The “Wait List” is here!
Back in April, we mentioned that we would likely be implementing a wait list. Well… it’s true and it’s here.
Watch video address below.
Starting on July 3rd, the Rouxbe Cooking School will be shutting down the site to everyone EXCEPT existing students. New students who are interested will need to join a wait list and wait for an available seat in the school. We do not anticipate a long wait list, but there will be one.
There are a number of reasons for this move that are described in this video. In short, this is in preparation for the upcoming Learning Path feature that will be released in the months ahead.
If you’re interested in the answers to any of the following items, you can jump ahead in the video to the time noted in brackets.
• Why are we implementing a wait list. (starts around 0:40).
• What does this mean for existing and new students? (starts at 2:21)
• When is the release of the new Cooking Class feature? (starts at 3:20)
• Can I sign up for the beta? (starts at 4:24)
If you’d like more information or if you have questions around this change, feel free to attend the live 30-minute online event (below) or share your question on our blog.
Attend the live Question & Answer session with Co-Founder Joe Girard.
GO TO: http://rouxbe.com/live at the scheduled times below:
Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 @ 5:00pm (Pacific Time)
Saturday, June 30th, 2012 @ 10:00am (Pacific Time)
Lastly, if you’re interested in participating in the Beta Class, please fill out this short form.
Best Regards,
Joe Girard
Co-Founder of the Rouxbe Cooking School
well , im not interested in chef assitence. I think the videos are self explanitory and the information is awsome. i always reccomend the school. i am disapointed in that i will have to wait to be accepted to view the videos… i guess many need help from the chefs… i dont, wish there was a way to just view the videos with out waiting 10 years…
Hi Chad,
Just wanted to be clear that current students will have no waiting period. And those the join after the July 3rd implementation of the wait list, we certainly not have to wait 10 years. I mentioned a starting wait period of roughly two weeks. This could change to a longer period over time, but as we scale our number of instructors, we’ll scale the number of students that gain a seat in the school.
And I agree that most of our video instruction is self explanatory. This is by design. There are however many students that need assistance and we want to be able to assist them. Unassisted, we still feel the value offered by at $399 is incredible (a professional cooking school for life). So don’t let our comments about chef assistance discourage you from using the site. You can still move through it unassisted along with likely 90% of the other users.
Cheers, Joe.
I don’t know what it is. I’d like to learn. thanks Sharrie
Hi Sharrie,
Rouxbe is an online cooking school. You can explore the site here: http://rouxbe.com
Please click on the contact link at the bottom of any page if you need further clarification.
Cheers,
Joe
I just finished watching the live feed. There were a few times where I couldn’t hear Joe at all. Also, the audio and video were not in sync. When Joe was giving final comments the video cut out before he was done.
Hopefully these are minor glitches that will be fixed. I think this is a good way to deliver content and messages.
Thanks Jan. I will forward your comments to our video production crew. It could possibly have been an internet connectivity problem in your area, but we’ll look into it so that it doesn’t happen again. cheers, Joe.
Joe — will the Wednesday and/or Saturday sessions be available to watch on demand, for people who were unable to catch the live feeds?
Thanks (and regards from New Orleans)…A.
Joe — will these live feeds be available for subsequent viewing for those of us who couldn’t make the original times?
Thanks and regards from New Orleans…A.
yes… we’ll post tomorrow sometime. Stay tuned!
Great, thanks again. And apologies for the multiple posts.
A.
Seems like a bit of a marketing game to me. Like that club that you really want to get into, you wait in line for an hour only to find that the club is half empty when you FINALLY get in. I wanted a lifetime membership for Christmas but if I have to wait a month to “get in”, this might discourage me. In my opinion, I would say stick to what you do really really well which is the online classes and questions answered by forum. The learning path can still be done without the Live online classes. If you want to host LIVE online cooking classes, ask for people to sign up and first come first served. Charge a small fee or make them free, doesn’t matter. Not everyone wants that option anyways. OR have an add on feature to a membership for LIVE classes and personal help and wait list that. Anyhow…I hope it goes well for you…but I think you are going to discourage folks rather than build anticipation. We are in an on demand society and no one likes waiting.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your reply. Couple of notes. Learning paths (online cooking classes) are not going to be live. These will be on-demand classes that students can take on their own schedule. We may supplement certain classes with the very odd, live dialogue, but this will not be core to learning paths.
