Open Colleges is an educational institution that provides distance learning and online training programs. The organization typically offers vocational courses, professional development programs, and skills-based training across various industries and fields of study. Students can generally access coursework and educational materials remotely through digital platforms and correspondence methods.
Open Colleges receives a mix of feedback from its users, with 62% of reviewers expressing positive sentiments about their experiences. Many customers highlight the friendly and knowledgeable staff, particularly praising individuals like Ada and Sean for their helpfulness and clear communication during the enrollment process.
Reviewers appreciate the ease of navigating the course materials and the supportive guidance provided throughout their studies. However, there are notable complaints regarding difficulties in scheduling appointments with advisers and issues related to course fees, including instances of being overcharged. Some users express frustration over feeling misled or having a negative experience with the overall service. Despite these criticisms, the majority of feedback remains favorable, reflecting a generally positive sentiment towards Open Colleges.
Summary generated with AI from recent reviews
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
| Source | Rating | Reviews | Weight | 6-mo | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trustpilot Imported Trustpilot reviews | 3.5 | 1,039 | 100% | -0.4 | ● Low |
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Nov 2025.
| Month | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 24 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Jan 25 | 5.0 | 3 |
| Feb 25 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Mar 25 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Apr 25 | 3.0 | 3 |
| May 25 | 2.0 | 1 |
| Jun 25 | 4.3 | 4 |
| Jul 25 | 4.0 | 2 |
| Aug 25 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Sep 25 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Oct 25 | 4.3 | 11 |
| Nov 25 | 4.4 | 17 |
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 500 most recent reviews.
“Very helpful and accommodating to my time schedule for calls and responses to email”
“Their sales tactics are manipulative, and their customer service actively works against your rights”
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Education & Training.
| Company | Overall | Legit | Service | Website & app | Value | Trend | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 out of 5 (fair) | 100 out of 100 | 3.7 out of 5 (good) | 3.4 out of 5 (fair) | 1.7 out of 5 (poor) | +61% | 1,039 | |
| 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 4.2 out of 5 (good) | — | — | 85 | |
| 5.0 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 5.0 out of 5 (good) | — | 5.0 out of 5 (good) | — | 57 | |
| 5.0 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 5.0 out of 5 (good) | — | — | — | 37 | |
| 4.5 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.9 out of 5 (good) | — | — | — | 25 |
Bottom line: Open Colleges is #5 of 5 on overall rating in this group. On value, Truka scores higher (5.0 vs 1.7).
500 reviews of Open Colleges. Filter by what matters to you.
Over a year ago
I found the teacher/asseors at Open Colleges to be supportive, caring and encouraging - with respect to my certificate 111 in Education Support Erika Russell, Claire Turner, and Mathew Curtis, if not... See more
Quick answers to the questions people ask most.
Open Colleges offers a wide range of vocational education and training courses across various fields including business, healthcare, beauty, fitness, counselling, and creative arts. All courses are nationally recognized and designed to provide practical skills for career advancement. Course formats include online study, blended learning, and some face-to-face components.
Course duration varies depending on the qualification level and study mode. Certificate courses typically take 6-12 months, while diploma programs usually require 12-18 months to complete. Students can often study at their own pace within reasonable timeframes.
Yes, Open Colleges is a Registered Training Organization (RTO) and all qualifications are nationally recognized under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). Graduates receive certificates and diplomas that are accepted by employers and other educational institutions across Australia.
Open Colleges provides comprehensive student support including dedicated student advisors, online learning resources, and technical support. Students also have access to career services, academic assistance, and peer networking opportunities through online forums and communities.
Course fees vary depending on the qualification and field of study. Open Colleges offers flexible payment plans including upfront payment discounts, monthly payment options, and government funding schemes like VET Student Loans where eligible. Fee information is provided during the enrollment process.
Entry requirements vary by course, but many programs have flexible admission criteria. Most courses require completion of Year 10 or equivalent, while some may require specific prerequisites or work experience. Open Colleges also offers foundation courses for students who need to meet entry requirements.
