Jedi Academy Management Guidelines

The Council:  The Council has final say on all matters.  We will, for all MAJOR decisions, consult the JAK+ for their input, but all decisions rest with the council.  We understand some of you may have a problem with this and may feel like we're stripping you of power, but we're not.  We're simply reestablishing the boundaries of power that we originally wanted to keep in place for each rank.  Trust us, DJ and massadoobie have been here longer than you have and have seen it all, and the other members have been promoted for their exceptional examples, intelligence, and fairness.  Anything we do is not for personal power or on a whim (since all members of the council must approve a decision), but is for the good of the Academy.  As tough as it may be to accept this fact, the Academy is not a democracy.  It is a republican oligarchy... the republican part comes from the fact the exceptional members of the Academy are singled out for promotion and higher rank, but act as an advisory group.  The oligarchy part comes from the fact that the main power rests with the members of the Council, who have final say in all matters.  We respect your opinions and will always listen and consider them, but the truth of the matter is that a majority of the problems the Academy has faced recently have been caused by the base of power being spread amongst too many people at too many different levels.

Lead Knight/Lead Trainer:  The Lead Knight and Lead Trainer positions have been abolished.  This is due to the fact that, since we have 5 active council members, we can adequately meet the needs of the JAK+.  Plus, we want to have more direct communication with you guys, and this way if you have a problem you HAVE to come to us.  Besides, Virtue isn't called Community Liasion for his health  :).

Knight responsibilities:  Knights have three responsibilities.  They are in charge of keeping the peace on the servers, they are to help the JATs teach their classes, and they are to set an example for the rest of the Academy.  They may also suggest to the trainers those who would make good knights in the future.  Knights are expected to follow these guidelines and recognize they are essentially exceptional students and therefore have no more powers or responsibilities beyond those listed here.

Trainer responsibilities:  Trainers teach classes.  That's the main focus of the rank.  They are NOT administrators and, although called upon from time to time by the Council for their input, DO NOT decide Academy policy.  Trainers are now required to teach 2 classes per week.  One of these classes must be open to the public, however the other class may be a padawan or private session.  There has been some inactivity amongst the ranks recently, and this is aimed at stopping it.  Beyond that, trainers nominate students for promotion to Knight and Knights for promotion to trainer.  They comment on Knight examinations, conduct knight trials, observe trainer class trials, and give feedback to the council regarding these things.  The Council has final say in all promotions.

Knight Trials:  Virtue is creating a knight trial that will hearken back to the old days.  It will be much shorter that the current one but will consist of many of the same things.  There will be no numerical requirements (ie. win 3 out of 5 gun duels against a JAT), but will be based on an overall analysis of the trial.  More details will be following.

Trainer trials:  To promote a knight to trainer, the knight must prepare and present a class that they will teach upon promotion.  Council members, trainers, and normal students will attend these classes, followed by an interview between the trainer nominee and the council and trainers (the students will be booted).  If a council member is present, he or she may decide after the interview whether to grant the promotion.  If a council member is not present, the trainers should post in the teachers forum their feedback from the trial, at which point the council will decide on the promotion.  Trust me, it may sound kind of complex, but it's really quite simple.  It's also highly recommended that a council member be at all trainer trials, in order to expedite the process.

Classplans have been eliminated.  All we ask is that you provide an adequate description of the class when you add the class to the website.  If the same class start getting taught over and over we will speak to the trainers and see if we can fix the situation.

Teaching certifications:  Knights are no longer required to acquire teaching certifications.  Those knights who wish to someday become trainers still must help out with classes.  Trainers are encouraged to, once someone seems ready to become a trainer, give the knight a class and supervise them, then provide feedback and some sort of analysis to the rest of the trainers when the knights promotion is discussed.  Knights who have no training aspirations are not required to help with classes, although it is still STRONGLY encouraged.

JK3 Certifications:  The need for JK3 certifications is over.  We feel that at this point certifications are no longer needed, since the game has been out for long enough.  Those of you who are not certified may still fulfill your 1-class per week requirement with JK2 classes, provided students actually attend those classes.  Otherwise, if your skills are not up to par in JK3 we ask that you either find something in jk3 that you are good at and can teach (like an alternative gametype) or talk to the Council regarding what you can do to fulfill your current role adequately.

Demotions:  We are raising the bar on active members of the JAK+.  If, according to the council and the Training administrators, someone is not active enough to justify their elevated position, we will meet with the person, discuss the reason for inactivity, and, if appropriate, ask the member to step down to a lower rank.  This is not done because we don't like you, but is instead done to make sure that the JAK+ roster is always active.