Middle Eastern Dance Universtiy (MEDU)
~Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Welcome to the FAQ page. Here you will find questions that are frequently asked and their answers. If you do not see the answer to your question please e-mail me.
How long does it take to complete each course?
- Each course is designed to be work at your own pace. This allows for flexibility around you schedule and unexpected event in your life. I do reccomend a minimum of three months on the courses because I feel it's neccessary to really take in the materials presented. However, a student may finish their course as soon as they want assuming they meet all the course requirements. A three month minimum would make it much like taking a college class in a summer semester. Otherwise, the courses are designed to last about the same length as a regular semester course if a student finishes about one lesson a week. Some lessons may take longer and some might breeze by but if each lesson is given a week it will take about the same time as one semester. Since the student can take the course as slowly or as fast as they want you can spend more or less time on any of the lessons as they feel neccessary.
How do the classes work?
- Our courses are academic and work much like an on-line course taken at any university. If you've ever taken an on-line course in D2L, WebCT, or Moodle you will find many familiar aspects. Our courses are created and run on the Moodle platform. There are .pdf and on-line texts for reading, forums to post in and interact with other students, drop boxes for course work where you upload your papers and on-line homework and quizzes. The course can be done at your own time but follows a linear pattern. You communicate through the course by forum posts and occassionally on-line chats. You access course materials through powerpoints, .pdfs, .doc/.docx, web articles, and videos.
Is there any sort of recognition for having completed the courses at MEDU?
- Yes and no! Although MEDU is not an accredited college and does not give college credits or CEU's(continuing education units) there are some ways that you recieve recognition. First of all by completing certain series of courses you will be awarded Certificates and Degrees from MEDU. Although they carry no legal weight they are still nice to display at your studio or to have your own personal feeling of accomplishment. Also, Middle Eastern Dance.net is a site that is becoming more and more recognized by dancers all over the world. The information available on the site has been praised by people from all parts of the globe as being high quality and very educational. When you have a MEDU certificate or degree many dancers will respect the knowledge you have gained because the site provides quality information for dancers and comes from a widely known site. Sometime in the future MEDU may seek to become accredited or be associated with other organizations who provide certifications and/or accreditations. If we do, as a previous graduate you will be given recognition by these associates. In the event that we do that, we may be required to add additional requirements for recognition. You will be given the opportunity to finish these additional requirements in order to recieve an official recognition at no additonal cost to you. Fees for classes may increase but you will not be charged extra to update your certifications or accreditations
If I don't like the classes can I get my money back?
- Yes you can! In fact, for serious students who really want to learn more about this artform and it's various subjects, I'm so certain you will like the classes that I offer a 30 day money back guarantee. You can take the first month and if you don't like it you can withdraw from the class and recieve all your money back.
Why would I take an online course if I can just go and research it myself?
- I personally hope you do both! But, why are my classes beneficial? There are several reasons. First of all there are a lot of fantasy ideas about bellydance out there and it's possible you may not know enough at first to distinguish fact from fiction. Also, it can be hard to locate all the "good" sources available since there are now so many resources available on the internet and through books. It could take you years to find out what is already presented here in some of the courses. The information here is culmination of my 10+ years of research. What these classes do for you is give you guided direction. They can cut the time it takes you to locate many of the better resources and give, at minimum, a good starting point to start doing your own research. Even if you are not new to the subjects you may still find out something new or discover new resources you had not found before. MEDU has an on-line virtual library with many addtional scholarly articles for you to read.
Why should I take classes from you? What authority do you have? How do I know they are any good?
- If you have liked the site and found it to a good resource you probably will feel the same about my online classes. I have been studying Middle Eastern Dance and it's various aspects such as history, culture, language, etc... for over 10 years. Does that make my "the" authority on every subject here? No. There are those who have studied much longer than I. For example Cassandra of Jawaahir, Morocco of Casbah Dance, or even Artemis. All of them have been studying and researching for over 30 years. But, neither of them are offering you an online class. What I know has been learned from many sources including seasoned professionals such as Cassandra, Morocco, Artemis, Andrea Deagon,and Anthony Shay as well as from my own research into the subjects using websites, books, magazines, and other publications. I have also talked with people from all over the Middle East about thier opinions, experience and knowledge on the subjects and spent a year living in Egypt during which I was able to do historical research. I encourage all dancers to study all these resources for themselves in order to educate themselves and draw their own conclusions. I want every dancer out their to be able to talk inteligently about bellydance and that's the reason I created these courses. However, I too feel that there should be input from people who also are very knowldgeable on the subject. In addition the courses use many resources from various authors as well so it's not just my opinion that is being taught.
What's the deal with the history courses having "reccomended" books and videos?
- The history courses here utilize an on-line text created specifically for the course but there are always recommended readings. I post these as recommended because I know how expensive it can be to buy these texts and I want to keep the cost for students down. If you really want to read more look for the recommended texts otherwise the information provided through the course is sufficient for a basic understanding of the material. This way you can spend your money on the materials you really want and don't have to purchase ones your not likely to read much or don't really want. You pick what's most useful to you. If you don't have money to buy additional materials, no worries since the course will provide you with the information necessary to understand the topics.
