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I'm wanting to enrol in a business admin course online, through SEEK learning. The enrollment fee is over $2000.
Can you still get an exemption through centrelink to do tafe courses? If you can, how does this work?
If not my other option is to consider a Diploma of Practice Management ($7925), which has a lot of admin involved, & apply for VET FEE-HELP, which is set up like HECS. I'll pay it back once I earn over $51 000.
Any advice?
Centrelink won't pay the fees for your course. You might be able to get cheaper fees using pension or health care card (you'd have to doesn't to coordinator for course). You may be eligible for more heavily subsidised child care through centrelink
You used to be able to have enrolment fee's covered by an exemtion for approved courses. I guess they've stopped that?
There's no child care here, so can't apply for JET. I'm only intending to do online part time. No tafe etc near me either to do anything on campus, has to be at home.
I'm leaning more towards the diploma now anyway.
Go the FEE HELP option. It will only cover your fees, not any text books or equipment.
C'link haven't covered the cost of courses for at least the past 10 years. There are institutions that will reduce/waive upfront fees for holders of concession cards. it's not something that c'link cover though.
I'd probably personally go the FEE HELP option - there are a lot of courses out there that sound fantastic but cost an arm and a leg, and don't necessarily get you much recognition - some of the certificates, in terms of employability, aren't worth the paper they are written on. Long term, i would think the Diploma would be better in terms of recognition and employability
See, I last did a tafe course back when I was 16/17. I had no idea they didn't do that anymore. When I finally get the kids to bed I'll look into the diploma more.
You may find that tafe waive the fees if you have a concession card. But not all courses do that.
Ok. Well the person I spoke to about it from seek knew nothing, so I'm assuming that's because they don't.
Maybe if I did it through tafe they would? But I didn't see an option for online learning or being in WA through tafe. That's how I ended up getting in touch with seek.
Have you looked up OTEN? I've gone through them a few times, and they're pretty much entirely online, and you email your assignments in through their website, or you can post them in. It's a division of TAFE, so you would be able to get the concessions/exemptions if you get centrelink benefits.
The fee for the courses was $0 for the actual course if it's the first of the year ($50 for every course after that) and a $50 handling fee for materials as they often send out CDs with materials and also paperwork.
I found OTEN awesome! You don't have deadlines for assignments, and you can take everything at your own pace, you can finish a course in 3 weeks or 3 years if you really wanted! (You'd just have to keep paying the necessary fees if it's relevant obviously lol)
Eta - as for the actual exemption, you just tell them when you're extolling, and give them your centrelink details on the enrolment form, they check it all, and if it matches then hey presto it's done :)
I don't know about your exact course but I'm doing an online business course through TAFE in WA. I'm with Polytechnic West so maybe check them out as they may offer the course you are looking for. Also Seek learning are very expensive. My last qual I did was quoted as $4000 through them and $700 through TAFE:
I looked up OTEN last night for business admin and found it said the following under the fee details for the specific course. So that might take that out of the options for you?
I also found Government of WA, Department of Training and Workforce Development:
Due to a policy change on 1 July 2013 enrolling students must have a NSW residential address or be employed within NSW to be eligible to access government subsidised training places in TAFE NSW. For full details of this new policy click here.
which half way down lists a 'course search' which when you type in business admin brings up all your options through TAFE WA of those a couple seem to offer external study and possibilities of reduced fees. You have to do some clicking through to find the info you want though.
HTH and good luck!
Thanks BlackCat. That explains a bit more what I was reading yesterday. I didn't have enough time to sit & go further into it though.
Em_325, will look into that! Thank you :) Googling Tafe really only brings up TAFENSW, so I started to wonder if it was even available over here, or if it had another name. I knew it had to be out there somewhere.
I will get some house work done & try have another search in a little while, because I won't have the time again from 2pm today, til around 2pm tomorrow & the person from SEEK is calling back Thursday for my decision.
Everything in WA is just that little bit harder!!
Procrastination at it's best... Just emailed Polytechnic West for info. See how we go :)
I hope it all works out for you! If you need the names of the other WA TAFES they are all listed here http://http://www.eti.wa.edu.au/your-study-options/study-at-tafe/tafe-institutes
Thanks heaps :)
I jst looked into this because I am also wanting to start a business admin course. I found Ashley Institute, all fees covered, but you have to go to tafe 2 days a week. Also found another place and they will cover costs, but have to pay a $300 enrolment fee. I haven't looked into it further yet cos other things have happened in the meantime. What state are you in?
