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Welcome

Dr. Bryan WestFortress Learning

A b o u t t h e A u t h o r

Thank you for contacting Fortress Learning.

Congratulations on your decision to investigate educational

possibilities for your TAE40110 Certificate IV Training and

Assessment. We hope that this document will serve as a

useful guide as you choose an education provider.

In this paper you will find two sections. Section

One describes the educational standards important for

discriminating good programs from great ones. Section

Two describes what makes the Fortress Learning program

capable of maximizing the educational experience for each

individual enrolled.

There are almost 3000 organisations across Australia

who can deliver this particular qualification. It goes without

saying that no single organisation can meet the needs of

every student and we certainly do not claim to be the best

option for everyone.

You have a decision to make and knowing how to make

that decision is the first step. We believe that decisions

should be informed, which is why we are happy to share now

our thoughts on what you ought to look for to be sure that you

are making the best decision for you.

We are continually striving to improve through feedback

from past, current, and prospective students. We also

value your input. Please let us know whether this document

provides you with the information you need to take that next

step and choose an educational provider.

I wish you well.

Standards in Certificate IV Training and Assessment Education

Part

1

The standards for online learning have changed dramatically over the past decade. Skepticism in the effectiveness of online learning has decreased due to many factors. The first is the acceptance of online learning as a viable platform for the educational experience.

Consider these facts:• Today, more than 75% of

colleges and universities in the US offer online courses, including prestigious American universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and more. Online doctoral programs are even being offered now by many leading universities.

• Research by Ambient Insight Research suggests that in 2009, 44% of all secondary students in America were completing part or all of their courses online, and that this figure is forecast to reach 81% by 2014.

• Another study in The Sloan Report, based on a poll of academic leaders, indicated that students are generally at least as satisfied with their on-line classes as they are with traditional ones.

As you can see, online courses (also known as e-learning) are rapidly becoming the predominant form of post-secondary education, at least in the USA. Furthermore, students are finding e-learning just as satisfying as their face-to-face instructor-led classes.

Online learning offers some advantages over traditional classroom learning. For example, in many programs, online learners are able to move at their own pace. Unlike many standard onsite learning facilities, online courses may be taken during the evenings and on weekends. Some online courses are completely self-driven, allowing an individualized flexibility for the when and where of course completion. As online learners, students can adjust their schedules to work around their own commitments, families, and employment opportunities.

Additionally, as communicative technologies advance, the online experience is becoming more networked, allowing for opportunities to connect in

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Standards in Certificate IV Training and Assessment Education

a significant way with other learners, instructors, and resources worldwide. Whereas the traditional classroom interaction is bounded by the walls of the room and those inside, the online classroom is bounded only by the limits the learner perceives. In an online environment, the time, commitment, resources and experience are determined by the student.

Another reduction in e-learning skepticism has occurred because online education standards have become significantly more researched, developed, and regulated over the past two decades. Online learning styles have been examined in order to determine what techniques are successful for online students. The creation of e-learning programs is as rigorous as classroom program creation. As a prospective e-learning student, there are two factors that can help with the evaluation of the credibility of online learning programs: risk ratings and instructor training.

Risk Ratings

The first factor for the critical examination of Certificate IV Training and Assessment programs is that all Registered Training Organizations (RTOs), online and brick and mortar, face evaluation by the Australian Quality Training Framework. As part of the Australian Quality Training Framework, RTOs are assigned a risk rating.

A risk rating is determined by evaluating an RTO against three performance risk indicators:

1) their history of audit compliance2) other quality indicators data3) their history of complaints.

Based on these indicators, the governing authority will assign an RTO a risk rating as either low risk, medium risk, or high risk.

“Low risk” organizations are those proven to be delivering high-quality training programs. As a result, they receive less monitoring by the registering bodies.

Conversely, “high risk” organizations are those which may not be achieving the best quality outcomes for their clients, and consequently receive regular monitoring and attention from the registered bodies with the aim of improving their performance.

An organization’s risk rating is crucial and a tell-tale sign that you are getting the highest quality training. Trust your qualifications only with organizations that the Department of Education and Training trusts to provide a quality educational experience.

Instructor Training

The second factor for the critical examination of Certificate IV in Training and Assessment programs is the evaluation of instructor training. The desire to be an educator can be internally or externally driven. Unfortunately, as is often the case in advanced economies, there are an excessive number of business-minded people who have chosen to become educators in order to capitalize on a growth industry. These

Standards in Certificate IV Training and Assessment Education

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opportunists are externally driven to educate based on economic opportunity. The quality of the education received from these facilities is information based, not learning based.

