Academy Policy

The Academy Policy defines the operations of the Bravo Fleet Academy, Bravo Fleet’s department for member training and development.

1.0 Scope and Purpose

Bravo Fleet Academy exists to further members’ understanding of Bravo Fleet’s systems and activities, under the direction of the Bravo Fleet Academy Commandant.
Bravo Fleet Academy offers programs and operates the Starbase Bravo writing sandbox.

2.0 Programs

Definition of Program - Bravo Fleet Academy programs are multi-lesson experiences that instruct participants on furthering their understanding of a Bravo Fleet activity or a particular facet of that activity. Completing a program often takes several hours and often will have a direct application component.
Scope of Programs - Programs should be intrinsically connected to helping members apply appropriate fleet policies in their participation of various fleet activities, with a core learning objective geared towards helping them succeed in their actual practice. They should not be predominantly content-focused and should be at the applying and creating levels of complexity.
Platform for Programs - Programs are delivered through Moodle.
Program Instructors - Programs generally have a manually graded component and have one or more instructors to process those submissions and provide day-to-day maintenance of the platform. Instructors may either be department heads (or their staff) or members of the Program Team.
Program Badges - A member completing a program earns a unique badge for each program they have completed. Requirements for finishing each program and earning the badge are listed in each module. The Academy Staff will nominate badges upon receiving the notification from Moodle that those requirements have been completed.

3.0 Academy Staff

Academy Commandant - As a chartered department, Bravo Fleet Academy is led by the Academy Commandant, a member of the Bravo Fleet Senior Staff. The Academy Commandant has the final say on any disputes about grades or requests to complete a program/course in an alternative fashion.
Deputy Commandant - The Academy Commandant’s deputy assists in the administration of the Academy.
Program Team - The Academy’s Program Team oversees the academy’s programs. Led by the Staff Officer: Academy Programs, this team maintains and updates programs as necessary, handles the creation of any new programs with the approval and guidance of the Academy Commandant, and nominates Program Badges.
1. Program Instructors - Many non-automated programs are led directly by either a Department Head, the Academy Commandant, or the Deputy Commandant, but any program instructors who do not hold other staff roles are Staff Assistant: Academy Programs on this team.
Sandbox Team - The Academy’s Sandbox Team oversees the Academy’s writing sandbox, Starbase Bravo. Led by the Staff Officer: Academy Sandbox, this team serves the role much like a GM in an RPG by developing missions and canon for the sandbox, maintaining the sandbox’s command page, rules and wiki, processing member applications, writing plot-focused story posts, and supporting member engagement. Decisions regarding the sandbox canon and rules will be made in collaboration with the Academy Commandant and the Intelligence Office, and the sandbox will operate in alignment with the Roleplaying Game and Sandbox Policy.
1. Sandbox Staff - Many canon, mission and rules decisions are led directly by either a Department Head, the Academy Commandant, or the Deputy Commandant, but any sandbox staff members who do not hold other staff roles are Staff Assistant: Academy Sandbox on this team.

4.0 Participant Policy

Eligibility - Any active member is eligible to participate in academy programming.
1. Prerequisites - Members must complete the New Member Program before they are eligible to enroll in any other programs or take any courses. Other programs or courses may also specify prerequisites.
2. Members in the Reserves - Members who enter the reserves must transfer to an active unit before they may participate in Academy programs again.
Citizenship - Programs require a lot of energy to create and maintain. In programs where instructor feedback is given, this is often something that takes hours to do, and so all members who participate in academy programming are asked to be polite and respectful when responding to feedback and in all interactions with Academy staff. Demonstrating respect includes listening and responding with care, respecting the academy process, maintaining a curious tone, and showing gratitude. Member citizenship includes reading all course material and assignment instructions thoroughly before submitting assignments, completing assignments in full before submitting, and embracing the creative dialogue with Academy staff.
1. Engagement with Programs - While every reasonable effort will be made to help members complete programs, instructors may request that the Academy Commandant disenroll a member from a program due to continued failure to improve. The member can then re-join after a 30-day cooling-off period from that program, with the understanding that they must demonstrate progress towards the learning objectives. In these cases, members must begin the program again from the start, re-doing all readings and assignments.
2. Respect - If an instructor feels as though a member is not being appropriately respectful, they may request an alternate instructor handle that member’s assignments, or may request that the Academy Commandant institute a thirty-day Academy cooling-off period for the member before instruction may continue.
3. Significant breaches of citizenship, decorum and politeness will be referred to the JAG.
Integrity - Members are expected to conduct themselves with integrity in all Bravo Fleet Academy Programming, by taking each exercise seriously and submitting their own, original work at all times. Members are not prohibited from discussing Academy content with one another, but they must be judicious about what constitutes intellectual integrity: referring a fellow member to a resource is different than providing a member with the direct answer to a question, and offering feedback on a draft is different than re-writing it for them.
1. Members who do not conduct themselves with integrity may be asked to resubmit any and all assignments and/or referred to the Judge Advocate General at the Academy Commandant’s discretion.
2. Members are expected to follow the Creative Integrity Policy in all Academy activities.