Frequently asked questions

How Would you Describe Sofema Online as a Product?

This is an interesting question as it is critical to our business success, during 2022 we are targeting 23500 course enrollments. (An anticipated increase from 17500 enrolled users last year.)

Comparison with our Most Serious Competitors

Whilst SOL offers similar content when comparing both training experiences (Sofema Online & Competitor Classroom / Virtual) the focus of SOL online training is the cost-effective delivery of regulatory compliant and competence building vocational material, supported where possible with additional practical content.

An example of this practical support is Sofema Aviation Services - Library Area where we provide approximately 250 relevant documents to support the training experience.

Sofema Online - More than an Online Training Platform

- Please Consider us Your Career Development Partner
- Offering multiple opportunities for accelerated learning

It is important to us that we do not disappoint our customers, so we want you to try it before you buy.

Please visit "Course"  and search with the keyword “sample” - there are 5 courses to choose from (or try them all!).

 
 

What is SofemaOnline?

www.SofemaOnline.com (SOL), a service provided by Sofema Aviation Services, offers a premier online regulatory training solution to our clients. SOL is a web-based online training platform focused on delivering high quality online regulatory and vocational courses in the field of aviation, compliant within the scope of EASA, FAA and other regulatory environments, together with additional competence building courses to provide for vocational training within the scope of the applicable regulatory environment.

How do I enroll for SofemaOnline Courses?

In order to enroll, first, you need to create an account from the Register button on top right. An activation email will be sent to you with your username and password, click the activation link and start browsing our courses. After you pick your course from the Courses menu, click Enroll and you will be prompted to add it to your cart. Then you will be redirected to the checkout page.

How can I pay?

You can pay online through PayPal's standard checkout or with a Credit/Debit card (VPOS)*. If you wish to pay by wire transfer or Revolut, please contact team@sassofia.com Please note that all bank charges will be at the client's expense. An invoice will be provided with all relevant information.

*Please note that the VPOS transaction will be processed through a Bulgarian bank and the currency will be Bulgarian Leva /BGN/.
No refunds can be made to a credit card unless the original purchase was made with that card within 7 business days of the original charge date. VAT may apply for EU registered companies or individuals. If you are an EU based company or individual please make sure you include your company VAT number during the registration process to avoid additional charges. 

Does Sofema Online Charge VAT?

Whether you pay VAT depends on a number of circumstances, please see below for a detailed explanation of applicability.

1/ Individuals who are residing outside of the EU - No VAT will be added to your invoice.
2/ European Companies who are registered for VAT in Europe and can provide an EU VAT No - No VAT will be added to your invoice.
3/ Individuals who reside in any European country - Unfortunately, VAT will be added to your invoice at a rate corresponding to the VAT rate set by your Country. This is a European Legal Requirement which cannot be avoided.

Q: I am a European Citizen but I reside in a Non-EU country, what is my VAT position?
A: If your order is received from an address which is Non-EU, then no VAT will be added to your invoice.

If you have any questions, please email us at team@sassofia.com

Can I enroll for a Monthly Freedom Pass with my Credit Card?

Monthly Freedom Pass (MFP) is only available through paypal. If you do not have an account please visit www.paypal.com. Creating an account could not be easier and once you have signed the MFP Contract, Sofema Online will set up a monthly recurring payment for the due amount. 
 
Paypal is able to provide checks and safeguards which has enabled Sofema Online to offer a Monthly Payment Option to our clients. With an active paypal account you can rely on paypal to make your monthly payments from your account or registered card. In addition you can quickly check the status of the payments which you have made.

Will I receive a discount for multiple courses / delegates?

If you are looking to buy more than one course or for more than one participant, you should check our discount page: Costs & Plans In order to take advantage of the discounts, please email us at team@sassofia.com so we can prepare you an offer with a proforma invoice.

What are my rights as a Company Account Administrator?

As a Company Account Administrator, you will be able to have an overview of your team's training progress, the time spent on the course /monthly, daily and hourly/ as well as review their scores on the final exam and print their certificates.

*However, please note that you will not be able to purchase and allocate courses for team members directly through your account, all such requests should be sent to team@sassofia.com.

When can I access the training?

