manage their illness.
There are many people working in the mental health field who came into the field as a result of direct contact with services and their unique experience is welcomed by many organisations.
I agree that background checks should be made on all people working as a clinician to ensure that any illnesses are well managed / in the past and that they are not using their job as therapy for themselves - this might not be the case with correspondance courses. I know that psychotherapists normally have to undergo a great deal of self analysis as part of the course (including group therapy, psychotherapy for their own issues and clinical supervision) - again I dont know if this is the case with a correspondance course.
Obviously I dont know what the guy you met was like but I think it is very brave and honest of him to be open with you - most people arent so open for fear of being judged.
Michelle

Hi Michelle,

I have just seen this. The guy did not know of his mental illness and regularly got entrusted with treating very vulnerable women for "hysteria". Neither myself nor my partner felt safe to discuss this with him further. Someone at his course should have talked to his doctor and agreed at least on the appropriate treatment for him or declined him his certificate. Sadly, he has one of the more serious mental illnesses.

RE: All about correspondence courses

I have been enrolled onto LOTS of distance learning courses, as part of my role within the health industry, to assess their value, and I have to say I have rarely been satisfied.

Hands on therapies should never be done distance learning, as they cannot give you the practical skills that you NEED.

There are also lots of counselling type courses and their content is so sketchy that its worthless.

Im not saying that all distance learning is useless, just look at the Open University, they are classed as one of the leading universities in the UK, and are well recommended.
But then, when you receive a booklet with 8 pages, and that is classed as one lesson, and you only have 8 of these, and at the end of it you are qualified in counselling or psychotherapy, or nutrition, then you have to think.."come on this has to be a scam!"

Unfortunately there are lots of therapists out there with paper qualifications, and in my opinion they undermine those therapists that have been to college/training to get their qualifications.

RE: All about correspondence courses

by the way, just re-reading my last post it may look at though im saying that OU gives you a booklet with 8 pages, believe me they dont! If you book onto an OU course be prepared for some gruelling but extremely worthwhile training!

RE: All about correspondence courses

So, Sportstherapy, I am a bit confused now, are you saying the courses of the OU are good or not?

RE: All about correspondence courses

the OU offer EXCELLENT distance learning courses 😀

RE: All about correspondence courses

does anyone recomend a distance learning college?
fornd sac and bsy so far

RE: All about correspondence courses

gateway workshops and school of natural health sciences (snhs) are apparently very good.

had friends do both and said they were very pleased with the courses.

RE: All about correspondence courses

Kevala

Hi, [sm=scratchchin.gif] Am scratching my head at the moment and I'd appreciate some advice re. correspondence courses please... I'vefinished three evening courses now (ITEC, VTCT, over 3 years)doing my holistic therapies training and was about to sign up to a Kevala course(simply because I really can't facing committingto another evening-a-week for another year!) and would be very interested to get any feedback from anyone who's done a Kevala course. It's not a hands-on course, as those are skills I feel strongly cannot be learned remotely.

I'm still working full time in IT while I gather my qualifications and am just doing therapy part time as it establishes.... so a correspondence course sounds ideal - but only if the content is as good as attending a class and only if the certificate is good at the end.... otherwise I could just read a book and write my own certificate!! I think they offer you to go to the college as often as you want too... so you can do the face to face - in fact I think they insist at least one face to face attendance at the college for some of their courses.

Does anyone have any experiential advice??

Thank you [sm=nature-smiley-008.gif]

RE: All about correspondence courses

Ihave just started acorrespondencecourse in Anatomy and physiology with bsy group so far im enjoying the course, like the idea of studying at home and being able to do the course in my own time as i have 4 young childen.

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi AvalonDove

I recently started my Yoga Teacher Diploma with Kevala, and have to say, so far I have been impressed with their content (extremely thorough A&P!! bordering on Biochemistry), and it's delivery. They also stipulate that you attend at least two weekend tutorials as well, for the practical side of things. They also recommend that you need to have been studying yoga for at least three years, and continue to attend classes whilst studying (you keep a log of classes you attend, signed by your tutor).

My reasons for chosing to train via distance learning are having a son, who I have full-time, with little or no breaks, and being on a low income. Much as I wanted to do a course with The Life Centre up in London, there is no way I could afford the fees (kind of ironic, as yoga is not about , being loaded with cash, yet the training is above and beyond the likes of me!!) and be up in London every other weekend! I did talk to the guys at Kevala at the Yoga Show last year, and they were really helpful (though I guess they would be really!!).

I can only say from my own experience with Kevala, that they have been very helpful, professional and I can't praise them enough!

Happy studying

Namaste
Angie

RE: All about correspondence courses

Thanks, for the info... and Angie, that's really helpful info about kevala... I'm doing the BWY Foundation course at the moment, so when that finishes, I'll see about Kevala... so I might ask you again in a few months if you don't mind ;)to see how you're getting on with it...

RE: All about correspondence courses

Hi again!!

You can ask away, whenever you need to! No problem 🙂

Good luck with your studies, hope you do well!

Namaste
Angie
x

RE: All about correspondence courses

has anyone actually got there diploma and started there own business through correspondance courses alone?

Im starting an evening course at a local collegein ihm one evening a week for 10 weeks but i will only recive a certificut of completion at the end. So was going to do ihm diploma with bsy (almost completed a&p with them)with the 2 days traning they offer too i should be able to get insurance with babtac. May do the same thing again next year in reflexology if it works out.

correspondance courses are better for me as i have 4 children and i work evenings so having to take 10 nights holiday to complete evening course, sometimes i do belive my job is holding me back but without that money i wouldnt be able to pay for the courses in the first place.

Oh dear....

In the midst of the really long debate of whether or not correspondence courses have their place in a hands-on skilled profession (as opposed to a knowledge based profession), I note very interestingly that under the UK's National Vocational Qualifications framework, Stonebridge's (YES, that correspondence college) Reflexology course, is a more advanced qualification than ITEC or VTCT.

ITEC and VTCT are both rated as NVQ Level 3 qualifications, which are equivalent to an A-level, and is awarded for "Competence that involves the application of knowledge in a broad range of varied work activities peformed in a wide variety of contexts, most of which are complex and non-routine. There is considerable responsibility and autonomy and control or guidance of others is often required" - See QCA website. Stonebridge is rated as Level 4, which is equivalent to a CertHE, and is awarded for "Competence that involves the application of knowledge in a broad range of complex, technical or professional work activities performed in a variety of contexts and with a substantial degree of personal responsibiloity and autonomy. Responsibility for the work of others and the allocation of resources is often present."

What can I say? A correspondence course will get me a higher level qualification in a hands-on field...
Simply put, I am gob-smacked!