Corsi.edu

Corsi.edu is an Italian-language portal of self-paced online courses for adults who want job skills for office, administrative, sales and marketing work. It was built and is run by Gruppo MCS, a professional training company whose national headquarters is at Piazza Tuscolo 13 in Rome. The site describes the portal as dedicated exclusively to asynchronous online courses, "in modalità differita", with training paths kept in line with what employers ask for. Gruppo MCS runs its classroom and videoconference courses through a separate site, gruppomcs.net, so Corsi.edu is the recorded, study-when-you-like side of the business.

The homepage says Gruppo MCS has more than 22 years of activity in training, holds ISO 9001 quality certification, and is an "Ente accreditato Regione Lazio per la formazione professionale", an organization accredited by the Lazio Region for professional training. It also says the company received the "cumlaude 2020" rating from emagister for the good reviews its students left.

The catalog

The catalog is small and focused on employability. The course index groups it into four areas: Aziendali, Fiscali (business, tax and administration, 7 courses), Marketing e Comunicazione (3), Informatica (IT, 5) and Ambiente, Energetico (environment and energy, 1).

The administrative and job-entry courses are the core. They include:

• Corso Assistente Studio Legale, for a legal office assistant, at 199 euros plus VAT
• Corso di Receptionist, at 199 euros all included, with an English course given free
• Corso Impiegato Amministrativo contabile, for an administrative and accounting clerk, at 199 euros
• Corso Addetto alle Vendite, for sales staff, at 199 euros
• Corso Segreteria Studio Medico, for a medical office secretary, with a final certificate
• Corso Patronato, at 199 euros including VAT
• Fatturazione Elettronica, on electronic invoicing, at 39.90 euros with a final certificate and an Open Badge as a gift

On the marketing and people side there is a full basic Digital Marketing course at 199 euros, a basic Coaching course at 99 euros and a complete HR course, Corso Risorse umane completo, covering basic and advanced levels at 99 euros. These three list the certificate and the badge as included in the price.

The IT shelf covers Microsoft Office. Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint each run as a basic and advanced course at 99 euros, and the Excel course is described as 25 video lessons. The Pacchetto Office bundles the 3 basic and advanced courses for Word, Excel and PowerPoint for 267 euros. The single environment and energy course is the Corso online Tecnico Energetico for APE, aimed at energy technicians.

How the courses work

The homepage banners set out the promise in a few short lines: "Forma la tua mente!" (train your mind), enrich your CV with the final certificate, qualified teachers, and follow the courses wherever you are. The latest-courses box currently pushes three offers: electronic invoicing with a free badge at 39.90 euros, the complete basic and advanced Excel course at 99 euros, and the complete HR course at 99 euros. Several course cards also state plainly that the course is delivered online "in differita", recorded rather than live, and that it ends with a final certificate.

The site describes the lessons as simple and intuitive, built from explanatory videos, lessons, handouts ("dispense"), exercises and tests. The course material can be downloaded to a PC or smartphone. Courses are open "24h su 24", every day including holidays and at any hour, which the site presents as a convenience for people who study or work. The system records your progress 7 days a week, so you can stop and pick up where you left off. All you need, it says, is an internet connection and a smartphone or PC.

Help comes from tutors, who the site says answer doubts and questions quickly while you are taking the course, and from technical assistance. The instructors who design the courses are, according to the homepage, all active trainers in classroom and videoconference courses with long experience in their fields, and course design and teaching direction are handled by Gruppo MCS itself. The courses are kept up to date with new legal requirements, which matters for subjects like electronic invoicing and office administration.

Certificates and Open Badges

At the end of each course, once you have followed the course and passed the final test, you can download a final certificate, an "attestato", that the site describes as valid in the working world and meant for your CV. The homepage also advertises courses "con attestato riconosciuto internazionale" (with an internationally recognized certificate). Many courses also lead to Open Badges, which the site calls international standard certificates, and it invites learners to get in touch to find out about free Open Badges for each course. These are the company's own descriptions of its credentials; the certificate is a record of completing the course and its test.

The site ties its quality claims to ISO 9001. It says the courses go through strict ISO 9001 quality checks set by Tuv, which it names as the body that certified Gruppo MCS for delivering training courses.

Buying a course and support

Each course has a buy button and a course outline ("programma corso" or "scheda corso"), so prices are visible before signing up. The listed prices run from 39.90 euros for electronic invoicing to 267 euros for the Office bundle, with most full courses at 99 or 199 euros. Learners log in with a username and password to reach their courses.

Customer service is available Monday to Friday, 9.00 to 17.30, except on holidays, by phone through the Infoline and by email.

For companies and public bodies

Beyond the public catalog, Gruppo MCS builds custom courses. The homepage says that companies, schools and public bodies can request training paths designed for their employees. An employer can also enroll staff in the existing Office, HR or administration courses.

Who it suits

Corsi.edu suits Italian-speaking adults preparing for a job in an office: someone retraining as a receptionist, an administrative clerk, a legal or medical office assistant, or a sales assistant, who wants a short course and a certificate to put on a CV. It also suits office workers who need Excel, Word, PowerPoint or Outlook at a fixed price, and small businesses that need staff trained in electronic invoicing.

It is a narrower fit for learners who want a large library or live classes, since the online catalog is small and the live teaching happens on Gruppo MCS's other site. For its subjects, it offers clear prices, tutor help and a certificate at the end.