Open Colleges

I was very supported throughout my studies by Sharon, I was always responded to promptly and clearly. Sharon helped guide me through the course and allowed me to complete it in a way that suited my work and lifestyle, I was able to find balance in studies, work and life because of this. I found the course content helpful and easy to navigate… Read more

though I did have some issues in communication with the support team in terms of response time.

SkilTrak was not as resourceful as I would have hoped and were also not great in terms of response time.

Overall I found my experience and studies to be positive and felt well supported thought the course by Sharon.

Sean was extremely helpful on the phone when I was enquiring and signing up. I'm a few weeks in now and everything has been running smoothly so far. I've had one units assessment marked and it only took 2 days despite a message saying there was a bit of a backlog. I've had to live chat twice to figure out a couple of little things and someone has responded within a minute both times.

Open colleges has been an excellent platform to undertake my cert 2 in animal care. The course content was very detailed making me able to learn in depth course work. The teaching was very encouraging, always willing to help and give feedback when needed. The course wasnt to difficult, with determination i was able to handle the grasp of the coursework.

TITLE: Compliance/QA Team – Pending resolution after A year still..!!! I had an unacceptable experience with Open Colleges and strongly caution prospective students before enrolling. Upon enrolling in the SHB40121 - E1405 Certificate IV in… Read more

Beauty Therapy, a key requirement — holding or obtaining an ABN to access trade pricing for tools — was not disclosed upfront. This added a significant financial and practical burden, and I would not have enrolled had it been communicated. I discovered this within the first few pages of the reading material (after paying half the fees) and contacted support but received no assistance. I was later emailed asking why I hadn’t progressed, despite having requested cancellation — highlighting serious communication issues within themselves. I was experiencing financial hardship and recovering from a serious hospitalisation, making the unexpected costs unmanageable. Confusion over “C.O.E.” (which I understood as Close of Enrolment, but actually meant Confirmation of Enrolment) further complicated matters. Despite the fact that I had already received a Confirmation of Enrolment when I enrolled, why then would I be requesting another one especially after I’ve requested to cancellation/closure of course. This issue has now been ongoing for nearly a year. Despite providing medical documentation and proof of financial hardship, my request for a refund was declined, and I had Collection Department pursuing full payment after I returned from visiting my sick parents interstate for Xmas/New Year. Overall, this has been an extremely stressful experience greatly uncalled for. Greater transparency, clearer communication, and more consideration for students facing genuine hardship are urgently needed. Prospective students should be aware of these issues before enrolling.

**Sidenote**: I recently started seeing a psychologist because of stress ie unable to make rent payments, stacked of unpaid utility bills etc.

I have just completed the Cert IV in Mental Health. I found my trainer Nicola to be very supportive, easy to understand and easy to engage with. Doing this course through Open Colleges suited me best due to working full time and finding it hard to… Read more

get time off to attend classes. Having the options to join in on the drop in sessions was really good. Can highly recommend completing any course through Open Colleges.

I spoke to Phylis a few weeks ago and she was incredibly helpful. I then spent time reviewing my options and made a call which was answered by Ada, who within moments recalled the information from my initial phone call. Ada was so helpful and made the process very simple and informative.

I have just completed a diploma in Graphic Design with Open Colleges, the trainer and assessor have been extremely helpful in answering all my questions, the response times or replies have been very quick, the online course is structured in a way that makes it very easy to navigate and complete each subject in a methodical way, I would highly recommend this online school to anyone that likes to study at home.

Sean wasn't pushy as I've experienced with other agents from other learning institutions. He appeared to be honest about what the courses could off and assisted me into selecting the correct one.

Don't sign up with Open Colleges. Zero star rating. I have just compared another Cert 3 in Individual Support and the difference is night and day. Open Colleges provide no virtual online classes with teacher and students, no video overview of the course, role plays are expected to be done with family or friends, no student interaction with… Read more

other students. Support is only in the form of a 'trainer' who marks your work and gives individual guidance. This is completely different to another course I am looking at who provides more support via their intro video then what I have had in 3 months with Open Colleges. Open Colleges appears to have paid google to be first to be seen. The word 'TAFE' in google comes up with Open Colleges rather than the local TAFE course I wanted to complete. $3k down the drain. Hope this helps someone else.

Very disappointed that I chose to sign up to this course, after a very friendly, easy buy-in process. The actual undertaking of the course was extremely tedious, and much of it I should have been able to get RPL for, but was discouraged to do so, told it was unlikely I would be approved for it as their approvals for RPL are rarely granted. Each… Read more

time I tried to ask for help, was told "just finish the module". So without the support promised, and investing $3675 I couldn't finish within the timeframe given. I didn't want to give this company any more money or time as the whole experience was stressful. I have since found out through getting myself a job in Lifestyle at an Aged Care Facility, that there are TAFE courses that offer this course for FREE. As I still need to get my qualification I have just enrolled, but wonder has anybody been successful in getting their money back from this poorly run organisation? Absolutely do not recommend Open Colleges.

