Correspondence Course Review

[ghostdd83]

It shouldn't be. They made it cumbersome through a Single-Login thing, but I can usually get it just fine after multiple clicks and links and stuff. It does appear to be down tonight though.

Something to note, you do not have to be a DOD contractor or in an acquisition billet to take these classes. Signing up for a course merely asks you for your company name and supervisor. A buddy of mine owns an LLC that was intended to be a defense contractor but he never did anything with it. I use his company and list him as my supervisor. (Though I was in an Acq Billet on active duty and I did this stuff for 6 years as a contractor before moving to my current, non-DOD job.)

Here's a list I made of the points awarded for each course. The "CLPs/Hours" column gives you an idea of how long the course is expected to take if you read and study every single slide. If you've been around DOD Acquisition before, you can probably simply pound the Next Slide button until you reach a test. I can knock out an 7 point course in a single weekend morning if I focus.

Code Course Title CLPs / hours Reserve Pts Notes
BCF 106 Fundamentals of Cost Analysis 37 9
SYS 101 Fundamentals of Systems Planning, Research, Development, and Engineering 35 9
SAM 101 Basic Software Acquisition Management 34 9
IRM 101 Basic Information Systems Acquisition 34 9
LOG 200 Intermediate Acquisition Logistics, Part A 32 8
BCF 220 Acquisition Business Management Concepts 27 7
LOG 206 Intermediate Systems Sustainment Management 27 7
LOG 101 Acquisition Logistics Fundamentals 27 7 seems long but isn't awful
BCF 103 Fundamentals of Business Financial Management 26 7
LOG 102 Fundamentals of System Sustainment Management' 25 6
ACQ 101 Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition Management 25 6
CON 200 Business Decisions for Contracting 25 6
CON 216 Legal Considerations in Contracting 23 6
LOG 103 Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) 22 6 Slow. Lots of small lessons per module. Large number of questions per module.
ACQ 120 Fundamentals of International Acquisition (FIAC) 21 5
PMT 251 Program Management Tools Course, Part I 20 5
RQM 110 Core Concepts for Requirements Management 19 5
LOG 235 Performance-Based Logistics 19 5
EVM 101 Fundamentals of Earned Value Management 18 5
LOG 204 Configuration Management 18 5
FE 201 Intermediate Facilities Engineering 18 4
CON 100 Shaping Smart Business Arrangements 16 4
CON 124 Contract Execution 13 3
PQM 101 Production, Quality, and Manufacturing Fundamentals 13 3
PQM 201A Intermediate Production, Quality, and Manufacturing, Part A 12 3
CON 121 Contract Planning 12 3
ACQ 130 Fundamentals of Technology Security/Transfer (FTS/T) 12 3
CON 127 Contract Management 10 3
CON 260A The Small Business Program, Part A 10 3
SYS 202 Intermediate Systems Planning, Research, Development, and Engineering, Part I 9 2
CON 237 Simplified Acquisition Procedures 6 2


Also, here are some courses I do not recommend (or recommend with caution)--
PQM 203 Preparation of Commercial Item Description for Engineering and Technical Personnel 6 0 No Pts!
PMT 257 Program Management Tools Course, Part II 43 0 No Pts!
PMT 352A Program Management Office Course, Part A 22 6 Prereq is PMT 257
TST 102 Fundamentals of Test and Evaluation 18 5 Homework!
ACQ 201A Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part A 25 6 Unskippable crap

TST102 was a pretty good course content-wise but there were two homework assignments that had to be submitted to instructors. One of the assignments asked incorrect/illogical questions. I spent a lot of time on that homework. Granted, for 5 points it should have taken 20 hours and I spent maybe 8 hours total. But considering that I normally average about 2pts / hour for these courses I consider that a bum deal.

EDIT: I see the formatting of my table disappeared. If you can't make sense of it, let me know and I'll try again.

Can you share the TST 102 homework I am struggling with it.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Got an email from PERS stating that there are changes coming 01 June - basically the ones we have already discussed here. After speaking with an IRR counselor on the phone, the intent seems to be limiting the number of correspondence courses and thus time in the IRR.

Also, I would not wait and simply start courses before 01 June but rather have them completed with the date on the certificate showing it before 01 June.

Finally, the email linked to the handy Army Reserve Retirement Calculator for those who do not have it. https://www.hrc.army.mil/Calculators/RetirementCalc.aspx

 

[rob00000]

Wow! My head is spinning right now. OVERLOAD! OVERLOAD!

 

[shift_DAWG]

Got an email from PERS stating that there are changes coming 01 June - basically the ones we have already discussed here. After speaking with an IRR counselor on the phone, the intent seems to be limiting the number of correspondence courses and thus time in the IRR.

Also, I would not wait and simply start courses before 01 June but rather have them completed with the date on the certificate showing it before 01 June.

Finally, the email linked to the handy Army Reserve Retirement Calculator for those who do not have it. https://www.hrc.army.mil/Calculators/RetirementCalc.aspx

Nice, thanks.

