Massage Therapy

An average of 30 hours a week, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 3:00 pm (subject to change), for about 25 weeks. Massage classes start twice a year; the handbook lists a June 15, 2026 start with a contract graduation date of December 22, 2026. Orientation is the week before your start date.

Satisfactory progress means 90% attendance and a 75% grade average at the 375-hour checkpoint; a student who falls short loses aid for that payment period unless an appeal succeeds. You must finish within 110% of the programme, 28 weeks. Massage students cannot take a leave of absence. The handbook lists an hourly fee of $19.73.

Cost of the programme. Massage Therapy costs $14,800 in tuition plus $2,460 for books and kit, $17,260 in total, with a $100 application fee paid separately. All consumable products you use in training are included in tuition; kit items are issued as you progress, and you buy the supplies needed for the licensure exam. The programme page gives the same $17,260 as the total estimate for completion in normal time. Without aid, the plan is a $3,452 down payment and $2,761 a month.

Federal aid. TSPA offers Federal Pell Grants, Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans and Parent PLUS loans to those who qualify. File the FAFSA with school code 041577; the school recommends using figures from your completed tax return and filing early. First-time borrowers complete entrance counseling and a Master Promissory Note. Aid is disbursed in payment periods as you progress, provided you are making satisfactory academic progress. Veterans' benefits, Native American tribal education benefits, Wisconsin dislocated worker benefits and scholarships may also help; the financial aid office keeps a list of scholarships. The IPEDS figures in the handbook show 47% of students received Pell Grants.

Paying without aid. Students not receiving federal, third-party or scholarship funds pay a down payment at least 30 days before classes, then monthly payments from the first day of class under a Retail Installment Agreement. The school accepts cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and money orders. A student who cannot keep to the schedule can ask the Owner/Director in writing to agree new arrangements.

Cancelling and refunds. Massage therapy follows Wisconsin's educational approval refund rules. Cancel within three business days and everything is refunded within 10 business days; cancel before classes begin and you get back everything except the $100 application fee. After attending at least one class, a student who withdraws or is dismissed before completing 60% of the enrollment period receives a pro rata tuition refund: 90% before 10%, then 80%, 70%, 60%, 50% and 40% in 10% steps, and nothing from 60% unless mitigating circumstances beyond your control apply. Refunds are paid within 40 days, and a $150 withdrawal fee applies. Federal aid is recalculated first under the return of Title IV rules, and an applicant who is not accepted is refunded in full.

Graduates train for entry-level massage therapy work. To become licensed in Wisconsin you complete 600 hours of approved training, graduate from an approved school and pass the required exams, including the state's online open-book law exam, which graduates of Wisconsin schools must pass before graduating. To graduate here you also need all hours and work, 90% attendance, a 75% average and payment of all charges.

Published outcomes. In the 2025 ACCSC annual report, of 9 students who began between July 2023 and June 2024, 8 graduated (89%); 6 of the 8 graduates available for work were employed in the field (75%); and all 6 who took the licensure exam passed (100%). The handbook gives a 2024 median wage for massage therapists of $57,950 nationally and $57,530 in Wisconsin, typically a mix of wages and tips.

Other states. The school's Professional License Reciprocity Disclosure says its programmes meet Wisconsin's curriculum requirements, but it has not made a determination on whether they meet other states' educational or licensure requirements, and it cannot guarantee that hours transfer. All practical work is on campus.

The Salon Professional Academy opened in Onalaska in September 2006 and is run by Big Dreams, LLC. It trains students in a 9,200 square foot building near a mall with easy interstate access, just outside La Crosse, with four classrooms with audio-visual aids, 44 styling stations, eight manicure and eight pedicure stations, seven facial beds, a retail area, a massage room for up to eight tables, and lockers and a break room. The building is wheelchair accessible. The school is open Monday to Saturday, and all coursework is taught in English.

Learning on real guests. Classes are capped at 20 students for Cosmetology and 8 for Esthetics and Massage Therapy, with no more than 20 students per educator on the salon floor. As part of the curriculum you perform services on, and receive services from, fellow students under licensed educators, and you work on paying members of the public. You are not an employee and are not paid, and you may not refuse a service an educator asks you to perform.

Attendance. You scan in and out on a fingerprint time clock, including for lunch, and no earlier than 15 minutes before your day. Every minute of tardiness counts against your attendance. If you will be absent or late you must call and speak to an educator at least 30 minutes before your start; leaving a message counts as a no-call/no-show, which can bring a one-day suspension, and three consecutive days without notice means you are withdrawn on the fourth. Absences can be excused with documentation, such as a doctor's note or police report, or requested two weeks ahead, and a death in the immediate family brings three excused days. Make-up time is scheduled on your days off, on Fridays or late afternoons.

Dress code. All clothing is solid black with no logos, graphics, holes, jeans, hoodies, sweatpants or exposed midriffs; shoes can be any color but need slip-resistant soles, with no slippers or flip-flops. Hair and makeup are done before you arrive, nails are short and clean, and baseball caps and bandanas are not allowed.

Holidays. New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, the day of the Oktoberfest parade, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.