To receive a learning-based education, the educators must be internally driven. Consistent quality instruction is based on a knowledge of learning prinicples and types of learning styles. An educator does not simply provide a packet of information needed for an evaluation. Rather, educators examine the learning process and create programming based on the mental processes that enhance learning. Educators strive to maximize the educational experience so information can be used in a meaningful way.

Part

2

The Fortress Learning Commitment to Excellence

The Fortress Learning Commitment to Excellence

The underlying foundation of Fortress Learning is an educational model, not a business model. The focus of Fortress Learning is to enhance the learning experience of students throughout Australia. Before elaborating on the unique characteristics of Fortress Learning that form the foundation of our commitment to excellence, Part 2 first provides information specifically on Fortress Learning relative to the evaluative factors previously described.

Fortress Learning Risk Rating and Instructor Training

It goes without saying that due to the high quality of the Fortress Learning training program, the Department of Education, Training & the Arts (DETA) has assessed Fortress Learning at the lowest risk rating possible. Because of our successful rating, other Registered Training Organizations often utilize our consultation services in order to reduce their own risk ratings. Business-focused people

may question why Fortress Learning would offer services that help the competition. Fortress Learning is committed to improving the student experience in Certificate IV Training and Assessment throughout Australia, whether it is through our program or our guidance for other programs. Some of the Fortress Learning influences are exemplified in recent projects where we have:

• Helped a personal fitness studio to become a Regis-tered Training Organization delivering Certificates III and IV qualifications in Per-sonal Training,

• Developed a suite of online resources to enable dis-engaged young people in Cape York communities to gain the Certificate I in Work Readiness,

• Constructed an online in-duction program for a Queensland organisation who has a large and dis-persed workforce,

• Designed websites and oth-er corporate identification material, content manage-ment systems and learn-ing management systems

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The Fortress Learning Commitment to Excellence

for several RTOs and other education and training in-stitutions, and

• Undertaken a research project to determine the return on training investment for one of the national Industry Skills Councils.

Fortress Learning has a combined 40 years of education and training experience and leadership through Dr. Bryan West and Mr. Chris Gribble. Dr. West’s Ph.D. with a focus on the use of technology in education combined with Mr. Gribble’s Master’s Degree in Education focused on Online Learning assures students that they will learn from educators, not business industrialists. This is important because throughout Australia, there are numerous “qualified” trainers and assessors who have graduated with their Certificate IV qualification from other organizations, yet still do not understand how to deliver workplace training within the regulated Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF). Fortress learners graduate with a knowledge-base and skill-

set integrating the AQTF at a fundamental level to ensure they are well prepared to meet marketplace regulations and demands. In fact, there are some interesting observations that we would like to share with you.

• Because of the quality of our training program, 15% of our students are TAFE teachers who actually chose to obtain their qualification through us rather than their own employer.

• Another 10% of our students have actually commenced their training elsewhere, but transferred over to us after hearing about our program because they wanted to learn more.

Fortress Learning considers the low risk rating and the credibility of educational backgrounds to be the minimum requirements any qualified training program should offer. The Fortress Learning commitment to educational excellence extends well beyond these requirements.

Fortress Learning Educational Excellence Commitments

The Fortress Learning experience begins and ends with a focus on the individual student. There are three critical ways that Fortress Learning provides students with a specialized learning environment that is tailored to meet their needs. These three elements include:

• Personal Learning Plan Development to identify:o Learning Style ando “Recognition of Prior

Learning” or RPL• Feedback Solicitation• Cost Effective Value

When a prospective student chooses Fortress Learning, one of the first educational experiences he or she will undergo is the development of a Personal Learning Plan. Fortress Learning considers this to be an educational experience for two reasons. First, learning is always improved when an individual understands how they “click”

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with learning materials. This is called learning style. Second, many Fortress learners are surprised to find that they can streamline their educational experience through “Recognized Prior Learning” or RPLs.

The development of the Personal Learning Plan begins with a survey called the “Learning Styles Inventory”. Educational research has classified learners into four categories: Pragmatists, Activists, Reflectors or Theorists. For example, some people like to leave the legos in the box while they examine the step by step directions for the Star Wars Battleship construction. Other people like to tear open the box, dump the legos on the table, and explore how the various pieces fit before pulling out the pamphlet. Our survey helps us identify those activities specific to your learning style that will enhance your educational experience and facilitate your learning processes. We will assemble the different elements of our training program in such a way that it can be completed in the order that best suits you.

The second component of the Personal Learning Plan is “Recognition of Prior Learning” also known as RPL. RPL is a process aimed at confirming and recognizing the competencies a student may have already obtained outside of the training program. These competencies may have been gained through formal or informal training, life or work experience.

