[kh99]

Originally Posted by Bryan Ex

... Does it really require a college or university degree to alter your own vBulletin install beyond what the mod list offers? ...

As someone with a computer science degree, I'd say it definitely does not. I think programming is the kind of thing that some people just "get" easier than others (like everything, I guess), but I've known a lot of people who were professional programmers who taught themselves, and I don't think I even use anything I learned in school. I think if you figured out how to write your own html and you're motivated to learn php, you'll be able to do it on your own. Like others have said, find some tutorials, and there are lots of places to ask (including this forum) if you don't understand something.