I saw SSI offering this free program so I signed up as a new member. But I was also confused about the meaning of "* SSI only offers the Science of Diving Digital Kit and Certification free of charge, not the complete course. SSI recommends to contact an SSI Training Center for training (potentially at additional charge) and certification."
Anyway I haven't finished this course yet. But does it mean if I want to receive the certification I need to eventually contact a dive shop to issue it to me? Feels a bit awkward because the website allows me to choose any dive shop to sign up, so I chose a random one, and I haven't contacted it yet
. So I should expect the dive shop to charge me a fee for the certification once I pass? It seems like the whole thing is SSI trying to use this free online program to hook some students up with their dive shops and thus generate a little income for them?