Posted by Jack Dipper in Reintroducing Course Incentives

Posted by Captain Mika Jackson (Commandant) in Reintroducing Course Incentives

Posted by Jack Dipper in Reintroducing Course Incentives
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Most of us are aware that the Academy site offers a wonderful library of courses. These courses are the result of much effort and experience, serving as valuable resources for any club member eager to expand their knowledge and grasp the nuances of their specialized department. It’s a shame that more folks do not access them. The Academy Advisory team and I suggest reinstating an old incentive for club members with an Ensign-ranked character who successfully completes a course aligned with their chosen department. By taking a department course exam and successfully passing, they would be eligible for a promotion to Lt. j.g. This initiative’s purpose is to offer potential benefits such as providing members with a chance to specialize in their chosen department, reinforcing best practices outlined in the courses, and offering Ensigns, especially those who just graduated from the Academy, an additional avenue for advancement. Your thoughts on this proposal are invaluable, and I welcome any input you may have to further refine and shape this initiative.

Mika J. ~ Academy Commandant

I, for one, think this is an excellent idea. It would (hypothetically) create a strong knowledge base among the newer segment of the club, and it would provide incentive to stay active with the promise of a promotion - a lot of the new members we lose before they ever get promoted. It would result in a much more confident and capable JO and junior DH population with somewhat more investment. The only concerns I would have would be with presentation - it would have to be displayed prominently enough new members could find out about it and find it, but at the same time, those courses can look intimidating, as someone comparatively new to the club myself.

Another avenue of exploration with this is the higher level classes. Obviously they can’t all be promotion incentives - we don’t have that many CO or XO positions, for one thing - but they don’t currently seem to have much tangible benefit. (I do think the knowledge gained is valuable, it’s just not particularly appealing to devote time to without knowing if it’ll even help you.) The DH exam could maybe be another promotion, to LT. Ideas on the others, or does the majority feel those ones are fine as is?

Amdirgol, PDir

I appreciate your insights and suggestions, Amdirgol. Establishing a robust knowledge base for newer club members is great idea, and I share your thoughts on incentivizing course activity may be one way to address member retention challenges.
Your concern regarding presentation resonates with me, you emphasized the importance of making information easily accessible while maintaining an approachable format. To address this, I propose including a link to the courses page in the welcome email for new members, accompanied by an explanation of the incentives. I also think we should actively promote our mentor program. Having a guide, especially for brand-new members, can positively impact their perception of the club and help in a smoother adjustment to their chosen role.
Also, your idea of integrating higher-level classes and their benefits into this incentive is interesting. While not every advanced/command course class can be a promotion incentive, recognizing benefits for members participating in these courses is a valid consideration. I particularly agree with the idea of the DH exam as a potential pathway to promotion to a full Lieutenant rank.
I’m excited to hear additional thoughts from the community on these proposals and to gauge whether there’s a consensus regarding the ideas presented in this discussion.
Any and all input plays a crucial role in shaping the future direction of the Academy as well as the club.

Mika ~ Acad. Comm

Oh, man. Bringing back memories of emailing a CO with my exam results and then pestering them for the promotion lmao.

I agree that there’s currently no incentives for members to take the courses; adding that could help provide a faster track for ascending the ladder for new members. To my recollection the incentive was originally dropped because it was often easier to apply for a new character on another ship, or be offered one by a CO, and get a promotion that way.

I would also ask then about Academy graduates. This isn’t anything new, but I often feel like we penalize people for joining an Academy ship. They go that route to learn about how we play, and three months later they’re out in a ship as an ensign; while someone else who chooses not to go the cadet route is likely Lt j.g. by then. Perhaps full Lt if this exam change goes into effect.

Nathan

Hi Nathan, it’s valuable to gain insights on this subject from an experienced member like yourself. As someone unfamiliar with the process, learning about it made me question why it’s not a common practice anymore. If this pactice is reinstated, I’d like to suggest having Academy personnel, such as the course proctor or one of the Commandants, act as liaisons for members who pass the exam by contacting the CO on their behalf, to alleviate the need for them directly pestering the COs. It would be great to hear thoughts around this as well.

Your point about Academy graduates potentially facing rank progression disadvantages compared to those who skip the Academy route is valid. Exploring ways to ensure equal rewards for the cadet route in terms of rank advancement is important. Currently, it seems cadets spend three months on an Academy ship before being promoted to Ensign, while those who skip the Academy are placed directly on a random ship as Ensign. I think that ultimately the choice may come down to an individual’s preference for experience and comfort over quick advancement. Those seeking acclimation might prefer the Academy, while others ready for mainstream, possibly due to prior roleplaying experience, may choose to dive in.I took the cadet route because I knew I wasn’t prepared to go mainstream and it was my first time participating in an online roleplaying environment. I got good guidance by being on the Academy ship and didn’t feel cheated that I had to work my way up to an Ensign rank on the Academy ship while someone else may have come in at an Ensign rank. There are opportunities for advancement in both routes, however, yes the Academy route may be a bit longer, but I personally feel it’s all going to based on the writer/player and their ambitions anyway. I’m curious to hear more perspectives from those who went mainstream immediately versus those who chose the cadet route.

Mika ~ Academy Commandant

What if there was a kind of permanent recognition for taking and passing the exams? Maybe a field on member’s profile pages could show what courses they have taken and completed. That would give a bit of recognition and help CO’s and XO’s when they are looking for people for their ships. It would also give FComm’s a way to see if someone was appropriate (knowledge-wise) for positions at a quick glance.

James

Hello James, your suggestion regarding enhanced visibility for the courses members complete makes sense to me. While these courses are currently accessible on the Academy site, I have heard that the site is not visited that often and incorporating them into players’ profiles could offer COs and XOs valuable insights into individuals’ completed courses. If this proposal gains traction, the responsibility for updating player profiles would fall on the shoulders of the Academy Commandants or the personnel department. Timely updates would be crucial to ensure that the information remains current and provides an accurate reflection of members’ achievements. Also I wonder if its not worth it just to track the courses this way instead a placing them into a repository on the Academy site? I am thinking we would do one or the other, not both.

Mika J.

Hi all,

Thought I’d chip in as one of the old folks kicking around the club (and with some previous experience of the Academy).

If memory serves, we used to place Academy graduates at Lt JG, however there were concerns about whether that disadvantaged those who didn’t join the Academy (as well as number of ensigns vs Lt JG, but I didn’t think that was a great argument). At the time, not everyone was guaranteed a place (this was back when we had 180 members). I think, ultimately, we need to ensure parity. We need to make it clear to new members when they join what the two routes are, and the pros/cons (eg you can only be on one Academy ship, but you get to be a Lt JG after) and make sure everyone has the same opportunity.

As for the courses, there probably needs to be a view as to whether they provide someone with sufficient knowledge/skills/experience that puts them at a similar level to someone who has been an ensign for several months and is now a Lt JG. There’s also the question of whether the CO of the ship thinks they are ready to be a Lt JG based on the posting ability - perhaps there’s a need to be a way to let COs raise concerns about doing so, which in turn could help with mentoring of the individual.

The other thought I have had is whether we still need to have the range of ranks we currently have (6 ranks from ensign to captain). Could we use Lt JG to denote those who are new but have gone through an Academy course / ship, but make it so that Ensigns promote to Lieutenant otherwise?

Jack

Hey Jack, I don’t think I have ever had the opportunity to write with you on here :) Thanks for your insightful contributions to the discussion.

Your historical perspective on Academy graduates and concerns about parity are important considerations. Ensuring clarity for new members about the two routes and their pros and cons is key and ties in with the concern that Nathan posed earlier in the discussion. Additionally, your point about evaluating the courses to determine if they provide a comparable level of knowledge/experience to someone who has served as an ensign for several months is well-taken. Considering the CO’s input in assessing readiness for promotion also aligns with a holistic approach. Your last suggestion is interesting, but could you clarify it a little, here is what I interpreted: You are saying that we should offer new members who complete a course in the Academy an automatic rank of Lt. j.g. when placed on a ship after graduation, however, if they do not go through the Academy they are automatically placed on a ship as an Ensign?__ If this is what you are proposing, this would give those who go through the Academy an advantage. They would automatically come out of the Academy with a higher rank if they completed a course within their character’s field. Let me know if I captured this correctly, Jack.

I’d like to propose that we continue exploring these ideas over the next few days and give others time to jump in if they want to, then discuss in more detail how to implement all these suggestions effectively. In the meantime, any additional thoughts or concerns are welcome.

Mika

Hey Mika,

Thanks for the welcome! I’m not sure I’m in favour of my proposal, at the moment - but thought it might provide some discussion. Ultimately, if we are going to use ranks as a way to denote someone who has done a course, then there will always be an element of giving some advantage to those who have gone through the Academy.

If we were to go down that route, what we must ensure is that everyone has the same opportunity to go through the Academy - and are fully aware that going ‘mainstream’ first means they start of as an Ensign, but going through the Academy means they would graduate as Lt JG.

What would be interesting is comparing the average time for a new member to join at reach Lt JG through a mainstream ship vs the time taken for a new member to graduate an Academy ship (as a Lt JG). I suspect they are reasonably similar.

Jack

I would love to see that comparison too. I think we should revisit the idea of graduating new cadets as LtJg as well (this could work as a retention tool in our current state). A new member who joins the main fleet as a security jo, could spend a week a Ens. before taking the security course and getting the promotion to LtJg, so a graduation to LtJg just makes sense. I wouldn’t get ‘rid’ of the rank, since it’s given to first time DHs who then strive for that second solid pip :).

What would be even more interesting is an auto promote to Lt, any JG that passes the DH course.

Food for thought :)

-Ray