By obtaining RPL for a unit in which a student may already have the required skills and knowledge, he or she can forgo the training aspects of that unit and move directly to the assessment of evidence of the skills and experience.

The obvious benefit of course is that RPL greatly reduces the amount of time and effort it takes for a student to obtainqualifications. The problem is, most students do not know if they are able to apply for an RPL for a particular training unit and are then left wondering what evidence to provide to support their application. Fortress’ Personal Learning Plan ensures that students do not overlook those experiences for which

they can receive recognition. It identifies for students what evidence to provide and tailors coursework to fill in any gaps. Additionally, many students are able to include training and activities completed at their workplace as part of their Personal Learning Plan, further streamlining their Certificate process.

In addition to the Personal Learning Plan development, the focus on the student is evidenced by the Fortress Learning feedback system. Feedback is a critical element in the continuous improvement processes that are part of today’s Australian Quality Training Framework. Many organizations comply with this framework by supplying a feedback form at the end of the program. In order to continually improve, Fortress Learning solicits feedback after every assessment task. This feedback system ensures that we are able to more effectively discover anything that needs to be changed, clarified or improved so that the next student who comes along can enjoy the benefits of that experience. Fortress Learning has been continually

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The Fortress Learning Commitment to Excellence

reviewing and improving our training programs for over three years. These incremental and continuous improvements have, over time, allowed us to take our program to a new level of training and education based on student experiences. The results speak for themselves. For example, in a survey for Queensland’s Department of Education, Training & the Arts (DETA) and Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), Fortress Learning scored 91.7% for overall student satisfaction in 2009, rising to 93% in 2010.

The final element in the Fortress Learning Commitment to Excellence is the cost effectiveness and value of the Fortress Learning program. As evidenced by prior-mentioned consultation services provided to other organizations, Fortress Learning is based on a foundation of educational theory and practice, not economic growth. One of the most critical elements of the ability to successfully educate is the ability of the student to afford the program. In addition to offering RPLs and

workplace activity recognition in order to streamline individual programs, our online environment eliminates many overhead costs. With online training, there are no facility costs, no equipment costs and no instructor-led course costs to pay. Instead, when a student enrols, he or she is assigned a unique user name and password to login to the Fortress Learning online training area. The online training area is used to access the same content and knowledge as instructor-led classroom courses, with the advantage that it is tailored to the individual’s learning style. Explanatory videos and demonstrations enhance the comprehensive materials, and online exercises and activities reinforce knowledge and skills. Knowledge assessments through short-response tasks and skill assessment through strategically designed projects keep students informed of their progress.

A Certificate IV in Training and Assessment can cost up to $4,000 at other training organizations. Even publicly funded TAFE programs

The Fortress Learning Commitment to Excellence

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charge around $1,850 for their qualification, which is about the national average, and still great value for anyone serious about their career. Through Fortress Learning, students can now obtain a Certificate IV qualification that is delivered online for not more than 50% of the national average fee, with consulting income used to further reduce fees in order to make quality training accessible to everyone. This is the exact same qualification other organizations offer in instructor-led classrooms and holds the same level of national recognition. The only difference is that savings in overhead reduction are passed on to the student, rather than pocketed by Fortress Learning. Additionally, Fortress Learning offers students protection through a simple guarantee: when you finish your course, you can receive your Certificate or you can receive your money back.

Due to the Fortress Learning commitment to quality, enrolment is limited. Our commitment to individualized attention means that we only take on a certain number of

I wrote this in response to having similar conversations

with many people over the past couple of years. The biggest

similarity is that while people are keen to get stuck into their

Certificate IV studies, they are also a bit overwhelmed by the

options that are available and they are scared of making a

wrong choice.

I can understand that and it is my single hope that

sharing my thoughts in this way will assist you to make a

decision with confidence.

Of course, if you would like to explore further the option

of studying with us, or to simply clarify a thought, then I invite

you to be in touch via our office, 1300 141 994 or directly

through email bryan@fortresslearning.com.au

I wish you well.

Dr. Bryan West

Fortress Learning

A Final Word

students at once. Once we meet our quota, we may need to postpone enrolment or increase the price to reduce our student loads. If you are serious about getting your Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and opening up new career opportunities in the process, I urge you to contact us to see if a spot is available. Students are continually graduating from our program so you may be able to enrol now even if you aren’t ready to start studying. Enroling now reserves your spot and means you can commence any time within 12 months of your enrolment and still lock in the current price.

Registered Training Organisation No. 31974