The on-line training lacks the many benefits of having a live instructor answer (to) questions, and actually teach the concepts. When they finish you up in FLL, it's a large class, so there's very little one-on-one attention. I've trained some students that have gone through that program (and many that have gone through full-length programs), and not a single one would reccommend it.
There is nothing wrong with opinions and hearsay. That being said, Mr. FMS, who now appears to be a newly-hired dispatcher at Delta Air Lines, forgot to mention the 2-4 months of telephone and email assistance offered to ALL of our online students, yet unused by some. He also forgot to mention our free after-hours tutoring, which is sometimes 1-on-1, or close to it. Also omitted were the differences in prerequisites between Sheffield and others. He also neglected to mention that Sheffield has 3 versions of "blended learning" courses: 3-week, 2-week, and 1-week residency durations - all FAA approved, and with a multitude of testimonials online. He also left off the fact that if we see an online student having issues, we offer to transfer them into a program that is more fitting, often at a discounted tuition rate, yet some opt not to take our advice. Also, there may just be a reason why we price our 2-week duration only $100 more than the 1-week portion (occasionally attended by the "I'm experienced and know everything already" individuals who actually know nothing or those who simply procrastinate.) The DL classes occasionally complete their residency portion in a separate classroom by the way. I will admit that most people should enroll in a longer duration (residency) program, but the reason is because most "wanna-get-it-done-fast" online learners who may have clicked their way through trade school or their college courses, with open-book cheating on tests (we all know it's done), seem to encounter something different with us - validation. Admittedly, I cannot help you if you walk into my 5 or 10-day program, after learning, reviewing, quizzing, and testing online, for up to 3-4 months, with the ability to seek help, only to have you answer "uhhh..I don't know" to the question "What is the definition of pressure altitude?" or "What the purpose of checking the MEA on your route?" You either procrastinated then crammed, and/or cheated, failed to read simple text, or couldn't retain information, or you had no aptitude. Naturally, though, it will always be the school's fault...Anyway, good luck at Delta. I personally trained over 110+ people there. Their OCC hiring requirement used to be that you had to pass MY dispatch program, even if you already were FAA AD certified from a non-Sheffield school. That type of comprehensive dispatch program is what we still instruct here, whether online or in-house. I believe they have their own in-house program, but interestingly enough, my former students there still recommend us to others. I'll leave off the part about how many "graduates of other schools" could not get hired into their OCC and why. Anybody using logic can figure out the reason. I will be loading more testimonials online soon. One grad just got hired by a major airline, the other grad from 2 classes ago just got an interview at United - both Sheffield online grads - yeah, ....we suck. Eric Morris-Sheffield School (est. 1948)