You can contact Open Colleges through their website's live chat feature, by calling their student services team, or by submitting an online inquiry form. Course information is also available through their online course catalog and prospectus downloads.
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Polarized pattern: few middle ratings. 62% of recent reviews are 4–5★ and 32% are 1–2★.
I started this course as it was meant to be generic to fit any industry they said, well that was rubbish. The course content was poorly developed, the content was not relevant and when trying to explain this to them they didn't even want to listen. I am now going to be over 4K out of pocket and i have only done two models. Stay well away from OC, I wish I had read some of these reviews before signing up.
Honestly, OC is a fair and supportive college. Even under the pressure of pandemics, OC still tried to manage to provide its help to students as much as they can, including student support and trainers.
If I could give them zero stars I would. If you become sick and have to stop the course, you get charged a very large amount. They have a tiered system so depending on when you have to cancel you get charged more and more. Their policies punish you for your health, something no one can control. Be careful with this company, they are money hungry and don’t care that actual humans are trying to study.
Thieves!!! I wish I could give open colleges a big fat zero stars! I did a certificate IV in vet nursing. Finished all my written modules with high distinctions and credits, however struggled to find a practice that would allow me to do my training portion, due to the fact open colleges do not have insurance and do not tell you this. Open colleges were no help in assisting me to find somewhere. After paying over $5000 they would not even Provide me with a transcript or statement of attainment for the work I’d completed to use as a credit transfer. Expect no help from these people.
The assessors have been incredible, flexibility (extension approved) was really important to me as I have been able to work fulltime and study part time successfully. Content and online learning material was great and I found the final observation / assessment in module 9 (2.5hrs) to be insightful and enjoyable. I will be furthering my studies (Psychology) but would highly recommend Open Colleges.
I completed my Certificate in Nail Technology and had a mixed experience. The staff are AMAZING and always offer great support. Ellena, the course instructor offers excellent insight and advice around the realities of being a working Nail Technician. My issues are with the platform itself and the out of date education being provided (which is NOT the fault of Open Colleges) and the lack of emphasis of WHERE nail products are manufactured for higher safety. For example: 1. Having to upload a 8-10 minute recording, in mp4 format, that is under 470mb is ridiculous. (It says 500mb but anything over 470-480 won’t work) 2. The overwhelming typos and confusing sentence structure is absolutely unprofessional to say the least 3. The constant going on about nail polish when MOST NAIL TECHS DO NOT USE this is out of date (again not the fault of OC) 4. The lack of actual education around Nail Art is disappointing given the reality of today’s working Nail Tech and what we are expected to be able to do/create Overall, the staff are fantastic but the platform itself? Definitely needs to be improved.
During doing my course with open colleges, I had a good experience because I had a fantastic assessor Rosan Lal who is always helpful whenever I needed help or have questions. Plus it is a online course which I like most as I work full time and wouldn't be able to attend classes. So thank you Rosan and other staffs who helped as well.
No road is as easy as the other. Today I can proudly say "Done and Dusted! The journey has not been smooth waters but getting the right kind of support and help was a great motivation to always look forward to the ending. I would like to say my big thank you to Rosan (Trainer/Assessor). He has been very helpful all along. I finally completed my Diploma of Community Services. I can't be thankful enough. With the pandemic, it has not been easy, however, perseverance was the key motivation for me to reach this far. Thank you Open Colleges and to all the support staff.
the reading materials were often set for the American context rather than Australian and often full of typos. Navigating around the modules when doing assignments was clunky. Assessment tasks included menial activities that were time consuming but not a reasonable test of skill or knowledge (eg 'write an email to explain your findings'). Requirement for role plays wih multiple actors was a burden on family.
