The Most Honest Shaw Academy Review For 2022

Distance learning can be challenging for both students and teachers. With e-learning on the rise, online course platforms make remote studying easier. Our Shaw Academy review will show you why the platform is one of the best in today’s market.

Read along to find out!

An Introduction To Shaw Academy Courses

Shaw Academy is an online company based in Dublin, with offices spread across the US, South Africa, and India. They currently offer more than 100 English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese courses.

The education platform offers a wide variety of courses on various topics, with plenty of video tutorials. You would need four weeks to complete the courses, consisting of 4 modules. During the courses, you receive weekly assignments, as well as a final assignment after finishing all modules to obtain your certificate.

Whether you want to take one or more courses a month, Shaw Academy UK allows you to subscribe to thousands of classes for a single membership price per month. This is a great deal, as you wouldn’t have to pay for each course you take. 

Compared to other e-learning platforms with prerecorded video lessons, teachers on Shaw Academy hold their classes live. Due to this approach, the classes are more interactive, making students feel more connected with their instructor. In case you want a more flexible schedule, you’ll be relieved to find out all classes are recorded so that you can go back to them at any time.

Shaw Academy Courses

The Shaw Academy online learning portal has a long list of courses, among which are marketing, finance, and even beauty. Let’s check out its most popular course topics:

Marketing courses

If you want to learn marketing online, Shaw Academy’s website offers classes for SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, and many more. Over 500,000 students have graduated from the digital marketing course, making it the most in-demand course on the education platform. Another great alternative if you are into marketing courses is Skillshare, which has over 40 thousand students enrolled in these types of classes.

The Shaw Academy digital marketing course teaches a variety of topics, from SEO and affiliate marketing to KPIs and marketing strategies. This 4-module course also teaches marketing for eCommerce businesses, something many marketing courses don’t include.

Business and analytics courses

In this section, you can find courses useful for both newbie managers and those looking to develop their communication and business skills. Some of the offered Shaw Academy courses include Data Analytics, How To Start A Business, Leadership & Management, Excel, and more.

The most popular course in the business category is Leadership and Management. This course focuses on improving soft skills like crisis management or team building. 

Technology courses

Here, students can get a Shaw Academy certificate in computer science, Python programming, and more. This category’s most popular course with a student base of over 500,000 graduates is web design. After the introduction topics, the 16-week course teaches HTML, CSS, WordPress, as well as website creation using Boostrap. If you want an alternative certificate that is highly valued in the tech world, you should check out Udacity.

Another popular course with over 200,000 graduates is the web development course, which teaches many front-end and back-end development tools.

Photography courses

It’s safe to say the Shaw Academy photography courses are the platform’s top category, with more than an astonishing 1,500,000 graduates. It offers a large variety of topics like general photography courses, iPhone and Android photography, video production and editing, Photoshop courses, and plenty more.

Before jumping to more complex topics, the 16-week course begins with elementary skills like controlling the camera, using apertures and shutter speeds, etc. Then, the course moves on to phototype subjects and concludes with photo editing and portfolio creation. Still, if you want to learn photography from experts like Annie Leibovitz, you should check out Masterclass.

Features

Before subscribing, take a look at Shaw Academy’s features:

Live Modules

The Shaw Academy online courses come in the form of interactive webinars, scheduled twice a week. Students can only join only at the scheduled times, but the modules are recorded so that they can be rewatched anytime.

Usually, the 4-week foundation courses are held twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7 pm in UK time. Since many international students can get confused with time zones, Shaw Academy sends email alerts in their local time, so they don’t miss a class.

In terms of duration, the majority of foundation courses last an hour and end with a helpful bonus Q&A session for about 15-20 minutes. Advanced courses generally last 12 weeks, with 24 hours of coursework.

Weekly Assignments

The Shaw Academy UK platform is very interactive and provides optional weekly assignments to establish what you’ve learned during a course. The assignments come after every second lesson and are not necessary to complete to receive a Shaw Academy diploma.

Most of the assignments are organised in multiple-choice tests, along with an End of Module Assignment to wrap up. After finishing the course and all module assignments, you are awarded an electronic diploma, and you can buy a physical copy of it if you wish. 

Unlimited Course Access

At Shaw Academy, students can participate in an unlimited number of courses. Some of its competitors, like Udemy, require students to subscribe to each course separately, but Shaw Academy allows you to take as many courses as you’d like.

Discounts and Vouchers

Aside from the free trial offered by the platform, students can take advantage of discounts and voucher codes every once in a while. To use your Shaw Academy voucher, simply click on “trying to register or redeem a voucher” after logging in.

Customer Support

The Shaw Academy customer service team is available per email and live chat for any queries about the courses or your account. In addition, you can find an FAQ section on the company’s website. 

How Much Does Shaw Academy Cost?

If its features convinced you to subscribe for a Shaw Academy membership, you’re probably wondering about the pricing. Compared to competitors like Skillshare who offer annual and monthly plans, Shaw Academy has a single payment option. Students interested in subscribing can use the platform at a fixed monthly fee of £49.99. If you are interested in a cheaper option, you should try out LinkedIn Learning, which has a £29.99 monthly fee. 

Still, if you want to pay for the courses separately and not as a monthly fee, you should check out Udemy. 

To register for the platform, you will need to enter your credit card information, as well as a phone number and email address for contact. 

Furthermore, you can use the Shaw Academy free trial for the first 28 days before your card is charged. To cancel your membership, Go to “My Profile,” click on “Memberships & Payments,” and finally click on “Cancel and Pause Membership and Benefits” and follow the given instructions.

What do Customers Have to Say?

While there are a lot of positive Shaw Academy reviews in the UK, many customers had a negative experience with the cancellation process and the customer service. 

Namely, the company has a 3.6-star rating on Trustpilot, where customers are claiming the company charged their card and customer service agents refused to issue refunds. Other customers have complained that the company is constantly calling them even after asking them to remove their number from the system.

Further Shaw Academy complaints include hidden costs, with customers stating Shaw Academy charged them an additional amount on top of their monthly subscription to get access to course materials or obtain their diploma.

On the other hand, plenty of customers have written positive reviews on the content, stating it helped them learn various topics. Some praise the course formats and the structure of the classes, while others love that everything is clearly explained.

Is Shaw Academy Worth it?

Whether you’re looking to learn something new or develop your skills, Shaw Academy is a decent and affordable option. Apart from its big reputation downfall due to payment issues and sub-par customer support, the platform’s content has received a lot of positive feedback. We hope our unbiased Shaw Academy review gave you insight and helped you make a decision.