RHODEC International

RHODEC International teaches competitively priced introductory and professional interior design courses by distance-learning, which is great for those who want or need to continue working to finance their study. It's accredited by the ODLQC, the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council, and the standard of training is high. Serious students can even go on to convert their Diploma into a Bachelor of Arts degree if they wish. The site is very easy to use. Use the menu bar on the left to zip between sections or get back to the homepage. You can also download the whole prospectus or catalogue and enrol online via a secure server if you want to pay by credit card. The design of the site, however, could be a little more inspirational given the content of the course.

SPECIAL FEATURES

List of Subjects From Materials to History of Design, Draughtsmanship to Colour and Furniture, check on the text to see a sample illustration and in some cases the entire course manual.

Online Diploma Course Students can complete the entire Diploma via the internet at a saving of £300 on the normal course fee.

Associate Diploma Course A one-year course divided into 12 detailed lessons with assignments. The 32 worksheets run to 160,000 words with 100 illustrations, and cover the basics of design history, materials, sample boards, estimates and professional practice. If you enjoy the course enough to want to do the two- to three-year Diploma Course, credits can be carried over and there is a discount on the total course fee. The Diploma Course aims to train students to a high professional standard and can be converted into a full Bachelor of Arts degree with London Guildhall University.

Other features

Course Preview allows customers to 'try before you buy' with 50,000 words of course text and 200 photographs from the course materials for £15.

Students Tell Us is a predictably laudatory section with testimonials from former students across the world. The Graduate Survey also demonstrates a high level of customer satisfaction, with 91 per cent of recent graduates saying they had put their skills to practical use, and 90 per cent saying that the Diploma had helped them with their career.

Bulletin Board After all the gloss, it's strangely reassuring to see that the board is just as catty and full of poor spelling as any other.