Posted by J Ridgley in Discussion: Academy Course graduates

Posted by J Ridgley in Discussion: Academy Course graduates

Posted by Rear Admiral Calé Reilly (STF Surgeon General / Academy Commandant / AFComm, Pioneer Fleet / EGO) in Discussion: Academy Course graduates
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Hello command land,

I have been reviewing our current courses in the Academy and as part of that I was wondering how everyone felt about the idea of giving those who graduate the Department courses a promotion to Lieutenant or lieutenant junior grade.

My thoughts behind this is that graduating from one of the courses and being given that rank boost puts newer players in a good position to apply form or be considered for department head places, also we have done this previously for graduates of the courses.

Also those who show proficiency in departments as cadets and graduate to DH are rewarded with the lt jg rank so why should we not reward course graduates too.

Technically they aren’t Lt. J.G. Academy ship ranks other than cadet do not count towards member rank.

(please note in not currently discussing the state or if the courses are fit for purpose or whatever of the courses, I’m going on the premise we have them and people are taking them and graduating. That feels like a totally different discussion)

In interested in hearing peoples thoughts on this.

Calé

I don’t think I have any reasons to object to this suggestion, though I believe doing this would require a bylaw change (to MOO I believe, possibly to CADET).

Adam W.

I’m not sure it would require a change to MOO that I can see. Could you point out specifically where you think this would need changed? It probably would require a change to CADET and I think that we should also take away the Academy ship ranks other than cadet do not count towards member rank too.

Calé

The proposal creates what I see as an exception to how MOO defines ranks below captain. Possibly it would suffice to only put that exception in the CADET bylaw.

I’m in favor of that change to Academy ship ranks counting. I think that would be a very appropriate change, especially in the case of graduating cadets who stay on as DH.

One thing that we should keep in mind in the case of promotions related to courses is that sometimes cadets are the ones who take them. I think in the case of a cadet we’d need their promotion to go into effect after they graduate.

Adam W.

Yeah I think MOO could be left alone but CADET would need changed. And yes once cadets have graduated i agree.

Calé

I like the idea.

Sidney

I like the idea of a promotion for successfully completing the exams. I think it would encourage more people to take them, first of all. Secondly, I think that it would show the club’s acknowledgement of people taking on things outside of just the posting element. As a newly appointed Course Tutor, I think that is an excellent idea.

Additional suggestion for determining what rank would be awarded: Base it on the score. For instance, 90 to 100% earns you Lieutenant, 89% and lower Lieutenant Junior Grade. Just a thought.

Fleet Captain James Sinclair

We used to do this a looooong time ago, right?

Anyway, in principle I can see myself coming ‘round to this, but not in the state of some of the courses. For example, the science course is incredibly easy to pass - really, you can probably pass the entire course with your browser’s search function without reading or understanding any of it.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to finish the Academy’s work on improving the courses first and then discussing the idea of promotion if the course is passed?

Daniel

Yes we did used to do this as far as I’m aware.

As I said above (please note in not currently discussing the state or if the courses are fit for purpose or whatever of the courses, I’m going on the premise we have them and people are taking them and graduating. That feels like a totally different discussion)

I agree the course need revamped which is why we are working on that but, it makes sense to have a clear goal in mind with what you actually get for completing the course and make the exams fit accordingly to that purpose rather than do it, then change it.

Calé

Right - get that we’re not discussing the revamp here. Just thinking this discussion would come after then. But I agree with a having a goal in mind with that other project to have a potential promotion to Lt. (j.g.) upon passing.

Daniel

I know that you would like the content of the courses to be off-limits, but if we are going to reward taking them, I feel like we want to make sure that the content is actually helpful for role-playing and gets them to where they need to be. The current Academy syllabus for cadets does not actually take field knowledge into account when determining whether a player is ready to graduate to the main fleet and I’m not sure that field knowledge is actually what people need at the level where a promotion like this would make sense.

Ok makes sense to me so far.

