TO:Training Manual

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Revision as of 10:52, 21 August 2023 by Roberthogan (talk | contribs) (Added section on processing the exam queue.)
Emperor's Hammer Training Manual


Training Office Patch

Introduction

“The Training Officer (TO) oversees both the day-to-day management of the Imperial University (IU) (grading courses, submitting feedback, and ensuring materials are correct) as well as the long-term development of the Imperial University (developing new courses, reviewing and deprecating outdated courses). The Training Officer coordinates closely with other Command Staff members, including the Internet Officer for maintenance of the Imperial University system, and the Logistics Officer for integration of course content within the Emperor’s Hammer storyline and canon.”
– Training Officer Position Description

For some, this manual may seem rather redundant, but to avoid any miscommunication and issues with delegation, the Training Office has put together this guide for incoming new Training Officer Assistants (TOAs), assigned Professors (PROFs), and members of the Education Committee (EdCom). Each of these positions have different permissions in the TC site, as well as different expectations from the Training Office.

First and foremost, we want to remind everyone that this is all part of a hobby for most people, and should not be taken with such a level of seriousness. This is not a life-or-death situation, nor should one arise at any point in time. We are all here for a good time, and we want to make that time as memorable as possible with positive and educational experiences for all members.

Second, we want to encourage our members’ focus on real life before anything within the Emperor’s Hammer. Should your real life begin to take a toll on your voluntary responsibilities, we encourage members to reach out and let us know; we have no issue with Leaves of Absence, so long as there is a clear line of communication.

Lastly, if you take on more than you are able to handle, there is absolutely no shame in taking a step back and relieving yourself of extra burdens. If we notice you are falling behind on your assigned projects/courses, we will reach out and attempt to find a solution that benefits both you as the member and our office as a whole. We are here to help each other.

Any regulation, procedure or expectation not outlined in this manual should be taken up with the Training Officer (TO) and their Attache (CA:TO) for clarification.

Training Officer
Command Attaché to the Training Officer
Training Officer Assistant
Professor

Training Office Positions

Training Officer Assistants

Training Officer Assistants (TOAs) are members of the Emperor’s Hammer that have shown exceptional dedication to the Educational Aspect of the club, as well as excellent Leadership skills. TOAs have access to grade any incoming exams, but cannot edit courses or their exams and answer keys (currently). They are responsible for grading any and all exams that either have no assigned Professors or are overdue past the three (3) day mark of submission. TOAs are also responsible for spearheading projects assigned to them by the CA:TO and the TO. Assignments for projects will be based on the TOA’s field of expertise and interests, but with the needs of the Training Office ALWAYS coming first.

TOAs are expected to be leaders in all aspects of the TO, and thus will be considered the go-to people spearheading projects assigned by the TO. Should a member of the EdCom or a PROF take on a project, they are expected to report to the TOA assigned to that area, and the TOA should report to the TO. PROFs with course and exam updates are encouraged to touch base with a TOA for peer review and vetting before submitting the final draft to the CA:TO and TO.

TOAs are expected to be knowledgeable about standard procedures within both the Emperor’s Hammer and the TIE Corps. As representatives of the Training Office, they are expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct in any and all EH and TC servers, and are subject to its enforcement. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action, outlined further below the document.

TOAs have the freedom to grade any incoming exam that:

  1. Does NOT have an assigned PROF
  2. The assigned PROF has NOT graded the exam within three (3) days of submission.
    1. When this occurs, the grading TOA is expected to make note of this and report to the CA:TO and TO.
      1. Reports are expected to include screenshots of the grading interface with a clear view of the date submitted and time in waiting.
  3. They (the TOA) are assigned as Professors to that course
  4. The CA:TO/TO took the exam(s) and cannot grade themselves

Professors

Professors (PROFs) are members of the Emperor’s Hammer who possess special knowledge or interest, and have decided to use that knowledge to better the Training Office. Professors are expected to be well-versed in the courses over which they have professorship and have an understanding of standard procedures within both the Emperor’s Hammer and the TIE Corps. As representatives of the Training Office, they are expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct in any and all EH and TC servers, and are subject to its enforcement. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action, outlined further below the document.

Professors have access to grade any incoming exams for the courses for which they have professorship. They are responsible for grading any and all exams for their courses within a timely manner, providing feedback as necessary to pilots, and ensuring that their course materials are up-to-date. Although Professors do not have editing privileges on course notes or exams directly, they should communicate with the Training Officer and their Attaché to implement any necessary changes. Professors with course and exam updates are encouraged to touch base with a TOA for peer review and vetting before submitting the final draft to the CA:TO and TO.

