[K6BW] Upcoming License Exam November 15. FCC VE Exam Fee Increased in January

[Bill Smith]

Are you planning to upgrade your license?  Exam fees are increasing next year, and November 15 is our last scheduled VE Exam for this year.  Are you a VE, can you help November 15?  Would you like to become a VE?  Let me know (de Bill, AB6MT)

We haven't been taking any money at our exams, it all goes to the ARRL.....

==> ARRL VEC ANNOUNCES EXAM FEE INCREASE 

On November 6, The ARRL VEC <http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/> announced
that as of January 1, 2009, the fee to take an ARRL Volunteer Examiner
(VE)-administered Amateur Radio license exam will increase by $1, from
$14 to $15. According to ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, ARRL VE
teams may retain up to $7 of this fee to directly reimburse their teams'
out-of-pocket examination expenses; currently, VE teams keep $6. This is
the first time in four years that the examination fee has been adjusted.

Somma said that the FCC allows VECs to collect an examination
reimbursement fee from each candidate who takes one or more exam
elements. "VEs and VECs may be reimbursed by examinees for out-of-pocket
expenses incurred in preparing, processing, administering or
coordinating an examination for an amateur operator license (FCC Rule
97.527)," she said
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/47cfr97.527.pdf>.
"These exam fees help the VEC recover its costs of providing its
services."

Saying that every examinee at each ARRL coordinated examination session
is charged the same fee in accordance with the annually-established fee
schedule, "Any person sitting for an exam, or having a new license or
upgrade processed at a test sessions, must pay the exam fee applicable
for the calendar year," Somma explained. "The ARRL VEC's exam fee for
calendar year 2009 is $15. Each time a candidate pays one exam fee, they
are entitled to take tests for Elements 2, 3 and 4 as needed, up to all
three elements under the single exam fee. Each time an examinee retakes
an exam element (assuming the VE Team has different exam design
available), another exam fee is charged."

VE teams may elect to keep a prescribed portion of each exam fee
collected exclusively to offset expenses that are directly incurred in
administering the VE program. "All out-of-pocket reimbursable expenses
shall be necessary and prudent, and must relate to the examination
process in some way," Somma said. "VECs and VEs are expected to use good
business judgment with respect to reimbursement amounts. The examination
reimbursement fee cannot be used to offset non-session related costs and
must be kept separate from other accounts."

Somma pointed out that business expenses such as postal, utility, fuel
and printing charges, are increasing: "Our VE teams are feeling the
effects of the current economy, too! Teams are retaining reimbursement
at amounts considerably larger than previous years. The amount of
out-of-pocket costs that our VEs and the VEC are expending to provide
authorized services in connection with Amateur Radio operator
examinations continues to rise."

Recent ARRL VEC cost-cutting steps have included staff reduction,
reduced printing charges of ARRL VE training material and exam software,
renegotiating shipping and printing contracts and eliminating
lesser-used services.

"Only so many cost-cutting measures can be justified without cutting
back significantly on services essential to our VE teams, our customers
and our program," Somma said. "As a result, an adjustment was needed in
the 2009 exam reimbursement fee if we intended to maintain the basic
levels of service that our VEs, VE teams and candidates have come to
expect."

Somma said that the ARRL VEC permits its VEs to retain a portion of the
exam fees they collect to directly reimburse themselves for
out-of-pocket expenses incurred in setting up and conducting their
examination sessions. "As long as the expense is warranted and has been
prudently incurred -- and the expense is specifically related to exam
administration -- then the fee can be retained," she said. "The team
should keep a complete record of the expenses paid (with receipts) in
team records for two years. Records must be made available to the ARRL
VEC upon request. Costs not related to the exam session processes or
paperwork are not reimbursable."

"We believe that the ARRL VEC's level of assistance and services are
outstanding," said ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B.
"Exam supplies, such as paperwork and software, shipping costs both to
and from the VEC and ARRL VE accreditation, as well as credentials, are
all free of charge for our VEs. We maintain a toll-free number for our
VEs and we even offer reimbursement to the VE team for their expenses.
We appreciate the dedication and volunteerism of all our VEs in the
field. This is why we offer so many services free of charge. This is why
we have that same level of duty and commitment here. Every test fee we
collect goes right back into the VEC program and to serving the Amateur
Radio community."

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/k6bw/attachments/20081107/e8c06fc4/attachment.htm