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BuTrain Directive 004-23

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BuTrain Directive-004-23 To: All Members of the Grand Alliance From: Vice Admiral of the Red Colin Lloyd, KDR, KDE, MC, DSO, GS, QBM, CBM, Baron New Ayers, Sixth Space Lord

Policy for External Courses

Introduction

In order to facilitate training in specialized subjects, BuTrain will recognize relevant external coursework with course credit in TRMN.

This is primarily so that we can direct people to existing courses that are available online that teach relevant subjects, without having to reinvent the wheel and develop what are often quite specialized or in-depth courses.

External coursework will be available in two different modes in BuTrain. The first is where we have pre-authorised a course or course series as one that we would recommend to students. In this case we will have a specific BuTrain course number matching that external studies program. BuTrain will not use courses for this that are not freely available, so students should not have to pay for these courses. Some do offer paid versions, and if it is beneficial to a student to pay for it for real life reasons, they are of course free to do so.

The second mode is where a student may find a course that is relevant to an area of study that they are interested in doing. The student can then propose that they can take this course for specific credit. We see this as being particularly relevant to Warrant courses where a student may find an external course that fits with that speciality.

Basic Principles

These are the principles that will apply to both modes of external studies:

1. The course should have a means of proving that the student has completed it. This can be a downloaded certificate, a screenshot of a completion certificate or anything similar.
2. The student should be enrolled in the external course in the same name as their Medusa profile, and the name on the certificate/proof of completion should match their name in TRMN.
  • People who are using a different name in TRMN than their legal name, who need to enrole in a different name must contact the instructor or 6th Space Lords’ office with sufficient proof that you are the person who has done the courses. This would most likely be proof of address to match your Medusa address.
  • Final judgment on whether this is acceptable lies with the 6th Space Lord.
3. Failure to get approval for a course prior to submitting it will mean the instructor is within their rights to reject the submission.

For pre-approved courses

1. The student will establish a login at the relevant external studies site, in the same name as their Medusa profile.
2. They will contact the course instructor to establish their intent to take the course, and which course they are taking. This will be through a standard course request initially, and the instructor will follow up with the details of the course and note the student’s intent.
3. On completion of the course, they will screenshot or download their proof of completion, and submit a copy of their proof of completion, with a brief reflection on their learning gained from the course to the instructor.
4. The instructor will approve the proof and enter a mark into Medusa.

For non-pre-approved courses

1. The course should have direct relevance to TRMN, the Honorverse and have a parallel BuTrain offering.
  • Courses in Leadership / Communications / Management or Ethics will generally be accepted for GPU-ALC equivalence and there will be specific course numbers assigned for independent work.
  • Courses that have direct relevance to running a non-profit / fan society will be generally acceptable (but will exist in the Institute for TRMN Leadership Studies rather than the ALS). Courses that match with Technical Specialty disciplines will be generally acceptable for Warrant projects.
  • Do not expect a random course that does not match any TRMN or Honorverse topic to be approved.
  • An external course cannot be substituted for an established BuTrain course (e.g., a student may not use a Hydroponics training course to replace a SIA Hydroponics D course, but you may use it for a Hydroponics W course).
2. The student will contact the relevant instructor. This will be through a standard course request initially, and the instructor will follow up with the details of how to submit a proposal for their intended course and note the student’s intent.
3. The proposal will contain the equivalent to a Warrant Project application:
  • What course and what external site it is through
  • An outline of the course content
A screenshot of a course content,
A written outline of the course content, or
An estimate / outline of the length of the course
  • How the course is relevant to
that Speciality, or
TRMN, or
the Honorverse in general.
4. The instructor will review the proposal and either:
  • Approve - at which time the student may take the course and provide proof of completion in the same manner as a pre-approved course. Request more information or discuss whether the course is sufficiently relevant.
  • If a course is insubstantial the instructor may request a written component as well as the proof of completion, to demonstrate learning and understanding.
  • Deny if the course is obviously inappropriate.
5. Once the Student has submitted proof of completion and any additional work, the instructor will enter the course into Medusa.


Issued By:

Colin Lloyd, KDR, KDE, MC, DSO, GS, QBM, CBM
Vice Admiral of the Red, RMN
Sixth Space Lord
Baron New Ayers

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