PayPal payments through SofemaOnline are processed automatically. Once the payment process is completed you will be enrolled automatically. Our online single courses are available to the delegate for 9 months, the Packages for 12 months and the Diplomas for 15 months to complete the training and sit the exam.

* Once the exam is successfully passed the training material will no longer be available.

The good thing about online courses is that you may stop and continue from the place you stop whenever you like. When you decide to continue our system remembers when you logged out and starts the course from the module (slide) you stopped last time. This means that you can divide courses in any way that is convenient for you.

What is the Access Period & Duration of the Courses?

There is an approximate duration stated for each course. That time may vary depending on your learning pace. 

However, it is important to note that whilst you set the pace, it is not a race and you owe it to yourself to fully engage and gain the maximum value from the training. 

If you fail the exam, you have 2 more attempts, however, a first failure should indicate that you should carefully review the course. Rushing through hundreds of slides in a couple of hours is not what we want, and we are sure you agree.

Concerning Course Access Period - Effective from March 1st, 2022

Important Note - Due to the large number of enrolments and the administrative burden it is no longer possible to provide Ad-Hoc extensions. Please therefore do pay particular attention to the access period and ensure that you complete the course in due time.

·       All single courses, unless part of a diploma or special package, have a 270 days access period.

·       The access period for Packages is 12 months

·       The access period for Diplomas is 15 months

*In the case the delegate does not complete the training during the initially provided access period SOL will provide the training again with a 50% discount from the regular price.

Can I extend or reassign courses as a corporate user?

Sofema Online Promotes the most cost-effective solutions for our clients so we encourage clients to block purchase to achieve the best possible discounts – such purchased courses are valid for the year of purchase and may be rolled over for a further six months after which they expire. Such courses are considered as slots purchased but not assigned.

Once a course is assigned to a user it may only be resigned to another user only within the first month if it has not been started. Outside of the first month, it is not possible to re-assign and it is necessary to purchase a new course  

Please Note effective 1st January 2023 extensions are no longer available for any course or package, therefore it is important to complete the course or courses within the allotted period of 9, 12, or 15 months.

General Note - During 2023 we expect to complete over 27500 enrollments – it is vitally important to be clear and transparent for both Sofema Online and our customers to minimize our administrative burden – we therefore kindly ask our customers to plan ahead and to ensure all delegates complete the training in a timely and diligent manner.

Will I receive a certificate?

There is an exam at the end of each of the training presentations, after you successfully pass the exam you will be able to download and print out your certificate. The certificates will be issued by Sofema Aviation Services. Our Certificates also include the logo of our sister company AETS-Sofema an EASA Part 147 Consulting Regulatory Training Organisation.

SofemaOnline.com is recognized by Competent Authorities as an organisation that provides online Regulatory and Vocational Training and together with Sofema Aviation Services we have issued more than 50 000 certificates since 2008.

Our policy is to provide electronically signed certificates.

In the case of Diploma Programs we are pleased to offer the option of an additional Hard Copy Certificate dispatched by normal post at our cost after demonstrating all elements of the course has been completed.

Please note we will provide a package tracking number showing that the document has arrived in the “identified by you” location.

Cautionary Note - A number of clients like to work through several courses and complete all examinations in a single sitting. This has the unintended consequence of producing several certificates with the same date. We have on record occasions when this outcome is challenged by a European Competent Authority (CA) as not realistic. Please consider this outcome when undertaking your online examinations.

Important Note - You will be sent a Soft Copy Diploma by email, however we cannot address your local issues if your Hard Copy Diploma does not arrive because of your local postal service - we will only support an additional certificate at your cost, which to avoid repetition should be by courier in accordance with your cost & arrangement typically (Fed Ex / DHL / UPS).

I Cannot Print My Certificate having passed the Examination

Once you have passed the exam the system will generate your certificate and you should be able to immediately print, however, if you have any problems please visit your "My courses"  tab. Here you can access and download your certificate. If you have any difficulties please do not hesitate to email us at team@sassofia.com and we will be pleased to support you.



Caution Regarding the Generation of Certificates following Completion of Multiple Courses

We have received information concerning a delegate completing multiple courses over several days - but completing all the exams on a single day. In this case, the (Competent Authority) CA would not accept multiple certificates with a single date of accomplishment.

