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Review summary
Open Colleges has mixed reviews from customers. Customers particularly appreciate service and professional, though some mention concerns about communication and customer service.
I completed my Certificate in Nail Technology and had a mixed experience.
The staff are AMAZING and always offer great support. Ellena, the course instructor offers excellent insight and advice around the realities of being a working Nail Technician.
My issues are with the platform itself and the out of date education being provided (which is NOT the fault of Open Colleges) and the lack of emphasis of WHERE nail products are manufactured for higher safety.
For example:
1. Having to upload a 8-10 minute recording, in mp4 format, that is under 470mb is ridiculous. (It says 500mb
but anything over 470-480 won’t work)
2. The overwhelming typos and confusing sentence structure is absolutely unprofessional to say the least
3. The constant going on about nail polish when MOST NAIL TECHS DO NOT USE this is out of date (again not the fault of OC)
4. The lack of actual education around Nail Art is disappointing given the reality of today’s working Nail Tech and what we are expected to be able to do/create
Overall, the staff are fantastic but the platform itself? Definitely needs to be improved.
the reading materials were often set for the American context rather than Australian and often full of typos. Navigating around the modules when doing assignments was clunky. Assessment tasks included menial activities that were time consuming but not a reasonable test of skill or knowledge (eg 'write an email to explain your findings'). Requirement for role plays wih multiple actors was a burden on family.
One of the great services of Open Colleges was having quick access to a teacher and get feedback within an hour. The times when the teacher was away they would contact me via email or phone when back at work. This service made learning blockages minimal and thus made studying easy and enjoyable.
The mini video lectures, quizes and written material was straightforward to understand and the assignments were all applicable to practical accounting work.
A few months after finishing my Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping I obtained a full-time accounting job. A big reason for this was the quality of the course from Open Colleges was of a high standard and the assistance from teachers was excellent. Highly recommend Open Colleges
Certificate III in Nail Technology course experience
I almost done my Certificate III in Nail Technology course. Happy with open college and appreciated the course and im really happy and thankful my trainer -Ellena. She is very patience and guidance and helpful and response my every emails very quick. I truly appreciate everything she have done to help me get thru my cause.
I loved doing my course through Open Colleges, it was easy and concise and the assessors would get back to me pretty quick. And the team were super understanding at my seemingly endless extensions! Very grateful for a great platform. Great to be able to move at my own pace.
Dear Open Colleges I learnt so much during my online study experience and appreciated all the support I received. As a mature aged tertiary educated student heading back into the workforce I found the Online platform was challenging at times to follow /uploading scanned signatory pages for work placement etc however Student Support was very patient and helpful! I have gained many IT skills. Huge amount of content and work required each module and repetitive at times and sometimes the feed-back from assessors was pedantic. However all the content was very relevant and informative. Luckily I was not in a great hurry to finish the course so length of time for marking was not an issue for me. Assessors Please send all relevant checklists to supervisors/students at the start of placements to make clear your requirements at workplaces regarding manual handling accreditation/ supervision / co- signatures and input into portfolios. As students we are often working with a different person every shift and managing a huge workload at home. So need all the guidance we can get to avoid things getting missed or confused. Both my supervisors at two different workplaces were wonderful but can imagine others not being quite so patient. Given the year of Covid understandable difficulties for assessors/students/supervisors and workplaces.
The in-depth and amount of work required from this particular course must be designed to increase the quality of the Care Support Workers that it graduates as was very challenging and a lot of information/work involved. Well done for the aged-care industry but I would imagine many people would not have the IT/writing/practical skills required to complete this course properly. Would be interested if there were past courses that were simpler? Thankyou to everyone who supported me on my study journey I have secured employment which was my main goal!
Hands down the worst company.
- No Support from MOST of the teachers
- None or very delayed reply to emails
- Had to remind them to process my Diploma after I waited one month already
- One teacher ignored me and continued to keep failing my work without adding another explanation
- I went through the complainant method and no action was implemented
- They do not care if you are not actively studying
- Assignments can be marked up to 6 weeks later
- They make everything seem like it is your fault.
If you would like to have a stress free study path. I would highly recommend not to choose Open Colleges.
It was good in the sense of how fast the assessors replied to messages but sometimes when asking for help, you are told to watch webinars and ready the assessment book - even after you’ve told them you have done both.
Getting information is a constant struggle. Student support gives conflicting information. Allowing at least 3 business days for assessors to reply to an email then finding they don't always actually answer your questions or provide the support that your needing. Trying to speak with an assessor is like pulling teeth as student support don't seem to like to give out the link to book in a phone call. Time frames for having assessments marked is a complete joke most of the time. The work placement process is a major nightmare with very little if any support, you have to be prepared to fight for any support that you may need which makes the whole thing a completely stressful and overwhelming experience.
UNCONSCIONABLE CONDUCT - OC DELIVERS MISERY, NOT POSITIVE EXPERIENCES!
After enrolling in an online course in mid-2020, due to chronic illness I was unable to continue, and advised OC IN WRITING on 17/11/20. No response. I sent my letter by FAX, and then followed up with at least FOUR emails. Still no response or acknowledgement of my cancellation. I knew I would be subject to a cancellation fee. As I had a direct debit arrangement in place, I suspected they would continue to take payments ONLY UNTIL the cancellation fee was covered. SURPRISE, SURPRISE!! They took a further TWO instalments beyond what they were entitled to!
In desperation, I called them instead. A very apologetic ASHLEY tells me that she was 'about to call me' (Pffft! - That old chestnut!). I am told I need to complete a formal Application for Cancellation (don't know why, when they already have it in WRITING from me!!) Although furious, I complete the form and return it within hours of receiving it.
A further THREE emails later, I finally receive notification that my cancellation has been accepted (on 23/01/21, however no mention of when I would receive a refund of the fees STOLEN from my account!
Over a WEEK later I receive another email from the 'Cancellation Team' (what a joke) asking for my bank details so that they can refund my 'overpayment'. That was almost two weeks ago. And I'm still waiting!!
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS - BUYER BEWARE!!
As any student knows, when enrolling, you have to part with your deposit INSTANTLY from you bank account, otherwise 'no enrolment'. BUT, come time to request a refund, suddenly there is LITTLE OR NO COMMUNICATION from OC, and refunds can literally take MONTHS to process (assuming you get one at all!).
This company/business has no MORAL COMPASS - they LACK basic courtesy and CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS. Once you hand over your money, that's the last you'll see of it. They're NOT INTERESTED in refunding your fees.
Indeed, one has to wonder whether a qualification from OC is even legitimate, or recognised!!!
Take my advice - learn from my mistake - DO NOT TRUST OPEN COLLEGES! There are a myriad of other respectable tertiary providers that DESERVE your support.
And if, like me, you have suffered a loss, do what I'm about to do. Lodge a formal complaint with the ACCC, in the hope this morally bankrupt, clearly fraudulent business is investigated and, ultimately, shut down before too many more innocent and trusting consumers are ripped off!
I, for one, am not done yet.
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