Dear Everyone;

 

Over the weekend I was asked to state the following to the groups and individuals who(directly or indirectly) might find the subjects below to be of interest.

 

On Wednesday June June 24th I received from Flamel College my Certificate in Wiccan Studies. In the past while Flamel College was re-organizing there were some problems with people not getting feed back or final certificates of completion in a timely fashion. While I am NOT trying to say that these people did not have a legitimate problem and possibly complaint I am saying that in my dealings with Flamel this was not the case. I received my certificate in eight (8) weeks which is what I was told could be the "waiting period" also because I e-mailed, faxed and snail mailed my exam quite possibly this actually slowed the process as possibly there was a wait for all of my info to come in, even the graded copy of my exam looked to be the one I snail mailed so I believe my own "over kill" may have delayed the matter.

 

Regardless, in my dealings with Flamel College I received my Certificate in a fashion consistent with what I was told I would receive it.

 

 

Both Flamel College and Universal Class have similar classes regarding the Paranormal (Cryptozoology, Ufology and Tarot Studies in particular). Many people particularly Melissa, Stacey, Brett and Jessica have asked which one is better.

 

To be very honest in order to fully evaluate and answer this question I would need to take the same class(es) from both sources which at this point in time I have not done. However her is my "not so scientific" evaluation of both schools, take it for what you will.

 

 

Universal Class has HUNDREDS of Courses of many varied disciplines. Flamel College has courses in Non-Traditional Healing Arts (Reiki, Acupuncture), Hermetic Studies (Tarot, Kabbalah), Magic Arts (Apprentice Wizard, Wicca) and of course Paranormal Studies (Ufology, Parapsychology) and a few more varied courses in Meditation as well as some (FREE!!!) classes in Music Theory and Tarot and a feww others FREE!!! Did I mention there are some classes at Flamel for FREE!!! In this area I see Universal Class as having a far more varied curriculum. If you are a professional or would-be or hope-to-be professional then UniversalClass can help you by giving you classes in just about any field you choose to be involved in. I wanted to take a cancelled class in Tax Preparation (because I do taxes) as a refresher and I have to confess a resume builder, anybody out there could do the same in any of the fields (vocational or avocational) that they so choose. Recently I completed a very interesting course in body piercing of all things. I checked the web and the only other on-line course I could find was as an (apparently) abandoned website where they did not return my e-mails and the phone number for the school had been disconnected! For those of you interested in non-paranormal courses in criminology or other related fields (those of you in the MSW Information Group) Flamel unfortunately does not have a lot to offer you.

Universal Class has a class for you what ever you want to learn!

 

 

Flamel College supplies all the books and most of the other resources that a student will require or might desire. I was actually shocked at the amount of information that was contained on CDs that I was sent in relation to Wiccan Studies and Kabbalah even with the min-course Wizard's Apprentice I got a bunch of 'goodies' like a pendulum and a cute pin saying "Wizard". Universal Class has references to recommended books and where to get them as well as (often) many links webpages about the subject at hand. To be very honest (for me at least) I want the books recommended for the course so to me it is a given that I would end up buying the books for the course even if they are not required. While the resources given to Universal Class students are certainly enough to take the course and do well at a subject Flamel supplies more to a student (in this area) then does Universal Class.

 

 

Flamel does have e-mail and snail mail not to mention there are some informal e-groups (like Paranormal Study Buddys) that one can join and be involved in. However Universal Class has a "Students Forum" for people presently taking a class and also there are multiple exams for Universal Class as opposed to Flamel College which generally only has a final exam. Universal Class also has credit for non-exam activities such as essays on relevent topics and visiting websites. I had more direct contact and feedback from my instructors at Universal Class then at Flamel in particular I got a lot of information and feedback from my Instructor in Body Piercing at Universal Class (Mr. John Hicks R.N.) that being said I also did get feedback from Professor Alex Hayden from my Wiccan Studies Class at Flamel. In short while I got feedback at both schools I got more from Universal Class.

 

 

To some of you this is the most important part or close to it. Universal Class can be cheaper to just "Take" and not get a certificate as those of you from more traditional schools might call "Auditing" a course. To use a specific it will cost $30 to Audit Cryptozoology 101 and just not get a certificate for the class or CEUs (Continuing Education Credits), if you just want to take the course and that's it then this is probably the way to go for you. If you want to take the class (in this case Cryptozoology 101) and get a (downloadable) certificate as well as CEUs (Continuing Education Credits) then the course costs $55. If you want to go "all the way" with this one can upon successful completion of the course purchase a Certificate of Completion and possibly other Certificates (Merit, Academic Excellence, Outstanding Achievement) each for $30 and $5 Postage and Handling. Flamel College offers only one option - take the course and get a certificate if and when you complete it, in this case the Cryptozoology for $ 85.

The above being said in the specific example of Cryptozoology the Universal Class does NOT include the book recommended for the course or the resource CD that Flamel provides. As stated above to be very honest (for me at least) I want the books recommended for the course so to me it is a given that I would end up buying the books for the course even if they are not required. Also I have to say (again) that while the resources given to Universal Class students are certainly enough to take the course and do well at a subject Flamel supplies more to a student (in this area) then does Universal Class.

Also to use another example there are two (2) Tarot courses at Universal Class Tarot Card 101 for $30 or with certificate $55 and Basics of Intuitive Tarot for $75 or with certificate $100 while the Flamel College's Tarot Consultant's Certificate is available for $75. Neither of the above includes the Tarot Cards themselves.

With all the above in this area everyone will have to look for themselves depending on what they desire to determine what is the most economic way for them to get what they need.

While the last sentence may seem like a cop out I do not think there can be one universal or even general answer to this specific question.

 

 

If this matters to you BOTH schools give certificates to be honest from what I can see the downloadable certificates from Universal Class and the "By Mail" certificates of Universal Class or even Flamel College are not that much different. In my opinion.

For the purpose of building a resume having a Certificate from a College sounds more impressive then a Certificate from a Continuing Education School, if that is relevent, not many cryptozoologists look at your resume to be honest. Conversely if you want MANY certificates in one area Universal Class may issue (for a fee) multiple certificates (Completion, Academic Achievement, Academic Excellence, Class Participation, Merit and so on). To be blunt BOTH could be used to "Hype" a resume but UniversalClass is more likely to have relevent classes for the subject you desire to have "Hyped".

 

 

In the final analysis I have taken courses from both schools. I've received a very good amount of education from these courses from both schools. I feel I got "my money's worth" (and more) from both schools. I would recommend BOTH schools to anyone interested and I intend to take more classes from BOTH schools.

 

I hope this tends to answer most of the questions that have come up in this area.

Thank You for your time and attention.

Best Wishes


Kyle Brinkmann A.S., B.S.
Post Office Box 1143
Gardner, MA 01440-6143
(203) 231-8516
www.geocities.com/KyleBrinkmann