FYI, GUE offers Fundamentals of Better diving. UTD, a roughly similar agency, offers a similar course called Essentials (of recreational diving?)
They both teach the same sort of skills, and are both pretty basic classes in the skill set covered (90% of the class is Buoyancy, trim, and propulsion), but they have a high standard of doing those skills. One of the ideas behind the courses is to polish your skills to a level where you will be ready to take (and pass) a tech or cave class.
Fundies also has some rescue aspects, and you are certified to 32% nitrox.
It's hard to relate what Fundies is in terms of other agencies. It really doesn't fit into their curriculum, and it certainly doesn't cross over as credit for anything PADI/SSI. It is basically all the things you should have learned and been practicing during OW, but you could also look at it as most of the core specialty courses from PADI rolled into one (PPB, nitrox, drysuit, rescue, deep, night). The only thing it doesn't teach you that you need to know to be a good diver is navigation. The time spent on rescue skills also doesn't really replace a rescue class either.
Tom
