All Star Training

What it is

All Star Training is an online continuing education provider for people who hold a state license in a trade or profession and need CE hours to renew it. Its About page calls it "a leading provider of online continuing education and compliance training" and says: "Since 2006, we have been a trusted partner for all 50 states across 12+ professions." The home page invites visitors to "Join thousands of professionals who take continuing education with us online each year" and sums the offer up as "Fast and Easy | State-Approved | 100% Online" and "Lowest Prices | Self-Paced 24/7 | Instant Certificate". The business is All Star Training, LLC.

The learner picks a profession, then a state, and lands on the courses approved for that combination. Besides individual licensees, All Star works with organizations: the About page says it partners "with companies and state agencies to oversee the management of training and continuing education requirements from start to finish", from creating courses to overseeing enrollment, next-day reporting and data management. Group accounts and a line of workplace and compliance courses serve employers.

Professions and states

The catalog is organized by profession, and each one carries its own list of states where the courses are approved:

• ACR/HVAC, mechanical and refrigeration contractors in states including Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.
• Auctioneers, auction specialists and bid callers in states from Alabama and Georgia to Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin, with courses on auctions, bidding and public sales.
• Barbers in North Dakota and Texas.
• Code enforcement officers in Texas, with reporting to TDLR.
• Home builders, general contractors and remodelers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia.
• Cosmetologists, estheticians, salon managers, instructors, hair stylists and manicurists in Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina and Texas.
• Electricians, including electrical contractors, master and journeyman electricians, across a long list of states from Alabama to Wyoming.
• Elevator contractors and responsible party specialists in Oregon and Texas, approved by Texas TDLR and the Oregon BCD Building Code Division.
• Professional engineers in Florida, Texas and Utah.
• Funeral directors, embalmers and mortuary professionals in states including Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and Washington, with courses on mortuary science and embalming topics.
• Pesticide applicators and technicians, plumbers, Texas property tax consultants, Texas professional sanitarians, Texas tow truck operators, and water well drillers, pump installers and water operators.

Food handlers get a separate product, the Texas Food Handler Card, "approved by TXDSHS" and available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with the certificate issued on completion.

Pesticide applicators get the most detail on the site. The course list covers structural and agricultural applicators and technicians, with topics such as pest identification, pesticide safety, integrated pest management (IPM) techniques and newer pest control technology, for specialties from fumigation to landscape and agricultural pest control. The page says the courses "are developed by industry experts" and names the state agencies that approve them, from the Arizona Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Indiana State Chemist. A National Technician course is offered as non-CE training. The Texas property tax consultant courses are TDLR approved and "cover essential topics such as property valuation, assessment appeals, and tax exemptions." Water well courses cover project management, drilling regulations and water resource allocation programs. The real estate and mortgage section offers continuing education, exam prep and pre-licensing courses "for real estate and mortgage professionals nationwide", aimed at realtors, mortgage brokers and appraisers.

How the courses work

Courses are self-paced and run in a browser on a computer, tablet or phone. The FAQ says a course can be started right after purchase or later, and is then available "24 hours a day, seven days a week." Learners have "up to 270 days to complete the course or until the expiration date of the course", a date the state licensing board sets. A course can be left at any point and resumed where the learner stopped. Where a course has a timer, the FAQ explains that "the state board requires that you spend a minimum amount of time actively engaged in each lesson", and it warns learners to "remain actively engaged and do not leave the screen idle for more than a few minutes or you may be logged out".

Most courses end each section with a short comprehension quiz; the TX TDLR and OK CIB courses are the exceptions. A failed quiz can be retaken at no extra cost, with the questions randomized. Learners can download and print each course section as a PDF. Each person needs a personal account, and security questions are used during the course to verify identity, because the account feeds the report to the state.

Certificates and state reporting

Certificates are available as soon as a course is finished. On reporting, the FAQ says: "Typically we report CE course completions to state agencies within 1 week and often the next business day. There are only a few isolated cases where the state requires the licensee to report." Profession pages repeat the next-business-day promise, with the qualifier "as permitted". The FAQ also says: "All courses that we offer have been approved where required."

Prices, refunds and support

The site's selling points include "Lowest Price Guaranteed", and the sanitarian page promises "price matching for the lowest prices". The profession pages do not print course prices. The HVAC section also mentions a "guarantee to pass".

The refund policy is set out in the FAQ. Requests must arrive "within 14 calendar days of the purchase date", access is deactivated once a request is received, and a learner who has opened more than one module is no longer eligible. If a course has been accessed beyond that limit and is not finished, the FAQ says "a credit may be issued for future use."

Support runs Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 5:00 CST, by phone, chat and email, and after hours through the Contact Us form. The site also offers short videos on signing up and logging in, and says its courses are simple enough that "even people with no computer experience can complete them".

Workplace training and group accounts

The HR, Workplace and Compliance section sells courses on topics "From project management to conflict resolution" for individuals improving their own skills or for employers training staff. The sanitarian page mentions "non-CE courses like Workplace Compliance" and "group rates for comprehensive staff training", and the pesticide page offers "non-CE courses for your entire staff from Pesticide specific to general workplace compliance" through group accounts.

Learners quoted on the site describe the process plainly. Jeff S. says it "was very simple and easy" and adds that he will "probably use them every year". Arlyn H. calls it a "perfect lay out with a smooth and excellent process where I can go and do it on my own pace."

Who it suits

All Star suits licensed tradespeople and professionals who want to finish their renewal hours online, at their own speed, and have the provider report completion to the board: pesticide applicators across many states, electricians, plumbers, HVAC contractors, funeral professionals, cosmetologists and the Texas-licensed occupations the site covers in depth. Pest control companies and other employers can use group accounts and the non-CE workplace courses to train a whole crew, and agencies can work with the company on managing a licensing program.

It fits less well anyone who wants live classes or instructor contact, since the format is self-paced online study with quizzes. Coverage depends on the profession and state, so a learner should confirm that their own state appears in the list for their trade before buying. It is renewal and compliance training, not a place for broad career courses outside licensed work.