What about other organizations' courses?

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Enrolling on this course is a big commitment for you.

Before making a decision, we recommend that you consider other organizations' courses. The most widely available are those from Rhodec, Regent Academy, 'National Design Academy', Sheffield and KLC. Please contact us if you need their telephone numbers or email address. Here are some points to ponder:

  1. How interesting is the course? A good course will be fun to do, and it will give you lots of self-assessment exercises, as well as tutor-marked assignments. Sadly, some courses are just like a dull textbook, with a teacher talking at you for 20 pages at a stretch.

  2. Is the course well structured? The course work should be graduated, so that you learn as you go. But if, as happens with some colleges, you get a hard assignment early in the course, many people simply abandon the course. That could save the college money (see the next point).

  3. Do I get all my course materials at once? Some courses only send you one module at a time. That means you may never get all your course material (despite paying hundreds of pounds for your course). Also, if you got a job that involved, say, an attic room which wasn't in your current pack contents, you'd be stuck.

  4. How does the price compare with the contents (value for money)? A cheap course may have to cut corners, whether on materials or tutoring. Going for the cheapest can be a false economy.

  5. Can I get a refund if it doesn't suit me? We offer a no-quibble refund, because until you've seen the material you can't be sure whether you'll like it. But some organizations don't give refunds; so if the course isn't right for you, you're stuck with it.

  6. Does the course include a complete kit? Some courses (including ours) give you a proper starter kit, including a DVD. Other provide only a set of manuals, which are less interesting

  7. How up to date is the course? Because interior design is fashion-led, a course can quickly look dated (and many do!). Ours is a brand new course. For example, we show you how to 'Feng shui' a house, in case a client asks for that.

  8. Is it accredited? A good course will be accredited by a certification body such as ODLQC (as ours is). And US students don't need NCIDQ or ASID accreditation to practice as an interior designer.