The nominal duration of courses should be respected. Sofema Online recommends that online courses are undertaken in a diligent and progressive way supported by reference to EASA Easy access rules as well as supplemental information available in the Sofema Aviation Services Download Area 

In every case when completing the course we recommend you sit the final exam and achieve your certificate before moving on.

Is it possible for Multiple Users to share a single course

It is not intended for multiple users to share single access, there is only one exam and one certificate. Visit traffic is monitored and a record is kept of the total time spent on each training. Only the registered user will receive a certificate. If you would like multiple delegates to receive the training then you should register for a multiple delegate discount.

How to Audit a Training Provider of EASA Regulatory & Vocational Training Courses?

As advised by EASA the receiving organisation is ultimately responsible for the validity and effectiveness of any regulatory short courses which are taken by the organisation's staff.

Please consider that the classroom, online or webinar training your staff will receive is related to the management of their competence, moreover, the provision of the particular training is one element of this process.

To support your Quality Assurance oversight of the process SAS will provide FOC Guest access for your Nominated Assessor to validate SOL online training courses or to provide team viewer or similar access to classroom & webinar courses when it is required.

You should also evaluate your process for managing the competence of your assessor who will be able to attest to the validity and acceptability of the provided material.

Finally, do consider your follow-up process to ensure the effectiveness of the training received by the employee and whether it is necessary to include any additional assessment procedures to be carried out by the receiving organisation.

Are Sofema Online Certificates Approved by EASA / FAA?

We are often requested by prospective clients to provide our Approved Training Organisation (ATO) Approval Reference or our Maintenance Training Organisation Approval (MTOA). ATO approval is for training Pilots & Cabin Crew (and nothing else!), whereas MTOA approval is for training Part 66 Engineers in both Basic & Type Training (and nothing else).

The approval (In reality “acceptance”) comes from the receiving (Part CAMO, Part 145, or Part ORO) organisation.

Please Note EASA does not issue any specific approval for Organisations to deliver regulatory training.

Do the certificates have an expiry date?

Certificates do not have an expiry date, but some are subject to a recurrent requirement, which should be addressed every 24 months. For example: CRM / HF / DGR / EWIS / FTS.

Can I receive hard copy of certificate?

Our System automatically generates certificates which you may print out at your convenience. This is the most cost-effective way of delivering your certificate. The certificate is controlled by a unique serial number. Whilst it is normally not necessary to receive a hard copy (which is simply a printed version of your certificate).

Hard copy certificates can be provided for each training at a cost of 35 EUR - to cover printing in color on 120 gsm paper and mail at Air Mail rates.

How long do you keep certificates?

It is your responsibility to download and safely store your certificate. 

We keep all certificates in our archive for a period of 7 years. The certificate will be available in your profile for 9 months, after that, it may be requested from us for free for another 24 months. (Subject to SOL acceptance regarding reason for loss). After 24 months have elapsed an additional charge of 20 EUR/certificate is applicable to cover administration support. Please contact us: team@sassofia.com

What if I fail the exam?

Yes, this is quite correct that you cannot review the questions and answers - it is an examination it is not a progress update. The purpose of the examination is to determine if your level of understanding warrants the awarding of a certificate.

It is not a case of learning the questions, rather the intention is that you will learn the subject matter.

However, If you fail the exam, you have 2 more attempts. A first failure should indicate that you should carefully review the course. Rushing through hundreds of slides in a couple of hours is not what we want, and we are sure you agree.

If you fail all your 3 attempts on the exam you will need to redo the training. Our policy is to provide you with the training again, with a 50% discount. Please contact us at team@sassofia.com

Will I receive a Hard or Soft Copy of the training material?

At Sofema Online we have listened to our clients and one of the consistent requests is to have a soft copy of the material available for Study Purposes. We are very pleased to be supporting our clients by providing our material and look forward to furthering opportunities to provide ongoing support for Regulatory & Vocational Training.