I had a terrible experience with Open Colleges. I enrolled in the Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping believing it was comparable to a TAFE course, which later turned out to be untrue. TAFE confirmed they have no affiliation with Open Colleges, making the marketing feel misleading and deceptive. The course content is extremely poor.… Read more

Materials are repetitive, boring, and full of spelling and grammatical errors. Many units have little relevance to accounting and felt no more advanced than basic business administration work I completed in high school. Instructions are often unclear or illogical, making assessments unnecessarily difficult.

Support is minimal. Trainers take a long time to respond and often seem confused about the work they are marking. When legitimate issues or errors in the coursework are raised, they are dismissed rather than addressed.

After paying around $6,000, I received little to no value. When I requested a refund, Open Colleges relied only on their internal records to reject my complaint instead of addressing the quality or suitability of the course.

I strongly regret enrolling and would never recommend Open Colleges to anyone looking for quality education or honest representation.

I absolutely loved everything about the course. Sharon was very helpful and very kind. You could definitely go to her about anything and everything. The only concern was that the videos required a supervisor, and it wasn’t just one or two videos, there were quite a lot. Maybe if there were fewer, it would have been even better. While you are at work placement, you are expected to prioritise that first, and then your studies.

I was Enquiring about a course i was interested in and Ke was super patient, understanding and helpful when it came to any questions and issues i had. Definitely recommend Open Colleges as a great resource if you’re looking to widen your education.

The service is excellent. They are very easy to talk to and demonstrate a deep understanding of customer concerns. Every issue was handled professionally and with great care.

I was extremely happy with my trainers efforts to help me throughout my course. I had a number of tech issues during both of my work placement segments that held up my progress at times but my trainer and the open colleges team assisted me as much as they could to resolve them and find ways to keep me moving. The course itself was easy enough to navigate.

Anjum was most helpful, talking me through all the details of the course, and my options and has really made me excited to study agian and get into this field. I really appreciated her help!

Ada helped my daughter who is 17 make the correct choice and explained all the options. Ada support and guidance was 10/10. Ada made it such an easy process to sign up and made sure my daughter has all the support needed to get her course completed.

Sharon Cliffe is a great teacher for this course she is very knowledgeable on what is needed to be done and is always there for help. With her teams meeting with students and so on

I decided to enrol with Open Colleges over another provider because of the course flexibility and guaranteed placement benefits. Also the enrolment consultant I spoke with (Daniel Acland) made the whole process super easy to understand and follow. Daniel wasn’t pushy at all and took the time to make sure I had everything set up and ready to start my studies. Would definitely recommend OC! Thanks Daniel :)

Throughout this course I had many personal set backs, however Sharon was very helpful, understanding and patient. The only difficulty/ feedback with this company was very minor, I had inquired a few 'call back' option as I was on hold with student support and did not receive these phone calls. However, many of my calls were returned and I… Read more

understand the high volume of students, it did not effect my studies. I am satisfied and happy with my studies at open colleges with Sharon.

Sharon as a trainer was great, very supportive and kept all communication positive. This was evident in her check in when you fell slightly behind and regular study sessions. The course work itself could do some work. There are spelling mistakes, unavailable videos (no longer on youtube) and bits of info that isn't complete and i sent emails to… Read more

get these rectified. This was only possible due to already working in the industry. i think the organisation of documents could also be better. Folders for each task with ALL the documents in there for each task.

Sean was very helpful and lovely! he helped me make my decision alot smoother and was very understanding of my own personal situations which made me go ahead with the course. 5 stars! Andrea

I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the guidance and support I received from Sharon Cliffe during my Certificate II in Animal Care. From day one, she created an environment that was not only educational but also encouraging, making every lesson engaging and accessible. Her knowledge and passion for animal care are truly inspiring, and it… Read more

shows in the way she explains concepts with patience and clarity. What stood out most was her genuine care for every student’s journey. She always took the time to provide constructive feedback, celebrate achievements, and offer encouragement when challenges arose. I always felt heard, supported, and motivated to do my best. Beyond teaching, Sharon models professionalism, compassion, and dedication. These are qualities I hope to carry forward in my own career in animal care. She didn’t just teach me skills, She gave me confidence, curiosity, and a deeper respect for animals and the work we do to care for them. I am incredibly grateful for the experience and mentorship provided, and I truly feel that I have grown not only as a student but also as a future professional because of her guidance. Sharon is an exceptional trainer, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from them. Thank you! Georgie

I enjoyed completing this course and would recommend to anyone considering it. I loved the self-paced nature of the course and the virtual sessions were very helpful in gaining feedback and connecting with the teacher and other students.