TRADITIONAL OR VIDEO BASED ON-LINE LEARNING?
Traditional or "face to face" landscape design schools require you to attend classes in person, whilst a video based online garden design program offers all of the coursework through an online learning environment. Traditional programs require you to attend school on specific days and times, with classes varying in size from 5 - 40 students. Video based on-line programs such as those at Oxford College of Garden Design provide courses that can be taken 24/7, with class sizes limited to a maximum of 10 students per tutor. Tutor and student interaction in these programs occurs via our virtual classroom with webinars, VOIP, email, and other technologies, so that you are not required to be “in class” at any specific time.
| Traditional schools | Oxford College | |
| Will my course equip me to practise as a professional garden designer? | Sometimes | Yes |
| Can I continue to work full time? | No | Yes |
| Will I have to give up my salary? | Usually | No |
| Can I continue to earn a living while starting my new business? | Sometimes | Yes |
| Can I study whenever and where ever I want? | No | Yes |
| Can I repeat my lectures? | No | Yes |
| Can I extend my course for up to 36 months? | No | Yes |
| Are my tutors working designers? | Sometimes | Yes |
| 24/7 access to course materials? | No | Yes |
| Daily access to my tutors and classmates? | Sometimes | Yes |
| Multimedia instructional videos? | No | Yes |
| Group discussions and 1-2-1 critiques? | Sometimes | Yes |
| Flexible hand in dates? | Sometimes | Yes |
| Classmates from around the world? | Sometimes | Yes |
| Able to ask questions 24/7? | No | Yes |
| Will I have train/petrol parking expenses? | Usually | No |
| Will I have to spend time commuting? | Usually | No |
This is not a correspondence course delivered online. This is the world’s first and only video based course where you get exactly the same lectures via the internet as you would if you were sitting in the classroom in person.
