**HE FLAKED** Alison Diploma for My Disabled Friend?

Yikes!! I didn't think of that. Forget that idea. Thanks for reminding me.

 

Now that I think it through, you are absolutely right.

 

I just paid Allison $160 My friend now has finished the entire diploma program in Business and Entrepreneurship at Allison as well as the Accounting certificate and I just figured out how they make their money: The courses are free but you have to pay to get a diploma.

I would not pay for this for myself, but my friend is so excited and really feels he has done something. Therefore, I am OK with paying the money for him to have something to hang on his wall and be proud of.

It's an interesting little business they have set up there. The courses are "free" but, if you want something to prove that you have completed them, you have to pay. It's about $35 for a pretty good looking PDF that you can print yourself for the certificate in Accounting. The more intense diploma programs will not let you download a PDF, if you want proof, you have to buy a diploma from them. The USD prices were approximately $135 for an unframed parchment and about $160 for a framed one. That's steep, but how priceless is the smile on my friends face? If it helps him get out of his emotional swamp, it will be the bargain of the century.

EDIT: MC set me straight on one mistake above: You have to pay to get a diploma but they offer transcripts for free, so you actually can prove that you finished the course without paying anything.

 

Good man!!!!!!! Money well spent!

Abner :smile:

 

Kudos to SurfDoctor and friend

Surfdoctor, this whole thread has made me alternately frustrated and grinning. :biggrin: I think it's neat that you paid for the certificate and I hope that sparks something in him. Someone else upthread said that he should make music in hospitals and similar settings, and I think that that might fire some regions of his brain to get him out of his funk too. Best of luck to him.

 

I think you are correct on that, thanks MC. In his case, the paper will mean a lot to him because he has never finished anything before, but I don't think I would pay $160 for a diploma to hang on my wall unless it was from a full-blown program.

I would certainly put it on a resume though. I went part way through one of the classes just out of curiosity and found that it was fairly basic, but respectable and nothing to be ashamed of. Pretty good resume padding material, which is probably the motivation of the thousands of people they say have completed their courses.

 

LOL, thanks. Just between you and me, I'm thinking about doing the IT diploma program at Allison one of these days.

 

OK - Great!!! This is actually huge in his life....

Next step- does anyone know of scholarships or grants for disabled folks??

 

I would think he would be well served by filling out his FAFSA. He can likely find enough online gen ed courses at the local CC to enroll full time and perhaps even put a little cash in his pocket at the end of the semester (for legitimate associated expenses of course) these extra funds can be put to use taking clep/dsst.

No doubt there are a host of additional funding sources for the disabled.

 

I downloaded the PDF of my disabled friend's certificate that he earned on Alison, and printed it on some parchment that I had laying around. I also bought an inexpensive frame at the frame store, framed it and I'll give it to him when I see him on Sunday. It looks pretty good; I think he will be proud. I hope this gives him some motivation to get on his own feet. For his privacy, I Photoshopped his name out.

 

Yes, thanks. He has already filled out the FAFSA and I'm pretty sure he would qualify for a PELL Grant. The problem is getting him to commit and to stick to something. I pray that my actions will light a fire under him. He has always had someone taking care of him and his mother will not be able to do that forever.

 

Damn!!!!!!! That looks really nice!

Abner :smile:

 

I actually posted the pic because I thought you, and some of the others who were interested in Alison, would like to see it. Amazing what a good printer and a $14.99 frame from Aaron Brothers Art Mart can do!

Yea, it's different for the diploma programs. When you try to see or download the diploma you are directed to the page to pay for it. $135 unframed $160 framed. I have no idea what they will look like, but I plunked down the $$$ so my friend could have one. (He has no money at all) The diploma has to come from Ireland, so I have no idea how long it will take, but I'll post an image when it arrives.

 

ALISON update for me- I'm a little bummed. The first part had 4 modules, each module with 5-6 videos. I watched all the vids, but did fast forward from time to time. Completing this first part took me 7 hours (they record your time in class). So, with two more parts to go, I estimated another 14 hours. Well no! Today in the second part, the videos ended and now I'm watching a cheesy slide show. A module (typically an hour) just took me 1 minute. So, I'll likely finish my diploma in the next hour, but I'm bummed. The first part was actually very very good- the speaker was easy to listen to and a great teacher.
Now I'm curious about the format of the other courses. I just figured they were all video? I guess not!

 

I spoke too soon, the next few have voice over still narration, which is better than nothing. New teacher. Overall content is still very good, but I'm slowed back down again lol. How is Health Studies going?