which distance learner provider?

stratty62

Although this is a first post for me I have kept an eye on this website for a couple of years and have found some topics really useful. I have just finished intermediate level at college and hopefully got a pass on ECR. I would like to do technician but all this year I have been chasing my tail at work trying to catch up on the day that I have missed due to attending college. So I was thinking of doing the next level by distance learning - I know this may have been covered before but does anyone have any experience of doing this level and recommendations for a distance learning company? :thumbup:

jilbo

I am half way through technician having just sat the 2 tax exams and hoping to complete this level by the end of this year. I am a distance learner with Premier Training Immingham and my tutor is very supportive.

Premier use Osborne books which I prefer to BPP, although I can't compare them to any others. Premier were also a good choice for me as I could pay for my course over 4 months which helped my cash flow.

On the down side I can only get hold of my tutor during office hours by phone, so as I am in full time employment I am studying in the evenings or at weekends and have to wait until the next working day if I have a query with something. There are however a couple of other tutors who can be contacted by phone 2 evenings a week up until 8pm, suppose I'm being picky here by having a favourite! I can of course email but sometimes it takes a while to get a reply.

Their aim is to mark and return assignments within a week of receiving them, this generally happens now but I have been waiting up to 3 weeks during busy periods.

On the whole I am very happy with Premier but obviously have no other experiences to compare them with. Hopefully you will hear from students using other companies and will be able to make comparrisons. Why not ring a couple, ask them about tutor contact, marking deadlines and which text books they use, and then you'll get a general feel about the level of service you can expect to get from them.

Good luck with your studies.

jackie

Hi,

I am also with Premier and have found them excellent. I have just done my last two exams (tax) and if I have passed I have finished. I started in October 2006 with Foundation and I have found the tutors very supportive and accomodating. Assignments and my project have been returned very quickly enabling me to get through the course in 21 months.
I have nothing but praise for Premier but like Jilbo I have nothing to compare them with!

Good Luck with Technician:thumbup:

Jackie