FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. How does recognition of the school compare with other colleges?
A. Exceptionally well; but different. We do have a range of different accreditations; but avoid government accreditations (as they increase costs greatly and limit the emphasis we can place on learning) We are internationally recognised by the International Accreditation and Recognition Council (IARC). In addition, in many respects we are more widely recognised, due to the fact that we have been established and trained students for so long, through all states, and many overseas countries. (Most other colleges tend to operate only in one state or region, and may be poorly recognised outside that area.) Close involvement with industry has seen many employers sponsor staff through our courses, and many graduates develop strong careers as leaders in their respective industries.

Consider the following extract from the Higher Education Editor of the Australian Newspaper (Wed Oct 27, 2010) - "A Skills Australia paper released last week calls for a rethink on how the sector is funded, managed and delivers training. It says completion rates are poor, training is often poorly focussed, and skills too often wasted in unrelated jobs"

These are comments about mainstream, government endorsed education! Compare us to that?

Q. What if I want government recognition?

A. ACS is affiliated with several other institutions in both Australia and the UK, who are government recognised, and can offer our courses (WE have developed the courses but license them to these institutions). Each of these institutions will offer a different mix of support services to what ACS does. Some offer different qualifications. The modules can however be done with these if that is your specific need. Ask if you need to know this.

How important is Accreditation and Recognition?

If you plan to be a doctor or lawyer, they are critical. Unless your course is accredited, you cannot work in those professions. In many other professions recognition is only a secondary factor when you apply for a job. Employers will take notice of whether a course is accredited when they look at a job application -but they also take notice of the subjects you studied, your networking in industry, your experience, your problem solving skills, your knowledge of the discipline, how well you communicate, and other things. On the basis of all of these things, they choose who to give an interview to (or who to contract a job with)

Once you get the interview, your knowledge and presentation are what gets you the job. The importance of accreditation fades away at that point.

Once you get a job; it is your performance that affects your progress. What you know and what you can do will result in a career advancing. Employers don't say this employee is a better worker, but this other one has a better recognised qualification - so I will promote the one with the better recognised qualification.

We understand these things at ACS. We have a clear focus on putting your learning before everything else. We don't spend money or waste our focus on accreditations if they are costly and distracting for our teaching staff -in this way we are different to some other colleges; but we strongly believe that this is both a more productive, ehical and sustainable way of providing you with an education that will serve you for life.

Q. What do people think of the school?
Here are just a few of the many unsolicited comments we receive every year:

"Having completed the Advanced Hydroponics Course I have since gone on to open my own successful hydroponics retail shop, now in it's third year of trading."
Ted, Sydney, NSW.

"Thanks for the tips you gave me on the journalist job....I was given the job of writing an article....the experience was great, and at least I will be published for the first time."
Gavin, VIC, studying Journalism.

"My time with ACS has been extremely beneficial....and I would recommend the school to anyone seeking to study by Distant Education."
Victor , QLD, studying Adv.Certificate Applied Management (Horses)

"I complement you on the quality of the course. It has helped me immensely, already, in my job with the local council's parks & gardens department."
Lester , QLD, studying Certificate in Horticulture-Landscaping.

"...it is very informative and worthwhile. I am glad I started the course. Of the many available from different schools, this offers the best value for money."
Sonia, QLD , studying Human Biology .

"This course was one of the best."
Rhonda, NSW , studying Garden Centre Management.

"Clients...that have completed courses with The Australian Correspondence Schools that we have spoken to, have all been extremely happy. Leanne & myself are more than happy with the assistance we receive and the prompt attention."
Dynamic Workforce Solutions, Sydney, NSW.

"I wanted to study herbs but I could not find a course at my closest TAFE, and travelling to Adelaide each day was not practical. The Australian Correspondence School offered the best option - study at home, at my own pace and still tutor contact when I needed it. I was undecided in the facet of herbs that I wanted to specialise in - that was until I completed an assignment to produce three herbal products. My tutor tested my products and encouraged me to set up a small business making and distributing a range of natural herbal cosmetic and household products. His guidance has helped me establish an interesting and profitable business from my studies."
Catherine, SA, studying Certificate in Applied Management.

Q. How do your diplomas compare with other Australian colleges, such as TAFE?
A. In the past, accredited diplomas involved well over 2000 hours of study, however, under the governments new Australian Qualifications Framework, many TAFE diplomas can be completed in much less time. We believe that the time you spend studying is important to the quality and long term recognition of a qualification. As such, we are maintaining old standards and distinguishing our graduates from those undertaking diplomas in this new system. Short qualifications from other Colleges may in the long term prove meaningless.

Q. How do I do workshops if I reside outside Australia?
A. We've now developed workshop modules that can be done in any place in the world. The "workshop"modules have highly specified, very practical, projects (Problem Based Learning Projects), which have been designed to achieve exactly the same outcomes as were approved by industry committees established and operated in the past by the school. The concept is one that has been tried and proven in leading universities in the USA, Canada and elsewhere. Alternatively we can appoint an appropriately qualified person anywhere to work through curriculum documentation supplied by us, to satisfy the requirements set down in a course.

Q. How is Practical Work Done?
A lot of people find it hard to understand how a distance education course can be anything more than reading and answering questions. Some are, and if that’s your experience with distance education in the past, this is unfortunate. In reality, distance education has a great deal of flexibility and today can be more practical and relevant to real life than classroom education.

