Message posted on Stardate 04051.9 at 0911 hours
Posted by Captain Pamela Dugan (President).
Edict 32
The long awaited academy edict, which has been discussed on the Academy HQ ship for quite a while now.
Captains, please pay special attention to section 4, in particular, paragraphs 2,3,4 and 8.
Academy Department Rules & Regulations
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1. SUPERCEDENCE OF PREVIOUS EDICTS
Edicts Bourdaa 32, Spurlin 2, Hughes 3, Garfield 5, Rouse-Deane 12, and Rouse-Deane 23 are hereby rescinded and superceded by this edict.
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2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACADEMY DEPARTMENT
The Academy Department shall serve as a resource to the membership on matters relating to ongoing training and development in STF.
The daily activity of the Academy Department shall be overseen by the ACADEMY COMMANDANT, who shall be appointed by the President. The Academy Commandant is a cabinet position, and is equal in power to other departmental directors and Fleet Commanders.
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The VICE COMMANDANT shall be appointed by the Academy Commandant. The Vice Commandant answers directly to the Academy Commandant, and is responsible for departmental decisions in the event the Academy Commandant is not available. Additional responsibilities are at the discretion of the Academy Commandant.
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The Academy Commandant and the Vice Commandant must have Academy experience, preferably as a current or previous XO or CNS on an Academy Ship, however, experience as a DH on an Academy Ship may be also be considered acceptable. Additionally, they must currently hold the member rank of Lieutenant Commander or above, and currently or previously have held an XO position or above on a mainstream ship.
The Academy Commandant may delegate any of his duties enumerated in this Edict or any other responsibilities incumbent upon him as a result of another Edict to another named member of the Academy Department.
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Starfleet Academy shall maintain a set of courses, which must at least include a course for Engineering, Gamemaster, Medical, Science, and Security. Additional courses are at the discretion of the Academy Commandant.
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3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACADEMY SHIPS
The Academy shall consist of 3 ships, the USS Challenger, the USS Columbia, and the USS Discovery. The number of ships may be expanded by presidential edict, if and when the need arises. The Academy ships shall be staffed in a different way than standard ships within STF. The staffing of the Academy ships will include, in order of Chain of Command, with the first listed being the highest on the chain:
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XO (Executive Officer) - The XO is appointed by the President of STF, consulting with the Academy Commandant. The XO outranks the CO, on issues of ship administration. The XO is second in command in an RPG sense only. The XO, regardless of member rank, will always hold a rank of Commander on the training ships. Academy XO’s must currently, or in the past, have held the position of XO or CO on a mainstream ship, or have held the position of CNS or XO on an Academy Ship.
CNS (Counselor) - The CNS is appointed by the XO, consulting with the Academy Commandant. The CNS is 2nd in command on issues of ship administration. The CNS is third in command in an RPG sense only. The CNS, regardless of member rank, will always hold a rank of Lieutenant Commander on the training ships. Academy CNS’s must currently, or in the past, have held a DH position in the Academy, or failing that, be a DH on a “mainstream” ship, with positive comments from their Commanding Officer(s).
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GM (Gamemaster) - The Gamemaster is appointed by the Academy Commandant, subject to the veto of the XO of the ship in question. The Gamemaster of an Academy ship must be an experienced GM, who at least holds the GM rank of “Junior Gamemaster”.
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CO (Commanding Officer) - The CO is appointed by the Academy Commandant, consulting with the President. The CO must be an XO from somewhere in the fleet, for the purposes of assisting to train for a CO spot. The only exception to this rule is if there are no available XO’s in the fleet that do not have a CO spot, or if there are no XO’s that are willing to take part in the training program. In the case of the above exception, then the Academy Commandant, consulting with the President, may select someone who does not currently hold a XO spot, HOWEVER, this person must currently hold the member rank of Lieutenant Commander to be considered.
If no one can be found who holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander that will participate in the program, then the rank will be decreased to Lieutenant, and so on, until someone willing to participate in the program can be found.
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The “CO in training” will be granted the honorary rank of Captain, but this rank does not extend beyond the Academy, and the “CO in training“‘s member rank will also not be extended this privilege.
Department Head spots (with the exception of Counselor), may be filled in one of two ways, at the discretion of the XO, notifying the Academy Commandant.
1) A Lieutenant Junior Grade (Lt. Jg.) “graduated” Cadet in that department.
2) A Lieutenant-grade experienced officer
Preference for filling Department Head positions goes to (option 1) a Lt. Jg. Graduated Cadet, however an exception may be made if all graduated Cadets were found DH positions on “mainstream” ships, or, if in the opinion of the XO and the Academy Commandant, the field of “graduated” Cadets are not strong enough to handle the responsibility of a DH role, and thus training incoming Cadets. In this instance, an experienced Lieutenant-grade DH from a “mainstream” ship can be used instead (option 2).
