Hello everyone. Starfleet Academy would like to announce that the Entrance Exam has been discontinued in favour of the new Orientation Assessment.
WHY THE CHANGE?
The Academy team decided some time ago that the Entrance Exam needed to be completely changed, not only was it somewhat dated in terms of the actual content but we weren't happy with the fact that one of the first things a new member was asked to do was to sit an exam with content that might not be relevant to them.
WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED?
The team spent several months getting feedback from new members and prominent members of the community in order to get a better understanding of exactly what it was that a new member with no prior experience of UFP would need to be aware of in order to successfully function as a member and be sufficiently confident in navigating the website. From this process the materials provided to new members were completely overhauled and new questions were devised in order to check the knowledge of new members to ensure they were getting the information they required.
Whilst the team did work hard on how to make the process less exam like there are only so many ways we can check the knowledge of members with the tools at our disposal, whilst it is still a test we see it more as a test of how good a job the community does of explaining things to new members which is why we chose the name Orientation Assessment, we are assessing how well the orientation that new members receive is. In order to try and make the process more friendly to new members so they can go ahead and start interacting with their fellow community members sooner we did reduce the number of questions from 14 to 10 and are confident that the 10 questions we settled on should be sufficient to identify whether or not members are being given the information they need in a manner they understand.
We're also revamped the communication a member receives after joining and you can see the PM sent after completing the old Entrance Exam versus the PM sent after completing the new Orientation Assessment below.
ENTRANCE EXAM completion PM
Greetings {username},
Our records show that you recently completed the Entrance Exam with a passing grade. As such, you are now eligible to be invited to our Star Trek Online in-game fleets.
We highly suggest you request your character invites as soon as possible to make the most out of your fleet membership.
Kind regards,
Starfleet Operations (Federation Faction) & House of Kular (Klingon Faction)
This is an automated message. Please do not reply directly to this private message for assistance.
ORIENTATION ASSESSMENT completion PM
Greetings {username},
Congratulations on completing the Orientation Assessment. You should now have the basic level of knowledge needed in order to get the most out of your community experience. Although it is not necessary to do so it is highly recommended that you keep this PM for your reference.
STARFLEET OPERATIONS AND THE HOUSE OF KULAR
Since you have completed the Orientation Assessment you are now eligible to have any Star Trek Online characters invited to our Star Trek Online in-game fleets. To request invites for your characters please go to https://ufplanets.com/stoinvite.php or click HERE.
STARFLEET RESERVES
As a UFP member you are able to download our Elite Force Launcher. This program allows you to install the Elite Force Legacy Edition and the RPG-X Basic and RPG-X Advanced Editions. To download the Elite Force Launcher please go to https://ufplanets.com/fleetmanager/download.php or click HERE.
GETTING FURTHER HELP
Should you require any assistance with any aspect of your UFP membership please visit our COMMUNITY SUPPORT CENTRE which is designed to be a one-stop shop for essential information. This can be accessed from anywhere on the website or forums by clicking the SUPPT button on the circular menu near the top left of the page.
To learn more about some of the other ways of getting further help click HERE.
PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON YOUR EXPERIENCE
If you have any feedback about any aspect of your experience within The United Federation of Planets please feel free to make use of the FEEDBACK FORM. This can be accessed from anywhere on the website or forums by clicking the SEND FEEDBACK button at the bottom of the page.
This is an automated message. Please do not reply directly to this private message. If you require assistance, please contact your RSO.
We're very much hoping that this update will improve the experience that new members receive both by cutting down on what is expected of them and by providing them with the information most likely to be of help in a clear and concise manner and I would just like to say a big thank you to the entire Academy team for their hard work when contributing to this project.
DO I NEED TO TAKE THE ORIENTATION ASSESSMENT AND IF SO HOW DO I DO IT?
If you are a new member then it is highly advisable that you take the Orientation Assessment since it is specifically designed to ensure that you have the minimum level of knowledge required to successfully function as a member and be sufficiently confident in navigating the website. Not taking the Orientation Assessment will also limit your options within the community such as being able to advance in rank, being able to apply for and hold positions and being eligible to join one of our Star Trek Online fleets.
If you are an established member who has taken the Entrance Exam then there is no expectation that you take the Orientation Assessment although you may still find it beneficial to do so. If you are an established member that wishes to take the Administration Exam then the Orientation Assessment takes over as the prerequisite for being able to take the Administration Exam so you may need to complete it in order to access the Administration Exam.
The Orientation Assessment can be completed by going to MyUFP>MyUFP Features>Academy Exams>Orientation Assessment.
