Indication of number of elements Applicant plans to take.

41 votes

I would like to see something in the current registration form they could check to show which elements they intend to take. i.e. check boxes for 2 , 3 ,4 It would help me estimate the time allocation. I.e. I could test single element takers in one room and multi element takers in a 2nd breakout rm.

Planned Suggested by: Allan Batteiger (05 May, '20) • Upvoted: 14 Nov, '24 • Comments: 13

Comments: 13

06 May, '20
n2ygk
Yes this would help us since we schedule candidates into 45-minutes time slots.
06 May, '20
Richard Bateman Admin
Would you expect any behavioral change in the system for this or would it be purely informational? I'm debating if this warrants a special feature or if it would be better to just add a generic way to specify additional information to collect during registration.
06 May, '20
n2ygk
(Because it's all about scope creep,) I would see a useful feature to actually schedule the candidates into time slots within the session window, where those slots would have varying lengths based on which elements the candidate registers for, and potentially using heuristics from the system to determine slot length.
08 May, '20
Allan Batteiger
I just want the information, nothing needs to be done otherwise. This is just a registration check box
04 Jun, '20
Janet Crenshasw
I agree. It would help us schedule our time slots. Just a checkbox would be great.
19 Aug, '20
Norm Goodkin
It would also help us notify the VEs in the session as to what to expect. They will know to advise the applicant to NOT finalize his session so he can take the next exam. We provide this information to our VEs in a Google Sheet now, appending it to the applicant's name and PIN, because the VEs want to know. I send an email to all the applicants with all the information they provided when they registered - the one missing part is what exams they plan to take. I show them what license they have.
28 Jan, '22
Heather KM6ZQB
Yes, I agree that this feature would benefit all of us in planning how much time to allot an applicant for both remote and online.
05 Jul, '24
N4FWD
For applicants who use that information proposal, I had the following situation happen: The applicant was not licensed. They chose the General without also choosing the Technician level license. When the applicant came to the session, they were surprised that they were presented with a Technician exam. Since they had not studied for the Tech, they failed. The VE team had to explain that the applicant had to first pass the Tech before attempting the General. My suggestion for the future is if an applicant chooses the higher class of exam, the lower class of exams should automatically be chosen and shown as such.
05 Jul, '24
N4FWD
As an addendum to what I proposed, If the applicant chooses the higher license and already has a license (upgrade), the lower level of perquisites which are met, should not be displayed. Example: a Tech wants to choose the Extra class, only the General and Extra would be shown as possible selections.
05 Jul, '24
Heather KM6Z
The applicant might have a CSCE for tech. The team might also reach out to applicant when they notice mismatch and confirm selection of exam. This happens occasionally and at least one VEC allows out-of-order testing.
05 Jul, '24
N4FWD
A CSCE would be handled at the session as normal. When they input their registration, we are only talking about which buttons can be select as an information for the team lead. Example, an applicant passed their Tech and possesses the CSCE. They register for a session selecting General. They will see Tech & General buttons. At the session, the team lead gives them credit for the Tech once they present the CSCE document. Exam tools will not allow out of order testing. So if a VEC has a policy of allowing out of order testing, I doubt the FCC will issue a General license if the FRN does not have Technician credit (either as a callsign or a CSCE). If anyone reading this thread knows different, please educate me.
05 Jul, '24
Heather KM6Z
I personally would prefer just to see what they want to take. It allows me to plan better for time. Otherwise, I will assume that I have to plan for two exams. It might leave VEs waiting for applicants to arrive.
24 Aug, '24
Bob W6RBF
I discovered that this feature has been implemented when I got questions from prospective applicants for a combined class and exam session. I'd like to see more description of the different elements and the ability for the team lead to suppress the question. At a class/exam session we have time for only one exam, but those coming at an appointed time for exams only can take multiple elements.