[dirtgirl]

I would stay away from basic certificates as they are a rip off and don't get you anywhere career wise. Anything decent from a decent college will be covered by fee-help which was formerly known as HECS. The government has never given degrees away. It's always been a loan that you pay back once you hit a certain income through your tax, so i'm not sure what you are talking about willanddaisysmum .

To help clarify the HECS/FEE-HELP concerns...the government offers a deferred payment plan to Australian students, which PPs have noted is paid back via your taxes, once you reach a certain threshold. Some courses (generally Bachelor degrees) are partially subsidised by the Government, and are offered as reduced fees...these are called Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP), and were formerly referred to as HECS places. These reduced fees can be deferred while you are studying, and are paid back once you meet the income threshold. Full-fee paying courses are NOT subsidised by the Government, however the fees can also be deferred through the FEE-HELP loan scheme, which means you don't have to pay upfront. Generally these courses will accumulate much higher fees, but just as the CSP places, you don't start paying back your loan until you meet the income threshold. Based on what I have read on the AIAS website, they don't offer CSP places, so you are enrolled as a full-fee paying student, with access to the FEE-HELP loan scheme.

[mave]

Sorry, I think I may have got people confused by calling it HECS. I did mean Fee-Help.

With selected alternative therapy courses, in particular those in the area of Naturopathy, around 2-3 years ago the government changed things so that some now offer Fee-Help.
These are mostly Advanced Diplomas (and possibly some Diplomas???)
Prior to this it was mainly Bachelor Degrees that offered Fee-Help places.

Also, in regards to professional accreditation, some associations don't offer membership if your course is mainly studied by distance. With the AD Naturopathy at AIAS you can get membership with ANPA and ATMS as there is a large component of clinical placement (300 hours in total) involved in the course.

[cloudgirl]

i'm currently doing an adv. dip nutritional medicine through ACNT - ideally i would go straight into a B Health Science with Endeavour but they arent available online... i have 1yr old and 3 yr old and so need something totally distance. after i finish this i will go on to do the Natropathy degree
my Adv. Dip is fully accreditted.