If you have a minimum of 3 delegates enrolled in a single SOL online course, your nominated Course Leader / Administrator will be able to request a free copy of the training material. Please email team@sassofia.com with your request for soft copy material. (For Packages, Diploma & Freedom Pass please see the following purchase option)

o  For Training Equivalent to 1/2 day Training - 30 EUR
o  For Training Equivalent to 1 day Training - 30 EUR
o  For Training Equivalent to 2 days Training - 60 EUR
o  For Training Equivalent to 3 days Training- 90 EUR 

Effective 1st January 2023 Corporate Clients, Individual Students, and smaller groups may also have soft copy offline access (following enrollment) with the following cost: 30 Euro / Day or Part Day of Training Material.

If after consideration of the above you wish to purchase the course material, please contact team@sassofia.com

After the completion of any course and having passed the examination will I be able to re-read the slide presentation again?

Congratulations on completing the program and passing the examination, you will no longer have access to the program so that we can assign the bandwidth to new users.

When Will I Receive an Invoice for Payment to Sofema?

It is Sofema Policy to Issue Invoices on the Friday following the clearance of funds in our account - If you have not received your invoice within 7 days following confirmation from Sofema regarding the received payment, please check spam etc. and contact us at team@sassofia.com.

Please note - we can only issue an invoice for the exact amount of funds received into our accounts - Bank Fees and other Bank Adjustments which may affect the received amount are at the administrative responsibility of the client.

 
 
 

Payment Options

To reduce the administrative burden and control costs the following payment options are available:
 
  • - Purchases less than 100 Euros - the course should be selected and paid through the online options which are currently Pay Pal and Credit Card - You will not receive a pro-forma, however you will receive a final invoice to confirm your payment.
  • - Purchases over 100 Euros - the course can either be selected through the website as above or can be requested manually through team@sassofia.com with the additional option of bank transfer.
  • * with this option both pro-forma invoice and final invoice will be provided.

Note: If you can not pay via the website for payments below 100 Euros an admin fee of 15 Euro is applied - Please contact team@sassofia.com and a proforma can be issued for bank payment and a final invoice after payment

 

 

Can I Exchange Courses within a Diploma Program if I have already completed some of the Diploma Courses?

It is not possible to change the content of the Diploma for individual Clients. However it is important to recognise the previous courses which have been completed by our clients. For this purpose if a part of the Diploma Program has been completed by the client during the preceding 24 Months a discount equivalent to 35% of the applicable course cost will be applied.

What is the purpose of the Sofema Online Learning Diploma and why is it called a Certificate?

As identified by Wikipedia A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, (In this case Sofema Aviation with more than a decade specializing in EASA Compliant Regulatory and Vocational Education), that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study.
Note our certificates are issued on an honouree basis - which means that you undertake the examinations as evidence of your personal achievement and as part of your learning path development, exams are not supervised.
We put great faith in our delegates, however, we always recommend that employers and prospective employers should establish the bonafide of the certificate holder during the interview process.

What is a Sofema Online Learning Diploma - Certificate of Distinction?

It is important to acknowledge the increasing number of delegates who are enrolling for the Sofema Online Diploma Program and producing outstanding results, therefore from Jan 2021 any delegate passing the Learning Path Courses in the Requested Subject with more than 80% pass across 90% of the allocated courses, will be identified as awarded a “Certificate of Distinction”.

What is the Purpose and Benefit of Voice Over (VO) Added to SOL Courses

Voice Over (VO) refers to the process of recording spoken narration or dialogue to accompany visual content.

  • - Voice Over adds an audio element to the training, making it more engaging and dynamic
  • - Voice Over enhances the clarity and comprehension of the training material reducing the cognitive load and increasing attention and focus.
  • - By providing spoken explanations learners can better understand the content, especially complex concepts or procedures.
  • - Additionally, VO ensures that learners receive clear guidance, reducing the chances of misinterpretation or confusion.

Individual Freedom Pass Enrollment

Freedom Pass Clients May have 3 Single Courses (one Package or one Diploma) added to "My Courses" to ensure continuity.  Enrollments will normally be completed no later than 24 hours following the request by email to team@sassofia.com. Typically requests during AM will be completed the same day and requests during PM will be completed at the start of business during the following workday.

For maximum benefit and mutual convenience please advise requests at your earliest convenience in advance so that the requests may be expedited by our admin team.