There are a few things to consider:

1. New technologies (internet, video, digital photography, cheaper & mobile telecommunications etc) make it possible to overcome many of the isolation and communication problems that used to exist with distance education.
2. Funding pressures that have often resulted in a decrease in quantity and quality of practical components in traditional classroom education
3. People today are better networked than ever, and more exposed to visual images than ever (e.g. In the past if someone was studying an animal they had never before seen, the options to see an image of that animal would be virtually nil, unless supplied by their teacher in the classroom. Today people are bombarded by images of virtually everything they could imagine through cable TV, YouTube, web sites, magazines, etc.
4. Be aware that no course will ever teach you everything! Wherever you study, your course should lay a foundation and framework for you to build on. It should open up opportunities for further learning –to further develop your practical skills, problem solving skills, knowledge, networking, communication abilities etc, within your field of study. Some courses focus heavily on the information; some on assessment more than learning, others focus heavier on the problem solving, and others perhaps on the practical, etc.
5. No course can have it’s emphasis on everything; because to emphasise one thing is to de-emphasise something else.
6. Our courses are “experiential” learning (i.e. a concept in education that focuses on learning through experience). Over more than 2 decades, these courses have been developed using feedback and suggestions from both staff and students to create a variety of different ways of building all sorts of learning experiences into the courses. Some are integral and compulsory experiences within a course, others are optional facilities (such as student interaction through the student room directory), which some students use, while others do not use.
7. We get our students to do all sorts of hands on and observational tasks throughout courses. Examples may be:

• To visit a farm and observe things (for students who have a problem with a real farm, they might take a “virtual tour” on a web site or using a video).
• To study the anatomical structure of a bone or piece of meat obtained from a butchers shop.
• To collect pieces off a plant, and from those pieces, create and propagate cuttings.
• To undertake a well structured PBL project. (NB: PBL is a highly structured, tried & proven learning system based on dealing with hypothetical problems. This system is widely used world wide in medical schools, and increasingly in other disciplines.)
• To undertake a role play.
• To interview someone from industry.
• To video or photograph things performed or created by the student.

…There are of course many other things that could also be added to this list.

Q. What level is a certificate?
A. We do not use levels on certificates.
Levels I, II, III etc are systems used for Competency Based Training in both Australia and the UK. (The levels also mean different things in different countries.)

Q. If I do a shorter course first can I get credits towards a certificate or diploma later?
A. Yes. We will assess previous studies to give you appropriate credits. Doing it this way will probably take a little longer and cost more in fees though.

Q. When can I start my course?
A. Any time of the year

Q. Can I pay in instalments?
A. Yes, however full payment up front is the cheapest option.
All courses can be paid in two instalments, some can be paid in three or more. (Please refer to fee schedule on enrolment form for more information.)

Q. Do we get a discount if two of us enrol together?
A. You may claim a 5% discount on fees if you both enrol in courses at the same time.

Q. Do we get a discount if we enrol in a second course?
A. Yes, you may claim a 5% fee discount when you enrol in a second course.
(This does not apply however to the second stage or part of the same certificate or diploma.)

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while?
(e.g. Get sick, go on holidays, have a baby).
A. Apply for an extension. It's OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Do I need any extra books?
A. You are supplied with all "essential" references. Extra books are always useful though, especially for special projects. Tutors will advise you what to buy if you decide you would like to get any extra books.

Q. How do I contact my tutor?
A. Write, fax, email or phone the school. Leave a message if your tutor isn't available and they will phone, write or fax back; whatever suits you.

Q. How long does a shorter course (ie. 80-120hrs) take to complete?
A. Commonly no more than one year. Some students finish in less than 6 months.

Q. How long does a certificate take to complete?
A. Commonly around 6-9 months, if studying full time, or around two years if studying part time. With dedication, part time students can complete a certificate in one year.

Q. What do I get as a student?
A. You need to understand that a course is "an experience that makes you into a different (more capable) person". If a course does it's job properly; you will graduate with a different mind set, and a different perspective on the subject you studied. To bring about these changes involves presenting you with information of course; but it's a great deal more than that. Some people enter study, thinking it's all about collecting information; but that's not study (that's building a library).
As a student, we provide you with things to read, selected information about the subject -but not too much information for the duration of the course. If we gave you too much, the important things could not be emphasised as easily and you could not experience the reinforcement and reflection which is critical to a learning experience.
We also guide you through experiences, whether observation and reflection; research; or practical tasks. These experiences are designed with input from highly experienced psychologists and educators; to achieve the learning which we aim to develop.
We believe an important part of this whole learning process is to provide support; whether through automated services and extra resources (eg. in the student room) or through generous access to
academic specialists who can guide and mentor the student as needed. Your fees are paying not only for a set of notes; but for a whole process of learning to be designed, maintained and supported by having resources standing ready to support you whenever we detect you straying off course; or whenever you approach us seeking assistance.

Q. Do you offer Degrees?
A. Courses are written to and delivered at a standard that is equal to or higher than degrees offered by some institutions; however, being largely applied or vocationally oriented studies, these cannot be called degrees. Our diploma graduates however have been highly competitive with degree graduates in the workplace. We often hear of graduates who have been given exemptions from subjects in degrees by universities (in many countries); but ultimately, the credit that is granted by any institution is on a case by case basis at the time it is granted; and nothing can be certain with us or any other institution, until that time comes.

ACS is however affiliated with some degree granting institutions including Warwickshire College; a large multi campus government institution in the UK.

Q. How important is a Degree?

If you want to be a lawyer or doctor it may be important; but many of the world's most successful people, never completed a university degree.

The learning is the really important thing; not the qualification -and you can learn in many different ways.

Not as important as most people think. Country Life Magazine in the UK (Aug 25, 2010, pg 31) commented: " We have too many under educated students at too many second rate universities." "For years now, we have subscribed to the myth that at least half the population needs a university education. Yet, in the real world, employers long ago discounted degrees from many institutions,,,,"