Editor’s fix

Online courses: BUYER BEWARE

Alison signs up for some budget buy online learning…

AS m someone who’s in the middle of a third Open University degree, I have no problem with the idea of distance learning. I have, however, had considerable reservations about the value of some online courses aimed at the holistic therapy sector, particularly those offered by deal sites such as Groupon and Living Social.

We’ve written about the importance of finding the right training courses before, particularly when it comes to accreditation, CPD and the course you’ve chosen being acceptable to both your membership organisation and your insurance provider. I know, too, that many organisations and training schools in the sector provide outstanding face to face and online training. I do have a problem with online courses that seem little more than a made up qualification based on such nebulous qualities as life experience. I know of one Indian university which offers a doctorate in natural medicine for under £1700 that can be parlayed into the right to practice as a doctor in some EU countries. Other organisations, particularly in the US, will send you a Masters or Ph.D. degree certificate from a ‘real university’ on payment of a fee of around $125, including your academic transcripts.

I used Groupon.co.uk and LivingSocial.co.uk as my source for courses. My budget was £20 and I had a choice of 88 beauty courses and 60 health courses. Many of these were for treatments, such as deep tissue massage or hairdressing, that I wouldn’t want someone who had simply taken an online course trying out on me. Some seemed potentially dangerous. Should anyone be able to claim to be certified in Mental Health Counselling for £18 and however many hours work? The most expensive course I could find was an accredited Reiki Level 1 & 2 package for £19 instead of £199. I found courses in diet and nutrition, facials, lymphatic drainage massage, Indian head massage, chair massage, reflexology and aromatherapy. Most courses seemed to be priced under £10, though often appeared to be discounted from around £450.

I wanted to challenge my own assumptions that such cheap courses had little value, so I decided to buy two different courses, as some course providers may be more professional than others. I also decided to choose subjects I’d be interested in learning more about. I chose a Master Herbalists Level 3 course for £9, discounted from £319 and an Accredited Online Natural Beauty products course with Aromatherapy. Both courses have add on costs if you want a certificate. A PDF version will cost around £10 to £30, with a paper copy around £20-£30. One offers e-mail tutorial support and both a mock and a final exam, though these are based on multiple choice questions. It may, therefore be possible to gain a qualification without having made a single beauty product or indeed having gone near an actual herb.

I plan to report back on how I got on with both courses in our next issue. Having quickly scanned the course content, would I recommend these course to professional holistic therapists? No, because it’s very unlikely that you would be able to practice if you had just taken one of these courses. Where they might be worth your tenner is if there was a new modality you had an interest in, but weren’t sure that it was right for you. It makes sense to check out bargain basement online courses as a taster before investing in fully accredited training elsewhere. n