* Effective 1st April 2023 SofemaOnline is pleased to offer a total value of up to 150 Euro Soft Copy Material Bonus for each year of Individual Freedom Pass or Monthly Freedom Pass. This allows the recipient of up to 5 days' equivalent of training material.

 

Corporate Freedom Pass Optimum Management

To enable the most efficient delivery of the program including the administrative management and enrollment process please take note of the following:

· We want you to benefit from the maximum use of the CFP so we ask you to nominate your program manager who will both manage your training Program and communicate enrollments with the Sofema Online Admin Team

· Using the provided enrollment request form to complete and send to a special email created to support the corporate enrollment process team@sassofia.com

· Enrollments will normally be completed no later than 24 hours following the request using the provided enrollment form. Typically requests during AM will be completed the same day and requests during PM will be completed at the start of business during the following workday

· For maximum benefit and mutual convenience please advise enrollments for the following day in advance so that the requests may be expedited by our admin team

· We encourage our clients to manage the available concurrent training slots in an efficient and effective way so that they will receive the maximum benefit

· We recognize that changes will occur during the day so any updates you provide will be added to previously requested and actioned during the daily updates

With CFP you have a nominal availability of training days – CFP 5 – 1200 / CFP 7 - 1680 / CFP 10 – 2400 / CFP 15 – 3600 however to note the nominal training days indicated does not include the weekends which are available if you choose to use.

Note  – To encourage full use of the system our admin support team is available to support weekend daily enrollments.

Part-147 approved organisations can also give courses outside the scope of Part-66. Can these courses be certified?

(e.g. continuation training for the purpose of the certifying staff privileges as required by 145.A.35, task training, NDT, engine run, HF, SMS, etc.)

Courses outside the scope of Part-66 cannot be part of the Approval Schedule of the approved Part-147 organisation. This does not prevent a training organisation to provide such courses. The scope, content and delivery methods of these courses will not be reviewed by the Agency or the EASA Member States, as part of the audit scope of the Part-147 organisation. However, when Part-M or Part-145 requires the staff to be trained, the appropriateness of such training being delivered would be assessed during the audits of these particular organisations.

Regarding EASA Part 66 Module 9 & 10

Please note the following - Sofema Aviation Services offers Module 9 Human Factors and Module 10 Air Legislation as Classroom, Webinar and Online training (www.sofemaonline.com) training in support of 3rd Country 145 organisations

Part -145 approvals - Aircraft certifying staff and support staff UG.CAO.00121-004 & Part 145 Workshop Certification Approval (please refer to Foreign Part-145 approvals - Components, engines and APU certifying staff UG.CAO.00126-003).

Under the scope of the user guide, the training is approved by the Quality Assurance Manager of the Receiving Organisation

Sofema Online offers Module 9 Human Factors & Module 10 Air Legislation for two purposes:

a) To Provide an online option equivalent to SAS Classroom training - again approved by the Quality Assurance Manager of the Receiving Organisation;
b) For study & review purposes in support of preparation for EASA Part 66 formal examinations.

What is the difference between EASA Part 145 Human Factors & CAMO Human Factors?

They are currently very different - Part 145 HF Training is not applicable for CAMO staffs who must receive the following HF combined with SMS course. Please see the following reference - Part CAMO Safety & Human Factor Training In Accordance with GM2 CAMO.A.305(g). Currently, no changes are applicable for EASA Part 145 Staff who will continue to receive training in accordance with EASA Part 145.A.30.
 
 

What Accreditation within the European Framework Does a Sofema Online Diploma Carry?

Due to the fact that exams are not invigilated, it is not possible to provide additional accreditation the cost of Invigilation being considerably more than the cost of the online program.
 
Completion of Sofema Online Diplomas serves as a "Hands-on and Practical" demonstration of personal competence which will directly support you in your career aspirations.
 

What are the Organizational Obligations Regarding EASA Regulatory Compliant & Vocational Courses?

Under the EASA system, it is the responsibility of the organization to ensure that any training is compliant not just with EASA regulations but also with the internal competence management and oversight requirements of the Organization. All SofemaOnline training courses are based on material provided by Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com and are intended to be fully compliant with the regulations. However please note it is for the receiving organization to ensure that the material meets your needs. To support this obligation if you sign up 5 or more delegates for a single training we will also provide additional access for a nominated quality auditor to assess the training. (In this way you as an organization can ensure the training meets your expectations, in addition, it will enable you to demonstrate you have audited the material which is part of the 145 audit program). Such access will be provided before you pay for the training (we are confident that our training is compliant and we want to support you in the best way possible). If you have less than 5 persons who wish to take the training we suggest you initially pay for a single course and use it for the purpose of internal approval.