- ACADEMY TIDBITS
Cadets who serve on the Academy ships shall hold the member rank of CADET. Additionally, Cadets who serve on the Academy ships are not eligible for rank promotion while they take part in their training. Therefore, passing of an Academy course does not increase their Academy rank, nor their member rank. Also, due to the high demand for Academy spots, Cadets on the training vessels, (who have not graduated, or are not in the process of graduating) can only be transferred or offered a position on another ship with the consent of the Academy Commandant.
Furthermore, any cadet that leaves the academy training ship prematurely has to wait 120 days before they can be promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. In the event that a Cadet should leave the Academy early, their name will be placed on a list maintained by the Academy, and an “Academy Commandant’s Mandate” shall be placed in Command, letting CO’s know that said Cadet left the Academy early, and stating the exact date that the Cadet is eligible for rank promotion.
Additionally, the Academy Commandant is responsible for contacting the CO of the ship that the Cadet went to when they originally left the Academy, and providing the CO with this information as well. Additionally, all CO’s are requested to keep themselves familiar with this list in some cases, early graduation may be granted, ONLY at the discretion of the Academy Commandant, and based on his/her own judgement. In these cases, the Cadet will be granted all the rights and privileges of a proper graduation, including a promotion to Ltjg, and will not be restricted from promotion as in the case of a cadet leaving the program prematurely.
Should it be discovered that Command Staffs of mainstream ships are offering positions to Cadets before they graduate, the Academy Commandant has the right to remove that ship from the list of ships that receives Academy graduates either on a temporary or permanent basis, at the Academy Commandant’s discretion. This matter will also be taken to the current President, and punishment shall be determined at the discretion of the President, which may include a verbal/written warning, temporary reduction of rank, reduction of rank until next promotion, or removal of command of a vessel (serious repetitive cases).
At the end of each sim, Cadets shall be graded via a grading sheet approved by the Academy Commandant. Cadets who pass will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, and positions will be found for them on “mainstream” ships, preferably (but not guaranteed) as a DH (Department Head).
Should a Cadet receive unsatisfactory marks, they will be asked to remain in the Academy for another sim, on a DIFFERENT ship than their original Academy ship. Should the Cadet pass their second time around, they will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, and a position will be found for them on a “mainstream” ship, preferably (but not guaranteed) as a DH (Department Head).
Should a Cadet receive unsatisfactory marks a second time, they will be asked to remain in the Academy for another sim, on a DIFFERENT ship than the previous ships they have served on. Should the Cadet pass their third time around, they will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, and a position will be found for them on a “mainstream” ship, preferably (but not guaranteed) as a DH (Department Head).
Should a Cadet receive unsatisfactory marks for a third time, they will be placed as a new member on a “mainstream” ship (an Ensign, with all the rights and privileges that come with that rank), and will only be placed as a Junior Officer. Should a CO receive an “Ensign” in this fashion, they are required to receive a letter from the Academy Commandant explaining this, so that the CO may pay special attention to this crew member, in order to help them out in any way possible.
Serving on any training ship is optional. New members may either join as an Ensign on a regular ship, take the Academy test in their department for a promotion to Lt j.g., or serve on the Training ship for that promotion. Cadets who join the Academy program, thinking that it is mandatory, may approach the Academy Commandant and request to be placed on a “mainstream” ship, so long as they do so immediately upon finding out that the Academy is NOT mandatory. The Academy Commandant is required to give such requests due consideration. Upon the Academy Commandant’s approval, the Cadet may be placed on a “mainstream” ship as an Ensign, with all the rights and privileges that a new member who is placed on a “mainstream” ship has.
An Academy sim lasts for 3 months (90 days). A sim shall be GMed by one GM, of Junior Gamemaster status or higher. In the case that a GM shall go AWOL or be removed in mid-sim, the sim shall be continued without interruption by a qualified replacement, which may be the Academy Commandant, XO of the said ship, or CNS of the said ship, regardless of whether the said person holds the rank of Junior Gamemaster.
Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the XO and GM of the academy ship, concurrently, to notify the Academy Commandant of the date which a new sim starts.
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5. THE ACADEMY AND YOU
Whenever a DH spot on a “mainstream” ship opens up, and the CO of that ship has no qualified officer in that department on his ship to fill the hole on his own, the CO is requested, but not required, to contact the Academy Commandant to see if there are any cadets who are ready to graduate to fill said Department Head vacancy.
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DISPUTES
Any dispute involving any member of the Academy shall be moderated by the Academy Commandant. Should any of the involved parties be the Academy Commandant, the dispute shall be moderated by the Vice Commandant. Should the dispute involve the Commandant and Vice Commandant, the dispute shall be moderated by the President. -
THIS DOCUMENT
This document may only be amended, repealed, etc., by Presidential Edict.