I'm in WA. I looked more this arvo at tafe WA & there are no institutions outside of Perth.
I'm 2 hours away from bigger places the paed etc visits, but even they don't have a campus! And I'm 4 hours south east of perth, so not an option.
But I can do the cert 4 on a concession. Just $100 deposit. Or I can choose a diploma on the vet fee help. I really just need to make the decision.
Feel free to tell me what you think is best?
It's up to you but if you haven't studied for a while I'd start with the cert IV and go from there. I could have gone straight to Diploma but I decided to start at cert IV level as it's been a while since I studied plus I now have a 5 month old. Also there are TAFES out of Perth. I'm not sure where you are exactly but Google Great Southern Institute of Technology ( it seems none of them are actually called TAFE anymore and are institutes. Good luck with whatever you decide :)
I am thinking the same. My kids will all be in school next year, but I can do a diploma after. Especially since doing this course is as much for my chances of getting a fulltime job coming up as it is for my future. If I'm planning to work & study I'd be better off with the cert 4.
If there is an institute closer, it'd still be too far away. Online is my only option. The closest town is 60kms away & I know there is nothing here.
Fwiw - I haven't stepped foot in a learning institution in well over 10 years. If you're dedicated to doing it then its not always necessary to be face to face.
Have a look at the subjects and talk to the course coordinator as you may be able to start the cert IV and transfer over to the diploma later and possibly have credits for the units already completed. I know I chopped my business admin (medical) in half as I'd already done a similar course.
Just a heads-up - the SEEK course is actually delivered by OTEN, just with a different interface and higher price tag. It's a gimmick for both tafe and seek. Shame about the OTEN policy change, they're awesome.
Yeah, I think I figured that out. I'm pretty disappointed that OTEN has changed, but you can still do online learning through Tafe, so better than nothing.
Open Colleges contacted me yesterday as well. At least after speaking to the advisors I feel more comfortable doing the certificate 4. I was going for the 3, but was told I'd be better off with the 4, if not even the diploma. Given that it has been so long, I was sure I wouldn't be up to that level. But it feels good to know I'm there :)
$100 deposit & unlimited time sounds like a plan. So hoping TAFE contact me today... probably right when I'm busy :lol: I think I'll start with the cert 4, & maybe see if I can move up to a diploma later on, depending on if I get the job. If not I can do that after as well. Starting with the cert 4 isn't going to hurt me in any way.
So, I had the advisor from seek call me back.
When I let him know my decision, that I'd decided to go ahead and do the cert 4 (through tafe, not seek) he asked if I'd done the 3 yet. I said no & he went on to say that I may not be able to do the cert 4 as I haven't done the basics of cert 3.
Way to make me feel stupid. When I first got in contact, it was the cert 3 I was signing up for. HE was the one who thought I'd be better off doing either the cert 4, or even trying the diploma. Sigh. I'm hoping it was just because I turned him down?
Sounds like it made you feel pretty crappy - would be totally fair for you to call him back and say, " I'm feeling a bit frustrated because I'm ready to take the step to study and felt that you were pushing me to do cert4, and now your telling me I can't? I'm confused and a bit irritated". Just to let him know where you stand with it all.
Don't listen to him he only said it after you said no to going through them. I would actually complain to seek learning about his conduct as he was trying to get you to enrol in a $7000 diploma course then turns around and says you wouldn't be able to do the cert iv. It's poor form and don't let him ruin your confidence.
Thanks. I just really wasn't sure what to think. I spoke to an advisor from open colleges as well, and she had no worries with me going ahead with the cert 4. But he did make me second guess myself.
Oh well. Paperwork coming out my ears right now. DD1's enrolment forms for high school and the boarding house :(, my enrolment forms for tafe & the cover letter for the job I'm applying for.
Done :D
Too bad if I'm not smart enough ;) I'm doing it :p
Good on you!! And good luck with it all too!! :)
Just waiting for the 'you're enrolled' email. Impatiently! :lol: