New Age education... just for the heck of it?

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and very glad I found you all. I've been reading some of the past posts and got some fabulous resources in the process.

My main question revolves around facilities that provide education in non-recognized or "new age" fields.


What I'd really like to know is does it make sense to pay a substantial bit of money to learn for the sake of it, even if the facility isn't accredited? Is there a way to check the validity of the information you're learning in this specific area? Some of these schools are not "accredited", but does that really matter?

I am not attempting to get a "degree" in any particular field per se, I'm really more looking for an organized way of learning; more than I could do on my own by getting some books at the library. I do plan on using the education in business, but I don't expect to be doing more than creating and selling home-made products like soaps and perfumes. (Ie, my interest in herbs & aromatherapy)


The schools I am looking at are:

The West Coast Institute of Amomatherapy West Coast Insitute

The Australasian College of Health Sciences
ACHS
(ACHS states on their website that they are accredited by the DETC which I am trying to verify at this very moment.. and if they are, what does it mean anyway?)

So, to all the experts out there who have seen it all, I'd love some input on these "new age" educators; what you think they're all about and what, if any, value can be obtained from a facility that doesn't have some form of regulatory board backing them up. And, as I stated above, what does accreditation do for this type of school?



Anyway, thanks to all of you out there who have 2 cents worth to share on this subject!

Mellie.

 

Hi Mellie - While there may be schools that teach something fitting the description of "alternative medicine" in a responsible way, I do not know of any that offer DL programs. Go to the University of Bridgeport website and see what you think. It's not DL but it may be the closest you can come to your description while remaining "alternative." Maybe Naropa? Maybe CIIS? Maybe Saybrook? Maybe...maybe...(it hurts a bit to say it) JFK University. I don't think that any of these schools offers a degree totally by distance learning. Once you stray beyond these schools (maybe I've missed one or two) you will find yourself squarely in the realm of bullshit education. In my opinion you'd be better off buying some good books and settling down for a long Winter.
Jack

 

Re: Re: New Age education... just for the heck of it?

Thanks Jack, that is *exactly* the advice my husband gave me. For around $700 I can buy about 15 books specific to what I want to learn, as opposed to the $5K the actual "institution" would charge me to take their "certificate" program.



Thanks again for the reply.