Introduction:

In September 10, 2012, Avalon will open its new online vocational training program in astrology! We are very excited about this development. The curriculum is essentially the same as the curriculum that we have been offering in our classes here in Gainesville, Florida, but we are making two big changes:

(1) The classes will be offered online so that anyone with a computer, high speed Internet connection and headphones can attend classes, and

(2) We have refined and improved the content of each course in a way that is designed to assist you, the student, in becoming a professional astrologer after you graduate from our PAC (Professional Astrology Certificate) program.

Nobody can guarantee that you will get a job after you graduate from a program, not even a Ph.D. diploma program, but we have developed this program with many features to target this program specifically to assisting graduates to be able to develop a professional practice.

If you simply want to learn astrology and are not interested in professional practice, you may still benefit from this program because of its emphasis on practical application of astrological ideas in chart interpretation and analysis, and ways to obtain practical and useful information.

The Essentials: Time Commitment, Cost, and the Learning Experience

The PAC (Professional Astrology Certificate) program takes 2 ½ years to complete. You attend 3 online classes each week and each class is 1 hour and 20 minutes in length. The time of the classes depends on where in the world you are located.

The online classes meet for 11 weeks and there is about a 2 week break between courses, and there are 4 courses per year. Thus, there are 44 weeks of classes each year.

The Avalon program is a challenging and exciting adventure. You will change and grow as a result of this program. You must give a lot to it, but you will grow and develop as well. We have worked hard on our end to provide you a truly professional service and our expertise, time, and dedication to improve your lives, but you need to throw yourself deeply into these studies as well if you wish to achieve the goal of becoming a professional.

You do not need to relocate or radically change your life style. If you have a job, you can keep it, but you may need to give up some of your entertainment, socializing, or other activities to build this new adventure and professional training into your life. If you are already overwhelmed with activity in your life or you do not have the self-discipline to focus on studies, Avalon is not likely to be the best program for you. Perhaps there are local astrology group meetings or leisure course classes that will be more suitable for you.

On the other hand, at Avalon we do not give lots of examinations and other stress-inducing activites. If you are an intelligent and caring person and you enjoy reading and learning new things, and you like to immerse yourself in activities that help you grow and change as a person and help you to become proficient in a subject, then most likely you will love your experience at Avalon! Also important is that you believe in the value of what you do and you love it. If you are considering Avalon primarily because you would like to receive professional employment but you are not interested in consulting people and you have little interest in astrology and the helping professions in general, then Avalon is not the best choice for you.

Also, students may attend from anywhere in the world but all classes are taught in English and your English skills must be good enough that you have no difficulty understanding the lectures given by the instructor, and you can read and write English well enough to understand the required reading and for others to understand what you write. If your first language is not English, you need not speak as well as a native speaker, but you must be able to communicate well enough that language does not become a serious impediment to the learning process.

Every week you will be given an assignment to work on and must be submitted on the due date. Assignments or homeworks are designed to challenge you to think critically and creatively about a subject area. You will also be given an opportunity to work with other studetns therefire, you will also have the opportunity to learn from how other students think and approach the subject material. This is tremendously enriching, and does not distract you from your own individual studies but also expands and enriches your learning experience.

Homework by Discussion Groups: 3-4 members plus the teacher. The teacher is ALWAYS a member of each group so that the teacher can monitor group discussion from the hindsight. 5 member of the group preferred but 3 or 4 is allowed. Member of the discussion group is not permanent. Other students in a group changes with each course so that by the end of the 10 courses the student have had the opportunity to learn from how other students think and approach the subject material.

• Through this process, the students learn from each other and slowly develop friendships with other students.

Every week, the students will be given an assignment to work on. The homework is designed to challenge the students to think creatively about a subject area. Each student submits their response to the homework to the teacher on the due date. The students must submit it to their group member as well! Each student read the response of the other students who also submit their response to you.

Although each student works on these assignments individually, the student is not limited to share ideas with others.

• Strict deadline must be met!!! The teacher must insure that this policy is discussed with the students at the beginning of the class and is imposed.

• The teacher will send concluding statement to everyone acknowledging each group and give some details on how the students (or group) did in that specific homework. This way, there is an end to each homework not leaving any student wondering what happened to their group work. Encouraging remarks are advised.

Projects:

• Each person will work on a project individually, no group mates.
• Projects will be graded by the teacher and is due at the last class.

Grading: Very little emphasis on test: Attendance, discussion group, and projects are strictly imposed.

Other Requirements:

a) Computer with sounds and video
b) Printer
c) Internet Connection
d) Software: Sirius Astrology Software. All enrolled students are required to have this software which can be purchased at Cosmic Patterns Software. Student's discount applies for enrolled Avalon School students
e) Books: required books for course
f) Internet Password: This will be provided by the Avalon School of Astrology to each of the students. A password is required to enter the internet live classroom. No two passwords are the same and are not transferable.
g) Training: Each of the Students will be trained to use the live educational technology prior to conducting the live online class.

The Importance of Following Our Program!

Astrology is a huge subject and every astrologer seems to have his/her own way of practicing astrology. Astrologers also have different ways of understanding how astrology should be practiced and what kind of information astrology can provide to clients. No matter what you do in astrology, someone will tell you that there is a better astrological system and a better way to do things! Do not become distracted!!! While it is helpful to understand different approaches and different philosophies and we will expose you to many of them at Avalon, if you want to be able to succeed in applying these ideas at a professional level, you must adopt some system that works.

We will provide you a very specific training program using very specific tools and methods and if you stick to our program, you have a better chance of succeeding than if you start mixing up the information we give you with other ideas.

After you graduate from the PAC program, it is a good time to start exploring and mixing in new ideas if you wish, but we strongly recommend you resist the temptation to veer off the straight and narrow path, so to speak, to early.

At Avalon we offer a continuing educational program, the TACC program, for those who wish to continue their studies and in the TACC program we spread our wings into the vast world of astrological theory.

The TACC Program is fun and exciting but we strongly recommend taking one step at a time and mastering one system without deviating very from the system that we provide you is helpful for the first 2 ½ years. It is through this rigorous and well-defined system that we are able to train you to be a professional in only 2 ½ years. A time period of 2 ½ years to gain this level of proficiency may not seem short to you, but when you consider how many students of astrology are unable to feel comfortable doing professional years after a decade of study, 2 ½ years seems like a short amount of time in comparison.

The TACC, Diploma Program: A Continuing Education Program

For students that complete the PAC program and wish to continue their studies, an additional 10 courses are offered and graduates of these additional 10 courses earn the TACC diploma.

“TACC” stands for Theoretical and Applied Cosmic Cybernetics. In these more advanced programs the students will discover the essentials of other advanced astrological teachniques and additional consulting training by means of practicum, etc. Students are also required to come to the Avalon Campus to attend some required courses which will be given by means exciting and educational conferences here at the main Avalon Astrology campus.

The TACC program is an adventure into advanced topics and issues after you have mastered a solid astrological system that you can put into practice in the PAC program.

LINKS TO OTHER INFO:

• Details about theTACC Program
• Details about the PAC Program
• Enrollment Details: Current Course Offered
• A Personal Note from David Cochrane to Students