The Holistic Grooming Academy

Find below the Terms and Conditions you signed during the enrolment process of The Holistic Grooming Academy.

Please read the below information carefully before paying for the course.

GENERAL

The Holistic Dog Groomer and The Holistic Grooming Academy LTD are not responsible for your and your business's productivity and/or success.

As a student of The Holistic Grooming Academy and a Mentee of The Holistic Dog Groomer, it is crucial you are honest at all times to receive the best service.

Failure to disclose any of the below information correctly may result in the termination of your membership.

While we may offer you advice and guidance based on our own experience, we are not accountants or lawyers, and therefore all students must do their due diligence before making decisions for themselves and their businesses.

Neither the course nor mentorship is transferable - they cannot be gifted to another person unless at the discretion of Stephanie Zikmann.

COMPLAINTS

For complaints, you may contact Stephanie via [email protected] and express your concern(s); please allow up to 7 working days for a response but rest assured your enquiry will be answered. 

ACCREDITED COURSES

Our Diplomas are accredited through iPET (PDR Scheme) and UK Rural Skills.

All content has been designed to enhance the professional groomer and/or dog carer's existing knowledge and skills through education in Canine Behaviour & Emotions, Safe-Handling, Observation, Communication, Self-Care, Customer Relationships & Retention, and Basic Business Skills.

All content within the Academy and as part of the mentorship is strictly for student use and is copyrighted. Students and affiliates may not share, screen-shot and/or similar any of the resources and/or information received as a student/member of the Academy or Mentee of The Holistic Dog Groomer.

The Holistic Grooming Academy Ltd will continue to update course content to ensure it complies with up-to-date methods. However, it is the responsibility of the student to do their due diligence when carrying out their professional roles and to keep updated upon completion of the course, and for the rest of their lives.

Students/Members are encouraged to attend all webinars hosted by The Holistic Grooming Academy Ltd for their time with us.

WHAT YOU GET

As a graduate of The Holistic Grooming Academy Ltd diplomas, you can use the (example) "Certified Holistic Grooming Behaviourist" logos on your social outlets, and business marketing material. If writing it in text, you must also include "with The HGA" to specify where you have been certified (for example: I am a Certified Holistic Grooming Behaviourist with The HGA), alternatively you may also refer to yourself as an "HGA Approved Groomer". 

You will receive access to the Student Members Group and Resource Hub for 24 months from the date of your enrolment.

The group will continue to host an array of live educational events (online and physical) from industry experts and offer a safe, and supportive community of learners sharing the same ethical values. 

You will additionally receive exclusive discounts on our affiliated pet industry businesses. 

If you are U.K based you will receive a free student pack, if you are internationally based you can opt-in for a student pack (worth £50.00); however, post and packaging will be at the expense of the student, and prices may vary depending on your location. These packs are only free for those paying for the course RRP and does not include students who have invested in one of the HGA's promotional sales. 

Please let us know at the time of registering interest whether you would like your pack or not and provide your full address. 

YOUR CANCELLATION RIGHTS

Effective immediately, any student enrolling on The Accredited Holistic Grooming and Behaviour Diploma will receive the entire course content via Thinkific immediately upon payment. Due to the online, digital nature of the course, we do not offer refunds. You may request to reinstate your right for a cooling off period of 14 days by contacting the HGA directly to arrange prior to purchasing the course - we can then freeze access to the HGA resources for the duration of the cancellation window where you can choose to opt-out at any time. 

Full payment is required to secure a space for any of our accredited diplomas. 

YOUR INVESTMENT

The cost of the Accredited Holistic Grooming and Behaviour Diploma course will increase each year with inflation. We may, however, run special promotions throughout the year at our discretion. 

Students have twenty-four months from the date they receive their course content to complete and pass the course unless they have purchased via a promotional deal in which case it is reduced to twelve months. 