As for the wait list, appreciate the opinion for sure and you may be right. But I do know that if you want to attend any recreational cooking school, you do have to pay in advance for an available seat. We don’t see this being much different. And if you want a seat at the best restaurant in town, you’ll likely wait in line, just because a restaurant, the servers and the cooks, can only do a great job for so many.
Time will tell. Thanks again. Joe.
Thanks for your reply Joe. I guess I don’t know enough about Learning Paths. Is there a link that explains what it is and how it will work? How are they different from the online courses you already offer?
For the wait list…will someone need to leave the school before you let someone else in? will you have a wait list time indicator to let us know before we sign up how long the wait will be? What will the instructors do for each person that allows them only to server a limited number of people at one time? I don’t know if I am the only one confused (quite possibly I am).
Again, I really think you guys have done a fantastic job of preparing and presenting the material that you have on your site. I have learned a lot from the online classes that I have taken and I have even given your Thanksgiving series to a friend because it helped me tackle one of the most terrifying cooking holidays. I love the detail and skills and knowledge behind cooking that you present. I want to cheer you guys on…I really do. I just don’t understand this wait list thing as well as how your program is going to change (why mess with a great thing?)
Hi Michelle,
We will be releasing more information about learning paths through the month of July so please stay tuned. While they will use a lot of existing content, they will be very different than the current cooking school lessons that we offer, I can assure you.
Re: wait list, yes we will have an indicator (open seat date) once you sign up. Our support staff right now just want to make sure that we learn what it is that a student would like to learn and then get them off onto the right path. Once they are off an running, the class infrastructure and instructor support should ease up and we’ll release more seats. Once we launch learning paths, seats will become available as students complete their final exam.
Happy to hear you had a great thanksgiving experience and I appreciate the great feedback. Wait lists are an essential ingredient to ensuring that we deliver a great product forever. We are “messing’ with the great thing we have going on here only because were starting to grow faster than the support we can offer. Just have to maintain the correct balance.
:-) Joe
I did have a go at Rouxbe for a month and enjoyed it tremendously. It was a revelation.
For financial reasons I had to quit but would like to participate in the progress of that cooking site as I believe this is really a great project.
Many thanks to all, still making beautiful baguette!! and+++
All the best to Rouxbe And Yes please count me in!
in the future, near I hope.
Sylvie Robles
Joe,
I would have to agree with Michelle; “Seems like a bit of a marketing game to me”.
While I completely understand the need for a “Waiting List” if you are going to hold a LIVE teaching session where student-teacher ratio would be a significant factor to the quality of the learning experience, it would not be applicable in a video learning setting. Where is the logic in this?
I have not yet pulled the trigger on joining and I must say, this makes me really think twice.
Not trying to be insulting…just don’t understand how this makes logistical sense.
Hi Gaylan,
While we may use live to supplement our learning path feature, it is NOT a part of learning paths. Learning paths are on demand cooking classes where students can progress at their own pace. This makes live class video features impossible unless we have a scheduled daily class (e.g. from July 1 to July 30th only).
Hope this helps clarify. As mentioned many times, this is not a marketing ploy. If you still think it is, then you might light to checkout alternatives (America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School, Top Chef or the recently announced, August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/triumph-higher-education-group-launches-first-ever-online-culinary-school-2012-06-28).
Cheers, Joe.
I had temporary access to Rouxbe and found them informative and was seriously contemplating going to the school online but the fee is too expensive for me. I just finished my MBA through University of Phoenix and that is where I had the access for a class I took. Do you have any way to watch the classes on a as needed class? I’ve been cooking for almost 40 years but there are some techniquest you just don’t learn on your own. thanks
Hi Tina,
We no longer have a la carte lesson products, but will have a la carte classes in the future. Go to http://rouxbe.com/membership and add your email address ‘to be notified’ about this release.
Joe
Joe,
I am assuming that this does not apply to teacher’s who use Rouxbe thru C-CAP for student instruction.
Yes of course… the wait list does not apply to instructors.
I received the invitation to try Rouxbe cooking school through my cooking club. I found it very informative and had planed to enroll in the fall when finances and schedule were a little better. Should I and can I go on the wait list and if so when and how do I do that.