Massage Therapy

River Valley School of Massage publishes no formal admissions policy. What follows is drawn from what the school does publish — its tuition terms, its licensing requirements and its standing invitation to visit — and the last item says plainly what is missing.

The course is 500 classroom hours. A student qualifies for licensing when the 500 hours are complete, and RVSM schedules enough hours to finish in sixteen weeks. The school states that it is highly recommended that students attend full time, to avoid breaks or gaps during the course.

School hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The school is closed Saturday and Sunday.

All major holidays are observed. Classes are postponed for inclement weather; a calendar of school closings is provided during the course and posted on the school’s Facebook page.

The school publishes no fixed list of upcoming start dates on its site.

Tuition for the 500-hour course is $10,000, and for this school that figure is the whole institutional charge rather than a base rate. It includes all required textbooks, the CPR class, any field trips taken during the course, and class insurance.

What tuition does NOT include, in the school’s own words: the MBLEx test cost, the ASBMT licensing fee, the Law exam fee, the Arkansas Student Learning Permit, massage equipment such as a table or chair, and a background check. Get a current figure for each of those before you start — together they are not trivial, and the licence is the point of the course.

Payment options. Tuition may be paid in full or in three monthly payments. Paid in full two weeks before the course start date, it earns a 5 per cent discount — $500 — which applies only to students not using financial aid.

In-school financing, at no interest. The school offers a plan requiring a $1,000 down payment and then $3,000 before the start of each of the next three months of enrolment: $1,000 + $3,000 × 3 = $10,000, the same total as paying outright, with no interest added. All major credit cards are accepted.

Tuition must be paid in full by the completion of the course for a student to receive a certificate.

On federal financial aid. RVSM is licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Massage Therapy but publishes no institutional accreditation, and institutional accreditation by an agency recognised by the U.S. Department of Education is what makes a school eligible for federal Title IV aid. The school’s own tuition page does refer to “non-financial aid students” when describing its early-payment discount, which implies some students use some form of aid.

$10,000 in total, including all required textbooks, the CPR class, field trips and class insurance. The MBLEx, licensing and Law exam fees, the learning permit, equipment and a background check are extra.

The course leads to licensure as a Massage Therapist (LMT) in Arkansas. The school states that on completion students are credited with the classroom hours necessary to be professionally licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Massage Therapy.

Three separate hurdles sit between graduation and a licence, and the school names all three as costs outside tuition: the MBLEx (the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination), the ASBMT licensing fee, and a Law exam. A background check is also required.

RVSM has been graduating therapists since 2003 and says its graduates practise throughout Arkansas and have moved to other states — a reminder that a massage licence is state-issued, and moving generally means meeting the new state’s requirements. Check the destination state’s board before assuming an Arkansas licence transfers.

Licensed massage therapists typically work in spas, chiropractic and physical therapy clinics, wellness centres, hotels and resorts, sports and rehabilitation settings, or in self-employed practice. The school makes no placement claim and publishes no placement rate, and none is asserted here.

A small school, and it shows in the layout. 2,700 square feet: one large classroom holding both the lecture space and the hands-on practice area, two private massage rooms, an administrative office, a small retail area and a student lounge. The school says the facility and furnishings are designed to create an environment conducive to student learning.

Equipment. A variety of Oakworks massage tables and chairs, plus anatomy, trigger point and massage modality charts and other hands-on learning aids.

Teaching approach. The school describes its method as visual aids, hands-on training and illustrated lesson plans, with instructors providing the motivation to develop professional character in students.

The rhythm. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., for sixteen weeks. Major holidays are observed and classes are postponed for inclement weather, with closings published on a calendar during the course and on the school’s Facebook page.

Visit before you enrol. The school explicitly encourages prospective students to come and see the facility and meet the staff — take it up on that, and bring the questions this page cannot answer: the syllabus, the assessment method, the next start date, and what aid it can accept.