One of the great services of Open Colleges was having quick access to a teacher and get feedback within an hour. The times when the teacher was away they would contact me via email or phone when back at work. This service made learning blockages minimal and thus made studying easy and enjoyable. The mini video lectures, quizes and written material was straightforward to understand and the assignments were all applicable to practical accounting work. A few months after finishing my Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping I obtained a full-time accounting job. A big reason for this was the quality of the course from Open Colleges was of a high standard and the assistance from teachers was excellent. Highly recommend Open Colleges
I almost done my Certificate III in Nail Technology course. Happy with open college and appreciated the course and im really happy and thankful my trainer -Ellena. She is very patience and guidance and helpful and response my every emails very quick. I truly appreciate everything she have done to help me get thru my cause.
My name is Georgie and i am studying animal care. My experience has been amazing with open colleges! My trainer Sharon has been so encouraging and friendly along the whole way and goes out of her way to support me whenever I need it. I have loved animals my whole life and I always wanted a career out of it so I decided to start getting qualifications, for my future as I am 15. Through looking for experience I now get my work experience from the local Zoo, and complete my placement at the farm that i have always worked at. Open colleges was so helpful with the process and i could not recommend them enough! Thank you! 🤩 ❤️❤️💕
My time with this company has honestly been a roller coaster, and not the fun kind. I’ve been studying with them for the past 12 months. The course itself was fine, easy to follow, and the trainer was amazing. Every time I needed help, they were there, and I really appreciated that. But everything outside of the actual course has been incredibly frustrating. The support team has been basically unreachable. The last 6 months have been the worst. I’ve lost count of how many times I had to go to the trainers just to get answers because the support lines were useless, no response for weeks to emails, always on hold, rarely helpful and not giving the right information when they do decide to reply. And now I’m trying to cancel… and it’s been a nightmare. I’ve emailed five times, sent the cancellation form multiple times, and I’m still being ignored. It honestly feels like they’ve vanished the moment I asked to leave. It’s a real shame because the course itself I was enjoying, but the rest of the experience was a total letdown It's disappointing that a company offering education would operate with such poor communication and customer service. I wouldn't recommend them to others based on this experience.
Beware! There are some fantastic online study options and this is not one of them, as many others have said, medical evidence is not enough to stop them pursuing thousands of dollars, there are petitions and suggestions of legal action against Open Colleges.
I had a really great experience with Open Colleges studying the Cert II in Animal Care. The trainer was super helpful, kind and responded to emails in a timely manner. I was impressed at how fast my assessments got marked too. The course content needs to be proof read as there were lots of grammatical errors and broken links fixed and some of the content seemed redundant. Overall I thought it was a great course for a reasonable price and would recommend it to anyone.
DO NOT sign up for open collage. The website glitches badly! They are so quick to ring none stop when you seem interested in doing a course within open collage, but as soon as you need support with your course or wanting to cancel with good reasoning they are no help. Absolute waste of time and money. So many bad reviews from so many people across Australia that’s saying something! Horrible horrible!
Rosan really made the Assessment stress free and set my mind at ease.
There is no support from trainers and the work load is stupid! Don't go here unless you want to be put off your dream!
I had a pretty good experience with Open Colleges. The open space portal can be pretty clunky but my trainer was excellent and always willing to help me out when I needed it.
Open Colleges may recognize prior learning (RPL) and credits from other registered training organizations or educational institutions. Students need to provide official transcripts and course outlines for assessment. The recognition process is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Open Colleges has a withdrawal policy that allows students to cancel within a cooling-off period for a full refund. After this period, refund eligibility depends on the timing of withdrawal and course progress. Students should review the terms and conditions and speak with student services before making withdrawal decisions.
Many Open Colleges courses include practical components such as work placements, internships, or hands-on training requirements. The college works with industry partners to provide real-world experience opportunities. Specific placement requirements and arrangements vary by course and are outlined in the course information.
Open Colleges is an educational institution that provides distance learning and online training programs. The organization typically offers vocational courses, professional development programs, and skills-based training across various industries and fields of study. Students can generally access coursework and educational materials remotely through digital platforms and correspondence methods.
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