Diploma ch serv goodstart or Inspire Education?? Anyones experiences with either please share!!

[Megan66]

Ok so I want to study my Diploma, just un-enrolled from TAFE after a massive list of issues etc. So Im looking for an online provider. Was allset to go with Inspire Education, but when filling out the enrolment, realised the pre requisite units (from the Cert III), while the same as myn (some with very slightly different wording) they have different codes, and one unit on nutrition I didn't have at all. This is because I did the course 6 years ago and it has canged twice since then, but still same units, different codes though. They wanted me to enrol in the entire Cert III again and RPL all the units but the one I didn't have (a unit about nutrition) which means I would have to pay for the entire Cert III course to do one unit!! I thought this was unfair and a bit ridiculous and decided to look elsewhere.

Have looked through Goodstart, they will allow me to do just the one cert III unit (which Id pay for) and then RPL the rest of the cert III units, free of charge, but then I have to study my Dip through them. All up, either option I take, fees will be almost the same, as the goodstart dip is a fair bit more expensive than the Inspire Dip. Although if Im granted RPL for probably half the units through goodstart they will take off the cost of those units, so could be substantially less if they accept my RPL.

I just liked the sound of Inspire better, as they have trainers you can call, a facebook page for students in your course, online webinars, that are recorded if you miss seing and interacting with them live. They also have a 360 hr work placement, as Im employed that's no hassle to me. And is to be completed in 2 years. Where as goodstart doesn't give you much info, all I can see they do is send out books you fill in and send back. And has to be completed in 1 year

Wondering if anyone studied through goodstart, and was not there employee, and what they thought of their delivery and support for students?
Also any stories of studying through Inspire would be helpful too!!

What a mess! Just wana enoll and study!

[law92]

Hi

I was going through TAFE as well for my diploma but they were hopeless! I've since decided to do my bachelor instead.
I did my cert 3 through the kath Dickson institute and did it online they weren't too bad.

If you go through CQ university and do their bachelor of education (early childhood) you get a diploma at the end of your first year of study as they incorporate elements of the diploma into that first year. Also, if you do this course, you won't have to worry about what units you need from your cert 3 as it just goes on a ranking system, which means that the cert 3 you already have will be enough to gain entry into the degree it won't matter about your units.

In my experience, private training institutions like goodstart, inspire, kath Dickson, etc are a hassle to go through and the standards for the quals through all these organisations differs so much. I had to do a lot of work fort cert 3 through kath Dickson then I've heard of other people going through TAFE and getting their cert 3 done in like 3 months. With unis, it's a lot more standardised in the way of assessments and honestly it's not much harder to do uni than it is for the diploma.

Also, do you really want to be stuck at working for goodstart forever? You might want to move on in the future to another private centre or a school.

Good luck with finding the right training organisation for you!

[Megan66]

hi law92,
thanks for your reply.
Im not particularly interested in doing my BA. Just want my dip. I want to do it through a private place, as the TAFEs are very expensive as I am not eligible for a subsidised place as I already hold a Diploma in Welfare work. The private online places offer it for $2-3grand, they can cut costs as they don't have to pay tutors, rent for classrooms, insurance for students etc. The delivery may not be as good, but I have worked in the industry so long I feel I know a good deal of the content already.
I also don't work at goodstart, you can train through them independently, which is what Im considering doing.
I work at a fantastic community centre, and have a dream to open my own centre in the future.
Good luck with your studies
Megan x

[Lorina]

Hi Megan,

Im not particularly interested in doing my BA.

A little off topic from what your question.... Just wanted to let you know, you're one of the first ones to say that you're not interested in studying a degree only wanting a Diploma With all the new ratios put into place and new requirements for ECT's within childcare settings, it seems like everyone is running off to complete a degree. Yeah, it's great in a way to boost childcare centres with more qualified teachers but I think experience holds the true value of teaching children within early childhood learning. All of us who hold a diploma or have had years of experience in this industry will be pushed aside (I believe) since we will probably be overlooked and overshadowed by someone with a degree. They will end up getting better pay, better position, more respect and some of them have never worked in childcare before... Its just frustrating sometimes for those us, not doing a degree for the time being... No matter what our experiences are or how long we've been in the industry we are going to lose out in the end...

Just wanted to share my thoughts...

,
L.A