NOTE TO MEMBERS
Since this update has literally only just gone live the engineering team will be taking a look to make sure it has been correctly implemented and FAB are currently updating the website to reflect these changes, we're also looking at ways of making the materials easier to read since LCARS isn't always the most user friendly text, as a result of this some content may be receiving a few minor tweaks and we apologise in advance for any disruption that this may cause.
If you spot anything that you believe to be an error please feel free to contact a member of the ACADEMY TEAM or log the issue within the WEBSITE TECHNICAL SUPPORT area.
ANY ISSUES?
If you have any questions or feedback relating to this change please feel free to post it here or to speak to any member of the ACADEMY TEAM.
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD TO BE FOUND ONLY IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS."
Thats great news Chris! I'm glad to see that the engineers and SFA's hard work has paid off and the new system released. The concept is a vast improvement over the old system and I'm looking forward to see how it works
Thats great news Chris! I'm glad to see that the engineers and SFA's hard work has paid off and the new system released. The concept is a vast improvement over the old system and I'm looking forward to see how it works
Just to clarify the new exam system is yet to be released due to the number of things on the engineering to do list. Starfleet Academy decided that since all of the exams needed updating or replacing that we would push ahead with that for the existing exam system rather than wait for the new exam system to be launched since we didn't know when that would be.
The content for the new exam system has been ready for some time however the current exam system can't do what we need it to do so none of that content has been launched yet.
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD TO BE FOUND ONLY IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS."
Just to clarify the new exam system is yet to be released due to the number of things on the engineering to do list. Starfleet Academy decided that since all of the exams needed updating or replacing that we would push ahead with that for the existing exam system rather than wait for the new exam system.
Awesome, I'm just sitting the assessment now and I noticed when I click on the link for UFP Code of Conduct it takes me to this page is this an error?
Awesome, I'm just sitting the assessment now and I noticed when I click on the link for UFP Code of Conduct it takes me to this page is this an error?
This would be one of the minor tweaks, basically the Code of Conduct is in the process of being overhauled (hope that wasn't a spoiler I'm sure it's been mentioned elsewhere) as a result there are various references and links that will need updating.
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD TO BE FOUND ONLY IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS."
This would be one of the minor tweaks, basically the Code of Conduct is in the process of being overhauled (hope that wasn't a spoiler I'm sure it's been mentioned elsewhere) as a result there are various references and links that will need updating.
Feels like it took forever. Glad to see it finally out there.
Just to double check, completing this still results in promotion to petty officer 3rd class right?
Feels like it took forever. Glad to see it finally out there.
Just to double check, completing this still results in promotion to petty officer 3rd class right?
Yes and as with the Entrance Exam, 70% is still a pass.
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD TO BE FOUND ONLY IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS."
Just a quick update it looks as if some of the content of the Orientation Assessment has been altered. We're currently trying to identify how and why, as a result of this some people taking the Orientation Assessment may be presented with questions from the old Entrance Exam. We hope to resolve the issue shortly and apologies for any inconvenience.
In the mean time I would recommend that established members do not take the Orientation Assessment until the issues have been corrected and that new members contact their RSOs should they require assistance.
Again apologies for any inconvenience.
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD TO BE FOUND ONLY IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS."
Just a quick update it looks as if some of the content of the Orientation Assessment has been altered. We're currently trying to identify how and why, as a result of this some people taking the Orientation Assessment may be presented with questions from the old Entrance Exam. We hope to resolve the issue shortly and apologies for any inconvenience.
In the mean time I would recommend that established members do not take the Orientation Assessment until the issues have been corrected and that new members contact their RSOs should they require assistance.
Again apologies for any inconvenience.
UPDATE
The above issue has now been resolved.
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD TO BE FOUND ONLY IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS."
Posted Wed 27 Aug, 2014 11:21 PM –
Last edited by Daedalus; Wed 27 Aug, 2014 11:43 PM.
Does anyone need any extra red tape? Apparently Mazoue thought it would be a good idea to celebrate his election to the council by filling my office with boxes of the colorful adhesive.
On a more serious note, I am very happy to see this finally come to fruition. Thank you to all involved in making this happen.
Does anyone need any extra red tape? Apparently Mazoue thought it would be a good idea to celebrate his election to the council by filling my office with boxes of the colorful adhesive.
Why you looking at me? <hides unused roll of red tap behind his back>
But it's great to see this come to fruition. I'm proud to have been part of it and proud to be working with such talented people to make it a reality. Sure it's not the full exam system overhaul we wanted but this is most certainly a step in the right direction.
NOSCE•TE•IPSVM•ET•ESTO•LIBER | KNOW YOURSELF AND BE FREE