The first twelve months will include tutor support (students are eligible for one hour per month of dedicated support via messenger, text and phone call. Additionally, every unit will receive thorough feedback along with final marks per module.), and the final twelve months will be restricted to e-mail support only. Those on a promotional enrolment will only get tutor support via the weekly check-ins, anything more will incur a small fee based on the tutor's hourly rate (this is optional).

Should you not pass within the first twelve months and wish to continue with tutor support, you may request and negotiate payment directly with your allocated tutor. Prices for private tutoring will vary. 

Note: Students will still have access to The Holistic Grooming Academy's private student space, resource hub and monthly webinars/check-ins for the entire 24 months where you can ask questions and seek support this way. 

Students have one free resubmission per unit to pass. Additional re-submissions will incur a £50.00 fee to cover admin fees, which will increase slightly per inflation each year.

Please let your tutor know if you are struggling to complete your units.

PRICE CHANGE NOTICE

Please Note: the price of this course will increase each year slightly as per inflation.

The price of our membership is subject to change at any time.

To lock in your price for the diploma courses, you must secure your space by paying for the course as soon as you can afford to. We cannot guarantee that the course price will be the same in the future.

You will receive an e-mail from [email protected] to officially confirm your successful application, introduce your tutor and welcome you to the Academy. 

PAYMENT PLANS

We no longer offer direct debit payment plans due to numerous students breaching our Terms and Conditions, causing us endless admin issues and taking away quality time for committed students.

We do however offer:

• PAYG 3-Bundle Option for £297 each - this does not include accreditation status but students can upgrade to sit their final exam by paying a final fee of £199 once they have successfully completed and passed all ten units within the bundles. Groomers must complete all ten units within 24-months. The cost of our bundle option may change, and will increase with inflation.
  
  
• Unit-by-Unit Option for £99 each -  this does not include accreditation status but students can upgrade to sit their final exam by paying a final fee of £199 once they have successfully completed and passed all ten units. All ten units must be completed within 24-months of commencing the first unit. The cost of our individual units will increase with inflation. 

The student packs are a complimentary gift from The Holistic Grooming Academy Ltd (unless you have paid for the course via a promotional deal) and are not required to complete your course. Opting out will not change the price of the course. We may offer a refund for a student pack should you decide you no longer wish to pursue the course, but post and packaging will be at the expense of the student, and the box must not have been opened and arrive to us undamaged.  

Please note that the price of shipping student packs is subject to change anytime and is completely out with our control. 

UNIT-BY-UNIT OR BUNDLE OF 3 OPTION

Our unit-by-unit option is available to students who may only wish to complete one or two modules for their CPD. 

The cost of each unit is currently £99.00 with lifetime access, however, this will increase each year with inflation.  

Students may opt to work towards their accreditation via this option however the following terms apply:

• All ten units must be completed within 24 months to be eligible for accreditation
  
  
• The unit-by-unit does not come with any tutor support - students submit their assessments to be marked upon the last unit being completed
  
  
• The initial final grading assessment at the end is currently £199 but the price will increase with inflation. The refresher exam is much less than this but will increase with inflation each year. Students enrolled on the unit or bundle option can opt-out of this exam but they will not receive "accredited" status.
  
  
• The unit-by-unit option does not come with free access to our membership/resource hub therefore students will be required to invest in all of their study material (students may choose to sign up for the monthly membership for an additional £15 per calendar month to get access to the private student community, monthly webinars and all of our resources.
  
  
• Unit-by-unit students won't be able to use our HGA Member logo unless they have signed up for the membership.
  
  
• Each unit completed will come with a generic certificate of completion for CPD tracking purposes and we recommend that students dedicate at least 32 hours of study to each module.
  
  
• Unit-by-unit students are welcome to join the free Holistic and Low-Stress Grooming Community on Facebook for some support and to meet like-minded professionals. 

PRIVATE STUDENT STUDY GROUP

Graduate students are welcome to remain in the Private Student Group via our Monthly Membership Plan.

To continue to receive help, guidance, and access to up-to-date webinars, events, and discounts, we strongly recommend all graduates consider this ongoing investment to their CPD. 