Why does Sofema not offer a course delivery program?

With over 650 Courses Available for Classroom & Webinar Deliver and over 300 Courses available online, It is not practical to run a structured delivery program that aligns with multiple Customer objectives.

For this reason, the following applies:

Online - Enrollment can be made at any time - with a Corporate Freedom Pass it is possible to enroll your own staff in Sofema Online Training.

Classroom / Webinar - We are extremely flexible to our clients' needs and will organize private training at a mutually convenient time.

*Please note our daily costs for delivery of training for 12 persons are extremely competitive at approximately 30% of our competitors' cost - for a formal offer please specify the course you are interested in and email Team@sassofia.com

Regarding Client Request for Original Documentation to be Provided

As an online service provider, it is normal practice for Sofema Online (SOL) to provide email copies of relevant contracts, agreements, proforma & final invoices.

In the event that the client requires physical processing and transmission the following is applicable: 

a/ Contract price less than 150 Euros will incur a 25 Euro Admin charge payable in advance to cover Admin & Postage services
b/ Contract price in excess of 150 Euros the Admin charge will be Waived
 
 

My Organisation needs multiple documents for example registration / proof of bank / proof of address / contract with special or amended terms, additional documentation or agreements. Can you support this requirement?

Yes we can but please note that there is a minimum course purchase fee of 250 EUR for additional administrative support from Sofema Aviation Services, therefore we propose you wait until you have sufficient training requirements to meet the threshold. Alternatively, if you still wish to proceed, for smaller amounts there is an applicable admin fee of 50 Euros added to the first account. (Alternately order the course directly through the website and make the payment through PayPal.)

Concerning Accountancy Queries and Retrospective Support to Clients

Sofema Aviation Services provides a Pro forma Invoice and on receipt of payment for Full VAT Invoice. The discharges our fiduciary responsibility in accordance with European Accounting Requirements. When a client has a special request to provide a formal invoice to enable payment - SAS will endeavor to support the final invoice which should show the actual amount received to avoid accounting errors.

Important Note: Any discrepancies regarding actual funds received will require SAS to re-issue the final invoice – which may require the client to update their accounts.

Should a Client require additional support to investigate anomalies please note the following:

·        Within 6 months of issuing an invoice we will re-issue as requested without charge.
·        From 6 months to 1 year, there is a service charge of 50 EUR for accountancy support per single event.
·        After 1 year the fee for financial accountancy support is 100 EUR for a single event.
·        In the event that a detailed analysis is required we need to involve our external accountants and in this case the charge per event is 200 EUR (min) per request. The fee may increase where we are required to go back to review archived data.
·        All fees to be agreed and paid before commencement of support activity.

Sofema Online Refund Policy

From time to time, it is necessary to make refunds. It is important that we meet the expectations of our customers.

Please also kindly note that receiving money generates fees for Sofema, whilst this is a normal part of business, to refund a payment to the client incurs double expenses for no revenue.

To encourage clients to try Sofema Online course content before purchase we provide samples of 5 separate courses on Sofema Online. (Try Before Buy) - allowing assessment of our product exactly to ensure the product meets your expectations. - https://sofemaonline.com/lms/all-courses search keyword “sample”

The following Policy will apply to requests for a refund:

1) Where the client has made a mistake for example choosing the wrong course or paying twice then the refund will be either a credit note, for the full amount or the balance after bank charges have been applied.
2) Where the client claims they are not happy with the product and requests a refund for any reason the following will apply

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to limit or deny refund requests in cases where we believe there is refund abuse, including but not limited to the following:
- A significant portion of the course has been consumed or downloaded by a student before the refund was requested.
- Multiple or excessive refunds have been requested by a student for the same course.
- We do not grant refunds for any subscription services unless otherwise required by applicable law.

These refund restrictions will be enforced to the extent permitted by applicable law.