RSTC Members State their Positions regarding Agency-Neutral On-line Training
At a recent meeting, the members of the Recreational Scuba Training Council determined it was important to provide collective clarification regarding agency-neutral on-line training programs.
Over the past two to three years a number of websites not affiliated with a training agency have launched on-line scuba training programs. On these sites, the customer is lead to believe that all training agencies will accept these programs to meet their academic requirements for scuba training. This is not correct. Because of concerns about the educational validity of these programs and the inability to monitor the quality of education and services, as well as liability and insurance issues, each RSTC member organization has independently determined it cannot accept these non-affiliated training programs to meet its academic requirements.
Before customers sign up for any on-line training program, they should first check with the retail store, instructor or training agency they wish to receive certification through to verify if that on-line program is acceptable for meeting the training agency¹s requirements.
The RSTC consists of International Diving Educators Association (IDEA), Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Professional Dive Instructors Corporation (PDIC), Scuba Diving International (SDI) Scuba Schools International (SSI) and Young Men¹s Christian Association (YMCA) and meets throughout the year to deal with issues involving training in the scuba industry. The RSTC is also the Secretariat for the ANSI Committee Z-375, Scuba Diving Training Standards and Safety.
For additional information on Recreational Scuba Training Council, contact any member organization or contact RSTC at P.O. Box 11083 Jacksonville, FL 32239 or info@wrstc.com