So, I’m going to go off on a wild hair here and suggest the following:

1) We add a New Member Course that grants a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade (I can’t stop abbreviating this Lieut (j.g.) like effWeBB, even though that’s the totally wrong abbreviation).

This would match up with allowing the Lieutenant Junior Grade “promotion” for graduated cadet DHs to affect member rank and the standards should align there based on the Academy syllabus for what people will know about the club.

The information for the course should be included in the welcome email new members receive, whether they are placed on an Academy ship or not (with the caveat that the promotion is for after they graduate like was mentioned above).

2) We find a different way to incentivize gaining department-specific knowledge or it’s a further promotion to Lieutenant, which is the rank most DHs hold around the mainstream ships. To me, that’s a good point where having some kind of ability to RP field-specific knowledge really does make a difference.

Sarah
President

So the question becomes then, how do we wrap the DH course into this then as well?

Maybe an STF 101 type course to get Lieutenant JG, and then the area specific course and the DH course to get Lieutenant?

Steve

Ok so say we happen to have a draft cadet course done already. Would this be you can sit this while a cadet or a new member as an ensign and if you pass it you get promotion to Lieutenant jg club rank, when you graduate or in general if you are in main fleet.

The DH courses you get full Lieutenant.

But what if you aren’t an academy graduate who was a DH or haven’t sat the cadet course. Do you need to to do the department ones because we currently haven’t got that.

Calé

I’ve been following the discussion and for what it’s worth I think this is a great incentive for people to conduct the course beyond that they now have the corresponding qualification, It also gives new members to the club a reason to start out in the academy path beyond the scope of learning, giving them a clear goal and a better sense of achievement!

Jake

Apologies for the double tap here, I have just been reading the COs Course Information and this is under the **In Character (IC) Powers. heading.

• ‘When someone is an Ensign in a particular field and passes an academy course for that discipline, they are entitled to ask for a promotion for their character to Lieutenant Junior Grade.’

Would this indirectly imply that their OOC rank is also met and raised to LT JG meaning this motion is already unofficially in force?

Jake

As far s I can tell it was something we used to do and somehow we sort of stopped it. So hopefully we can come to a consensus on what that will look like and have it in the actual bylaw.

Well spotted, I had totally missed that in the CO course.

I’d like to suggest the following changes to CADET but obviously am not set in the wording as others may have a better idea.

ESTABLISHMENT OF ACADEMY COURSES

The Academy shall maintain a set of courses, which must at least include a course for Engineering, Gamemaster (in coordination with the Gamemaster Department), Medical, Science, and Security. Additional courses are at the discretion of the Academy Commandant. These courses are taken on a voluntary basis. Should a member pass one of the courses, greater consideration for a Department Head position should be granted. Passing one of the courses does not guarantee a promotion.

To

ESTABLISHMENT OF ACADEMY COURSES

The Academy shall maintain a set of courses, which must at least include a basic Cadet course alongside department specific courses in Engineering, Medical, Science, and Security. And a Gamemaster course in coordination with the Gamemaster Department. Additional courses are at the discretion of the Academy Commandant. These courses are taken on a voluntary basis.

Should a member pass the cadet course they will be granted a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Should a member pass one of the departmental courses they will be granted a promotion to full Lieutenant and greater consideration for a Department Head position should be granted. This promotion will only be applied once for each respective level even if the member passes all of the department courses. If the member is in the academy as a cadet at the time of passing the exam the club rank promotion will only come into effect once that member has graduated from the academy.

I would also like to suggest that the last part of section five be altered as well.

ACADEMY FLEET COMMAND STRUCTURE

• With the exception of Cadet, all Academy ranks do not affect the player’s member rank.*

To

ACADEMY FLEET COMMAND STRUCTURE

Recently graduated cadets who are retained as DHs at Lieutenant Junior Grade (Lt (j.g.)) will receive the club rank promotion to this.

Or something similar?

Calé