BULLYING AND DISCRIMINATION

Any bullying, discrimination, shaming, name-bashing, or slander towards others, including students, tutors, friends and associates of the Holistic Grooming Academy, will result in the immediate termination of your enrolment to the Academy, and no refund will be given. 

TERMS OF CERTIFICATION

It is essential to the HGA that we mystery shop our existing and former members, students and graduates to safeguard the standard of service conducted within our associated members/students/graduates' working practices. 

Should one of the HGA's Certified Holistic Groomers demonstrate outdated practices or use speech to elicit an outdated ideology that proves to be harmful to an animal, show a disregard for the sentiency of animals and/or displays any form of bullying and/or discrimination against others, it is the responsibility and duty of care of the HGA to first express any concerns with the individual directly. Should the necessary changes not be implemented by the individual, the HGA will proceed with revoking membership and/or certification of the Academy effective immediately. 

Please note, that no refunds will be given for this inconvenience. 

Outdated practices include using aversive methods and tools, using language that demonstrates a disregard to the sentiency of animals (for example but not limited to stereotyping of breeds) and expressing harmful and/or scaremongering ideologies. 

If you are reported violating the HGA ethics, you can appeal to our support team via e-mail ([email protected]).

Evidence should be provided at this time. Evidence should be time-stamped where appropriate.

If you report an individual for suspected ill practice, you must do so via our support team ([email protected]) with evidence to back this claim up. Evidence should be time-stamped where appropriate. 

We advise you NOT to share this with any other member of The Holistic Grooming Academy (including tutors and students), whether this is publicly or via private message. Please respect a person's Data Protection rights and only contact our support team with any concerns.

All students are entitled to a one-strike policy where they must agree to amend their current practice to comply with the HGA ethics.

In this instance, they will be placed on a probation period of 6 months. This includes random spot-checks and mystery shopping scenarios they must pass before their Certification can be re-applied. 

We hope that you understand the reason for this policy is to ensure your investment and achievement remains one to be proud of.

ACCREDITATION TERM

All of our accredited certifications last for a duration of one year before they need to be renewed, what's more, ALL students must be investing in and tracking their CPD each year (100 hours per year) while accredited with the HGA. Evidence of which may be requested at random at any time. 

After-which, students are encouraged to take our refresher course and submit for certification renewal to ensure they are updated on modern approaches and science-backed methods. This will involve a written and practical demonstration exam to demonstrate understanding and competency with updated methods. Proof of CPD will also be required and graduates must be able to demonstrate an investment of (at minimum) 100 hours of CPD throughout the year (12 months) they have been accredited by us. 

Graduates have a friendly 7-day window to apply for their refresher course upon expiration before they will be removed from our system, including our directory and private support group. Should a graduate decide to take the refresher course after the 7-day friendly window, they will have to retake the entire Diploma course again as a "new student" UNLESS they have contacted the Academy to explain why there may be a delay in taking their refresher (please note this will be at the discretion of the Academy, and we cannot be flexible with every student). 

For graduates missing the 7-day window, they may re-enrol on the course for 50% of the course RRP if they enrol within one year of expiry, otherwise they will be required to pay the entire course fee if they exceed one year. 

Graduates are not obligated to refresh their certification however must remove all accredited HGA logos immediately should they decide not to refresh their certification with The Holistic Grooming Academy Ltd. They will no longer be able to use the title 'Certified Holistic Grooming Behaviourist' and their business listing on our Global Directory will be removed immediately.

As a thank you for their commitment to the HGA, former graduates will still have access to our membership hub though features will be restricted. However, they will not be able to attend the events live. This incentive is subject to change anytime. 

ENDNOTES

Please remember that this is an ever-evolving community and it is our mission to provide the most accurate and up-to-date methods of positive-based grooming. If you are not happy, we want to know therefore we ask that should you come across any course content that you feel is inaccurate and/or outdated to contact us immediately with your concerns via [email protected].