Professors are hereby responsible for the following on their assigned courses:

  1. The grading of course exams accurately within three (3) days of exam submission;
    1. Should exams not be graded within three (3) days of exam submission, the Professor will be subject to disciplinary action, outlined further down the document.
  2. The updating of course notes and exams by way of the Training Officer and their Attaché;
    1. For exams, the updating of both the course exam and exam answer key, which involves forwarding the updates required;
    2. For course notes, the updating and correction of course notes as needed to ensure the usability and quality of the course, which involved the forwarding of the updates required;
  3. Regular communication with the Training Officer, their Attaché, and Training Officer Assistants about their course, any questions they might have, and any additional resources that might be needed for their course.
  4. Inform the TO, CA:TO or any TOAs of any Leaves of Absence or other times in which their ability to perform duties may be hindered.

Education Committee

Members of the Education Committee (EdCom) are tasked with being the Ambassadors to the TO in the name and interest of the average member of the Emperor’s Hammer. EdCom members typically voice their opinions and ideas with the TO, CA:TO and TOAs for scrutiny and review. While most members of the EdCom tend to take on projects and responsibilities, it should be stated that this is NOT a requirement for membership. The Committee consists of members who wish to advocate for the members of the EH that would probably otherwise not be heard, bringing up problems and discrepancies within the courses and their exams, expressing the interests and critiques of members towards the work of the TO, participating in peer review and discussions to help widen the view on a subject, and much more. The EdCom works not as a filter, but as a deeper reach into the membership of the EH to gauge for avenues of future endeavors and projects, to better shape the experience of members into a positive and educational one.

While the position of the Committee is entirely ceremonial, it must be expressed that without the EdCom, the TO would be working in the dark, having to reach out to individuals on a constant basis for feedback and honest reviews. The Committee serves to better the workflow of the TO by being the advocates the members of the EH need and deserve to voice their interests.

Exam Queue Processing

A major part of the duties of a Professor or TOA is the grading of exams in the queue. As a reminder, Professors are responsible for grading their own assigned courses, while TOAs should grade any course that does not have a Professor assigned. In this section, the workflow of a Professor grading an exam will be documented, but the process is almost identical for TOAs.

Whenever a member takes an exam that is assigned to a Professor, the Professor will receive an email very similar to this one:

TOMAN-exam-notification.png

From here, the Professor has three days to grade the exam. To do so, they will log in to the TC website and select the Management page. They will find the “Training Management” link under Staff Officer Dashboards heading. Entering Training Management presents this screen:

TOMAN-training-management.png

For Professors, the main option that will be used is the “Exams Pending Grading” button, which can be selected either through clicking on the blue box or the link on the left-hand side. This presents the queue of exams waiting to be graded:

TOMAN-exam-queue.png

This screen displays the critical information about the exam. Clicking on the member’s name will open their roster page for review if necessary. The date submitted, as well as how long the exam has been sitting in the queue, are both listed on the right hand side. You can grade the exam by clicking on the name of the course, here in this example, “Unit Leadership”:

TOMAN-exam-grading.png

Here, Professors have the ability to grade each individual question. On the left-hand column is the answer key for each question. The answer key generally contains the key concepts or facts that needed to be included for full credit, and may also contain a rubric on how much each concept is worth. On the right-hand column is the member’s answer for each question. To assign points, you can either select “Zero” or “Max” to quickly grade a question, or if the member has earned partial credit, you can type the number of points earned in the white text box. Once you have graded all of the questions on the exam, at the bottom, there is an additional field for comments. On an exam that is passed, typically graders will provide an explanation of what was wrong, perhaps with the answers. On exams that are failed, graders typically explain which questions they missed and what concepts should be reviewed before their next attempt. Finally, you can select “Grade Exam” which will finalize the grading and notify the member if they have passed or failed:

TOMAN-submit-grading.png

Training Office Policies

Consequences For Late Exam Reviews

  • Verbal/Written Warning from the CA:TO and TO
    • First time offenses will result in the Professors receiving a communication, signed by both the CA:TO and TO, acknowledging the tardiness of the exam review, and inviting the Professor to an open discourse about their expectations versus the reality of the picture. If the Professor is becoming too encumbered with responsibilities, they are expected to contact the CA:TO and TO about alleviating their load, one way or another.
  • Temporary suspension from course grading (taken over by a TOA or TO)
    • Second offense within the course of six (6) months will result in a temporary suspension from the assigned course, allowing the Professor time to step back and thoroughly examine their positions in their current place, and make an educated decision on whether or not they have the time to put towards the voluntary responsibility they signed up for. There is NO shame about taking a step back.
  • Removal
    • The third offense within the course of six (6) months becomes the last offense. The Professor was warned multiple times about their tardiness and was told to communicate any LoA’s within a reasonable time. The Professor is thanked for their services and is asked to respectively step down voluntarily. Refusal to cooperate will result in forceful removal of the member, and possibly lead to further disciplinary action as outlined by the EH’s Articles of War and Code of Conduct.
      • Appeals are possible, but must be presented with enough substantial evidence to call for a review or reinstatement.

This is a voluntary position that the individual member(s) signed up for voluntarily, understanding and accepting the responsibilities and expectations with the intent to fulfill them. No member is above reproach, regardless of seniority, rank, position, or tenure.

Academic Record Updating for Course Creation or Updating

The following policies shall apply to a member, with regards to their Academic Record, if the member has either created a new course or has significantly updated an existing course. This policy shall be executed in all new courses created. In all significantly updated existing courses, the Training Officer shall determine whether or not the level of significance has been met to warrant the updating of their Academic Record. The policies below outline the process for updating the member’s Academic Record in these instances:

  1. If the course in question is a new course created by the member, the member shall have the course added to their Academic Record with the score of 100% with the date effective being the date on which the course was released.
  2. If the contribution in question is a significant update to an existing course, then the following policies shall apply:
    1. To determine whether an update is significant, the following criteria shall be used and must be fulfilled:
      1. A majority of the exam course notes have either been rewritten, updated, or otherwise modified;
      2. A majority of the exam (totality of the exam and exam answer key) have either been rewritten, updated, or otherwise modified;
      3. With the final determination in any case which does not readily meet the above requirements to be had by the Training Officer.
    2. If the member has previously taken the course and scored 100%, then no action is taken.
    3. If the member has previously taken the course and scored less than 100%, then the score for the course in question shall be changed to 100%.
    4. If the member has not previously taken the course, the member shall have the course added to their Academic Record with the score of 100% with the date effective being the date on which the updates were released.

Use of AI

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to answer ANY exam question in the Imperial University is strictly prohibited.

The Training Officer has ruled the use of AI in the Imperial University exams as disingenuous and against the spirit of academia. Every exam in the Imperial University is considered an open-book exam, rendering the need for artificial intelligence as unnecessary, and therefore, invalid.

Henceforth, the following policies will apply to the usage of artificial intelligence in Imperial University exams:

  1. In the first instance, a written warning from the TO and the CA:TO with exam failure:
    1. The exam of the offending pilot will be considered invalid and failed;
    2. The pilot will receive a message from the TO and CA:TO warning them of their offense;
    3. The pilot's Chain of Command will be notified;
    4. The pilot will have another opportunity to attempt the exam.
  2. In the second instance, the pilot will be cited for "cheating", with possible consequences including all disciplinary measures up to and including expulsion:
    1. The exam of the offending pilot will be considered invalid and failed;
    2. The pilot and their Chain of Command will receive a message from the TO and the CA:TO, informing them of the offense and the steps to follow;
    3. Charges may be brought under the Emperor's Hammer Articles of War, section 4, subsection 7, titled "False Statements", with sentences for such actions ranging up to and including expulsion.

Medal of Scholarship

MoS.png

The Medal of Scholarship is awarded to any Emperor's Hammer member who expands the Imperial University’s body of knowledge by creating a new course and supporting materials, or who substantially revises an existing course (generally considered to be changing at least 50% of the course content to include notes and the exam). Such a new course or revised course must have been approved for instruction within the Imperial University according to Training Office procedures.

The Medal of Scholarship is recommended by the Training Officer, or in their absence, by the Command Attache.

The specific criteria for determining whether a course’s edits meet the requirements for the Medal of Scholarship shall be those used in the previous section, “Academic Record Updating for Course Creation or Updating”.

Emperor’s Hammer Rules and Regulations

The Training Office is subject and adheres to the Rules and Regulations outlined for all members of the Emperor’s Hammer in the TIE Corps website, linked below. The Training Office adheres to an Open Door Policy, insisting that all members of the Emperor’s Hammer and its subgroups are encouraged to reach out to the Training Officer and their Assistants for any matters relating to the Training Office, via Discord Direct Message or Email.

The Training Officer has final say in all matters regarding the Training Office, as outlined by the Grand Admiral of the Emperor’s Hammer. Any questions, comments, concerns or critiques regarding decisions made should be directed to the current Training Officer.

Failure to comply with the Rules and Regulations set forth in this document will result in disciplinary actions for all parties involved.