[NevadaARES] New Em. Comms. Course coming

[Don Carlson - KQ6FM]

The message below is from the current ARRL Newsletter.  
-- Don Carlson - KQ6FM   kq6fm at charter.net

==> NEW ARRL ADVANCED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COURSE IN THE WORKS 
 
Over the past several months, ARRL staff have been reviewing the Amateur 
Radio Emergency Communications online course program 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/> and have decided to combine two of the three 
Emergency Communications courses. According to ARRL Education Services 
Manager Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, the review included a critical examination 
of the course content, as well as methods of course delivery and 
interrelationships with government organizations. Johnson said that the 
decision was made to revise the Level 3 course to become a new Advanced 
Emergency Communications Course; this, she said, will replace both the 
current Level 2 and Level 3 courses. The new advanced course is set to 
be released during the last quarter of 2009. 
 
"Our aim is to develop professional level courses which are widely 
accepted by other organizations for the emergency communication 
component of Amateur Radio," she said. "We are investigating 
requirements that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently 
putting in place for approved courses, as well as other possibilities to 
develop emergency communications training that meets the emerging 
training needs surrounding emergency communications." 
 
Students who have previously taken the Level 2 course will need to have 
the new advanced course to complete the current Amateur Radio Emergency 
Communications training program, Johnson explained. "Those who have 
completed the Level 1 course may progress directly to the advanced 
course when it is made available; this new course contains content 
formerly included in the former Level 2 and 3 courses." Johnson said 
that there are no current plans to change the Basic Level 1 course and 
that that course will continue to be offered in its current format. 
 
With the combining of the Level 2 and 3 courses, Johnson said that 
anyone who had signed up for the Level 2 course set to begin April 17 
may apply for a refund. Any scheduled field instruction of the Level 2 
content, as well as Level 2 exam sessions, will also be suspended. "We 
will honor exam sessions that have been previously scheduled and award 
Level 2 certificates for any exams successfully completed up to May 31," 
she said. 
 
"Our training program mandate is to provide the training that ham radio 
communicators need to be prepared to serve our communities in time of 
communications emergencies," Johnson explained. "This consolidation of 
program content will streamline the delivery of the training and apply 
volunteer and administrative support resources more effectively."