Why Alternative Education Can Be Better than Traditional Colleges


1. Mainstream education is frequently out of step with today’s fast moving world. 
Courses in most government recognised institutions are weighed down by bureaucratic systems, audits and processes that cause courses to often be out of date. If a course is planned for 5 yrs before you do it, how can it provide you with what you need today?

2. Learning takes Time. Our courses recognise that learning cannot be fast tracked, but many colleges mislead students suggesting it can. That may help the colleges finances but if you think about it, this is not realistic.

What you can do is affected by what you learn. It takes 21 days of doing the same thing daily to form a habit. Consider the difference:

  • In one course where you  study something for an hour, repeat it in an assessment test on the same day and declared competent an hour later
  • In another course, you learn the same thing one week, then learn about it from a different perspective the next week and review what you learnt again the following week. This process then proceeds for 21 weeks and you are then tested and declared competent.
3. Diversity is a Big Advantage 
  • Businesses that can offer something different are more successful
  • Employees who have a different skills set are more useful to employers

4. Different people learn in different ways.
This is a well established psychological fact. A course that is teaching in a way that suits one person will never be ideal for everyone. There is a need for diversity in courses being offered, what is being taught and how it is being taught. National or standardised courses do not work, and despite support from politicians and bureaucrats, any honest and well informed educator knows that they don't work.

5. Employers and clients in today’s world are more concerned with what you can do rather than your qualifications.

  • Consider the fact that most people who obtain university degrees end up working in industries outside of the discipline they studied.
  • If an employer gets 50 applicants with the same qualification and one with something different and intends to interview 5, most would choose the 'different' person as one of the 5, irrespective of whether the course is formally accredited or not
  • Some of the most successful people in the world are university drop outs (e.g. Bill Gates)
  • While some jobs may require certain qualifications for 'registration' to practice (e.g. Medical Degree) most do not  (i.e. more people work in the medical industry without medical degrees than with medical degrees (but obviously in different roles)
  • The licensing requirements for many jobs should be treated as a separate issue to building knowledge and ability to work in that industry (most of the time, people who have the knowledge can sit an exam, RPL,  or do a relatively short course to get licensed. It is a bit like learning to drive a car. Getting a license means you meet 'minimum' requirements.  If you want to be a really good driver though you need both training and lots of experience. 

6. Credibility among employers is more important than endorsement by politicians.
We have found government accreditation while sometimes an advantage in a qualification, can just as often be a disadvantage. Once you have been offered an interview your qualifications become secondary in importance, the way you perform at an interview is how you win a job offer. Once you have job your performance will aso win promotions - irrelevant of your qualifications.


CHOOSE A COLLEGE

Every college offers something different.
  • They all have different tutors with varying qualifications and experiences.
  • Some have higher course fees, but that could be because they offer more extensive support. Others may charge less but provide less services. Some may offer different payment plans to others.
  • The style of teaching and learning, as well as the emphasis upon assessment and the way work is assessed can vary from one college to the next.

 

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