Frequently Asked Questions
1) What is the difference between registration, recognition and accreditation?
3) Are you considering degree status?
4) Do student receive written course material?
5) Should ‘class’ size matter when choosing a course?
9) Are there extra costs involved?
10) Can I join this course if I don’t have a computer?
11) Are there any grants available?
1 ) What is the difference between registration, recognition and accreditation?
Basically ‘registration ‘applies to the status of individual homeopaths and ‘recognition’ and ‘accreditation’ relate to the status of training providers. Homeopathy is currently an unregulated therapy in the UK. There are however a number of voluntary registers that run by professional bodies representing homeopaths. The key ones of these are:
The Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH) – who register student and graduates of the different colleges
The Society of Homeopaths (SoH) who register students and graduates of different colleges and who also run a voluntary recognition programme for courses run by different colleges.
The Homeopathic Medical Association (HMA) who register students and graduates of different colleges and who also keep a list of recognised colleges (i.e. CPH is recognised as a training provider)
There is no national accreditation system for Colleges of Homeopathy. In the foreseeable future (2007 - 2008) there will probably be a single register and some kind of accrediting system for colleges but this has not been agreed as yet.
2 ) So who recognises CPH? - CPH is recognised by all these bodies. Although it is not compulsory we strongly encourage our student to belong to a professional body, initially as student members and then on graduation as full members of the body of their choice.
3 ) Are you considering degree status? - No – the evidence is that degree level courses become too academic and detract from the vocational nature of becoming a working homeopath. CPH provides a practical training and is designed for students who want to be competent and confident to run their own successful practices. (Increasingly students who have started degree based courses are transferring to CPH as they realise that a degree will not help in developing them as practitioners).
4 ) Do student receive written course material? - Beware - Many colleges do not provide decent written course material. All the evidence shows that students who have to take notes only get about 3 – 7% of the information and some of that is often misunderstood! CPH prides itself on providing the best course material in the UK as this allows our students to concentrate on developing the skills necessary to become competent and confident practitioners, and have a complete set of accessible notes that will support them throughout their working lives.
5 ) Should ‘class’ size matter when choosing a course? - We believe in ‘quality’ rather than ‘’quantity’. Our experience is that large class sizes/ lecture hall approach and trying to get the maximum number of bums on seats does not work for students, particularly in the first year. We restrict our class size to 25 maximum as this allows us to get to know our students, gives them time to ask questions, get to know each other and gain a good understanding of basic principles that is essential as a building block for the rest of the course. Students transferring from other colleges often have to repeat a year because they not gained a good enough grounding to keep up with our students.
6 ) Will there be assessment? - CPH operates a process of continual assessment. The bulk of this is through casework, and all out graduate cases are externally marked. Students also develop there own materia medica and therapeutics manuals. We avoid exams, continuous tests and complex essays as these will not help you to develop the real skills of a homeopath. This means that the standards of our students’ work is second to none.
7 ) Are there any exams? - No, CPH uses continuous assessment and students have to meet these requirements before they can progress onto the next year.
8 ) If my circumstances change can I move from the Part time course into the Full Time course and vice versa? - Yes, under certain circumstances you can – this is because uniquely CPH runs one course but has a fully integrated system of delivery. This is an extremely important factor to consider when choosing a course as we find student’s circumstance can change quite rapidly in a short space of time depending on family commitments, jobs and health issues.
9 ) Are there extra costs involved? - There are no extra charges for internal clinic days. External clinics/supervision and/or sitting-in time are an extra cost in Years two, three and four since these are not within the College control. External tutorials are offered by a number of independent Homeopaths in and around London and students are encouraged to try these. These tutorials vary in cost from free to £20+ depending on duration and the individual who is giving the tutorial.
10) Can I join this course if I don’t have a computer? - Yes you can, but we encourage students to become pc proficient as it is an essential skill for running a small business. We use the website to post materials teaching materials ahead of each weekend and communicate as much as possible by email. Being able to surf the Web gives you access to a vast alternative and complementary library of information and increasingly sophisticated homeopathic programmes. (Students without pc’s can make use the Resource Centres pc but we will help them gain the confidence to become computer literate).
11) Are there any grants available? - We do not provide bursaries or subsidise places. A very few students get local authority discretionary grants, or funding from other charitable organisations in their area.
CPH is a registered course provider and loans are available for both the full and part-time courses for UK citizens. Part-time students can get up to 2 years with a possible extra year for practical experience. Depending on circumstances some people may be able to claim tax subsidies and small grants.
For information on financial assistance to support your learning please visit the following website www:direct.gov.uk/adult learning
or contact 0800100900
12) What about clinics? - A unique part of CPH is that our students all start clinical practice early in the course as we believe that in order to learn homeopathy you need to apply it. We expect students to be taking live cases as soon as possible (under supervision).
13) Can I visit the college? - Yes.
• Call Pauline on 020 8445 6123 and arrange to speak to the Course Director
• Book Your place to attend a Discovery Day (recommended if you are UK/London based)
• Arrange a Personal Career consultation by appointment (at the college, or by phone or email)
• Arrange to sit in on classes (by appointment)