Is this "LicensePrep"an actual class? Is it just for deckies or engineers too? We didn't have it as engineers in the 90s.
I would have serious issue with the Academy not letting me take license based on anything not an actual USCG requirement. Who cares if I did good or bad in license prep? How many people who did well in license prep still fail license? Who cares if I pass or fail but me? Its all on me if I take them once, twice or five times? Besides, taking the test and failing is also a form of "license prep" is it not?
I also take issue with the no empty tubes thing. If the only thing I have holding me up is the license I should be able to walk across the stage based on having sufficiently completed the body of coursework to earn the degree. How many have walked across the stage, got an empty tube and in the end NOT got the diploma because they never could pass license?
I know one of your classmates who was a deckie and wasn't allowed to sit for license because of his grades in license prep.
To your point about being allowed to sit, the academy would argue that getting the blessing of the academy is a coast guard requirement, because completing the course of study is a requirement to be approved to test.... it's kind of ehh I know, but that is the requirement.
I can see both sides of the empty tube argument. On one hand you didn't actually graduate, on the other hand though, graduation is the only chance you'll have for recognition. My other issue is that graduation wasn't really about me, it was about my parents and family.... and in that sense it punishes them, not me. If it were up to me I would have probably skipped graduation all together, but it's one of the few things at KP that is really about the people in the stands, not the people on stage.
Correct. The policy is no empty tubes. They also did away with private grad ceremonies for deferred grads. The policy now is they mail you your diploma.
Yes, license prep is a 0 credit course graded pass fail for deck and engine. They do it to artificially increase their first time pass rates I think. If they had allowed everyone to sit they wouldn't be able to say 67% for deck this year. It would've been closer to 50 or 55.
For the reasons I mention above, I think doing away with the private graduation thing kind of sucks. I had a classmate get hosed on orals because she was a woman and got unlucky with her panel, she was a deferred grad, but didn't deserve it.
I don't know if license prep is about "artificially inflating" first time pass rates. License prep is a breeze, and it was at least a few credits for us. If you can't pass license prep, I don't know how you'd be able to pass the real thing, because license prep is so much easier. Also, when I was there, they did a few STCW control sheets/assessments as part of license prep for the deckies, which made it a graduation requirement.