I'm focusing on the DAU courses now, since they're headed to Acquisition folks only soon (though realistically, just about any rating/designator owns a piece of acquisition/business practices once they hit mid-career grade, but anyway)....

Does anybody have any specific recommendations for/against an of the courses listed on the approved listing? I'm guessing from earlier posts that TST102 is rough. I'm looking mainly at the 5-8 point courses. Any recommendations?

 

[rob00000]

DAU? I sure wish I could do those, not anymore. Read the note below from the DAU website. If you have a CAC card you're golden.

"At this time, to access the registration sites listed below, students must have a DOD-issued CAC. Students can access the site from all domains using their DOD-issued CAC."

 

[ChopChick]

Has anyone here submitted a FEMA course certificate for credit & received the credit even though the numbers differed like the example above, 230C as opposed to 230D?

I just don't want to do a course for nothing & the IRR counselors weren't real sure we would get credit for them.

Helpful feedback appreciated!

I submitted my 230D certificate today. If no one else responds beforehand, I'll follow up with my results when I know.

Thanks! Please do!

Reporting back as promised: my FEMA 230D was credited. I see the new list still has 230C listed, but it wasn't a problem.

 

[ChopChick]

Got an email from PERS stating that there are changes coming 01 June - basically the ones we have already discussed here. After speaking with an IRR counselor on the phone, the intent seems to be limiting the number of correspondence courses and thus time in the IRR.

Also, I would not wait and simply start courses before 01 June but rather have them completed with the date on the certificate showing it before 01 June.

Finally, the email linked to the handy Army Reserve Retirement Calculator for those who do not have it. https://www.hrc.army.mil/Calculators/RetirementCalc.aspx

I got an email from PERS yesterday, too, but it wasn't that one! Mine was much less helpful. Here's a partial quote:

Please stay current with Navy Reserve Personnel Management policies. As a member of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) - Active Status Pool (ASP) it is your responsibility to stay up to date with all current requirements and policies, visit the below webpages.

 

[rob00000]

Reporting back as promised: my FEMA 230D was credited. I see the new list still has 230C listed, but it wasn't a problem.

Thank you for the update! That's good news.

 

[Randy Daytona]

I got an email from PERS yesterday, too, but it wasn't that one! Mine was much less helpful. Here's a partial quote:

That's exactly the email I got. I thought they had lost my NAVPERS 1080/3 form (Annual screening) and were trying to force me out ( I take no chances and send mine in both electronically and snail mail - certified). In actuality, they were letting me know about the upcoming changes I mentioned above.

 

[rob00000]

That's exactly the email I got. I thought they had lost my NAVPERS 1080/3 form (Annual screening) and were trying to force me out ( I take no chances and send mine in both electronically and snail mail - certified). In actuality, they were letting me know about the upcoming changes I mentioned above.

I got the same email & assumed they sent it to all of us.

 

[shift_DAWG]

I got the same email & assumed they sent it to all of us.

Fun Fact: That email from PERS-93 was in direct violation of Federal Law. In it, PERS-93 stated "it is your responsibility to stay up to date with all current requirements and policies."

Whereas Title 10 USC Sect. 10210 states "The Secretary of Defense shall require the complete and current dissemination, to all Reserves and to the public, of information of interest to the reserve components."

That means they're supposed to notify us COMPLETELY and CURRENTLY, vice giving some blanket "you have to visit this website from time to time."

 

[SuperHumanResources]

Gents,
Attached is the new policy as it relates to the ability to earn retirement points by doing correspondence courses. Bottom line is that PERS-93 won't approve performing correspondence courses unless they are:
a. Broadening their qualifications for duties to which they may be expected to perform upon mobilization, or

b. Broadening their knowledge of the qualifications of those whose work they may supervise. (Performance of ADT)

These changes went into effect on 01OCT14. As such, it will be extremely difficult to perform enough correspondence courses in order to earn a "good year".

HR

 

[RHINOWSO]

Gents,
Attached is the new policy as it relates to the ability to earn retirement points by doing correspondence courses. Bottom line is that PERS-93 won't approve performing correspondence courses unless they are:
a. Broadening their qualifications for duties to which they may be expected to perform upon mobilization, or

b. Broadening their knowledge of the qualifications of those whose work they may supervise. (Performance of ADT)

These changes went into effect on 01OCT14. As such, it will be extremely difficult to perform enough correspondence courses in order to earn a "good year".

HR

You realize that is nothing new, right? See page 7 - https://www.airwarriors.com/community/index.php?threads/correspondence-course-review.37833/page-7

Just saying, it's old news.

 

[SuperHumanResources]

You realize that is nothing new, right? See page 7 - https://www.airwarriors.com/community/index.php?threads/correspondence-course-review.37833/page-7

Just saying, it's old news.

Thanks for pointing out the fact that I shared some information that was previously promulgated. My intent was to share some information for a member that might not have known about this policy shift. What was the reason for your e mail?

 

[RHINOWSO]

Thanks for pointing out the fact that I shared some information that was previously promulgated. My intent was to share some information for a member that might not have known about this policy shift. What was the reason for your e mail?

I didn't email you, the forum did when I responded to your post.