Sorry just got a chance to reply to this one. I am doing this course and just up to assignment 5 due to pressure of work but likely to complete over the 12 motnh option I feel.
I`ve got a lot out of the course. You basically do the assignments, after downloading 50/60 pages of background reading and follow up reading which you can take as far as you want to go yourself. You do one at a time and cannot access the next until you have uploaded the one before. I have Matthew Evans as tutor who had done his assessments each time within 24 hours - often within 5/6 hours online. he has looked at other work I have done on DC mag gallery and elsewhere and offered good constructive criticism. A lot of the stuff I have done so far has been technical - lots of stuff on effect of ISO, aperture - generally better understanding of exposure and use of lenses. I feel I am getting a lot out of it but could get more if I put the time in which I am hoping to do over the next 3 months or so.
Downsides are that ther is no student link up that I can see in terms of comparing results / pics which is a shame and no student forum - really just two way with your tutor. Other side is that whilst you end up with a diploma I am nit too sure if it worth the paper it is written on but the guy who runs it , George Seper, is well known especially in food photography business ( M&S etc) so his backing may count for something. More importantly they help you put a portfolio together and go through everything from the basics to lighting studio etc and give you the spur to read / explore more within the structure of a course.
It`s personal choice but I like it and for what I want it does the job. The website gives an accurate breakdown of the content of each module if you check it out and you can pay monthly in interest free installments. I did look on approval at the Institute of Photography course ( yeah confusing with the names so similar ) but found that was less on the how you do it side and more - well you are already a good enough photographer this is how you market yourself, although it had some good sections on weddign photography and other areas. They were good in sending me the whole course, letting me inspect and then return for a full refund so all I lost was my return postage but I had to allow enough time to really look at it and get it back within timescale to do so.
It`s a big outlay so make sure it`s what you want - if you want to go down formal qualification routes perhaps C&G course and OU stuff is better but it`s down to what you want to do it for. Hope this helps - if you want any more detail or ask questions feel free to PM me.
My DCM GalleryTBPITW
19th/20th January & 10/11th May 2008