News, Resignations, and Applications

Welcome to my second official report as Headmaster!

Before anything else, I want to highlight a competition organized by KP Sight Nortorshin: Assault on the Shadow Academy. Go subscribe and then take all of the courses!

As I announced yesterday, the brand new Department of Leadership Studies has launched with three courses built from the ground up by a small army of subject matter experts. One more course is on the way, hopefully by the end of July, to round out the new Department. At that point, the old Leadership Fundamentals and Studies courses will be retired and the Leadership Maven and Savant requirements will be changed to reflect the new courses (so go take Fundamentals and Studies now before they go away forever!). I am also considering expanding the types of positions that qualify for the "leadership experience" portion of the degrees to better conform to current MAA promotion guidelines. More on that in my next report.

Docent!

Also as stated yesterday, I am seeking applications for a Docent of Leadership Proposals to assist Xantros. I have received one excellent application so far. Here are the requirements again:

Must have leadership experience as an Aedile or higher (Praetor is acceptable)

Must have successfully written, reviewed, and/or implemented a proposal of at least House-level significance

Must be willing to critically read and comment on proposal submissions within 48-72 hours

Please send your applications to me and Ood soon. As my initial announcement noted, I may select a Docent before the July 19 application deadline.

Unfortunately, I have another personnel change to announce: Raiju has resigned from Professor of the Department of General Studies to pursue major changes in his life. I wish him the best of luck, but am very sorry to see him go -- he was one of the Shadow Academy's most efficient and reliable members. Thanks for all of your help, Raiju. Good luck and come back soon!

Professor!

At this time, I am not accepting applications to replace Raiju as Professor. In fact, the Department of General Studies will be closed and its courses moved to other Departments (or, in the case of Leadership Fundamentals and Leadership Studies, retired) in the near future. However, I am going to open applications for yet another brand new position: Professor of the Department of Communications.

Here's what I'm looking for:

Rank of Jedi Hunter

24 hour grading turnaround

Have passed both IRC Basics and IRC 301: Operator Studies with at least 90%

Be willing to revise existing courses and develop new courses for the Department This is critical: several new communications courses are currently at varying stages of completion. The right person for this job will take what Raiju and a few other people have done so far and finish it. You will have a good deal of discretion in preparing the courses and will be rewarded appropriately for the work done.



When you apply, discuss your ideas for new communications-related courses and offer whatever suggestions you may have for improving the current courses.

Applications are due to me and Ood no later than 11:59pm EDT Saturday, July 19. Unlike the Docent job discussed above, I will not appoint a Communications Professor before this deadline, so take some to prepare a good, thoughtful application.

The Audit!

Since my last report, the three Light Side CORE courses have been fully audited and launched in the Department of CORE Studies. The Krath, Obbie, and Sith COREs are delayed somewhat due to the sheer volume of changes required (they're all being rewritten) and the needs of real life -- it is the summer, after all, and even evil-doers need to go to the beach sometimes.

This month the audit will advance to its next victim: the Department of Combat Studies. Stay tuned. :p

Top Exam Takers!

Since my last report, the top five exam takers at the SA are:

Name # of Exams PRT Zagro Fenn 50 GRD Darkblade 37 GRD Kor Vaal 29 DA Braecen Kaeth 28 DJK Lexiconus 27

Great work, everyone!

Conclusion

As always, I'd like to close this report by asking for your help. The SA is a massive wall of text that covers ever-shifting topics and is prone to typos and run-on sentences. If you spot substantive or grammatical problems, please let me, Ood, and the course PROF know so that we can fix them ASAP. As we work through the Departments during the audit, we're also going to be asking for help reading and editing -- if you have any particular expertise, let us know when we announce the next Department being audited. There are shiny things available. :P

Bubba

Sith Warlord Dacien Victae di Plagia

Headmaster of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood