Category:Certifications

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Introduction

Over the time that Agony Unleashed and Agony Empire have been running PvP University, we have had literally thousands of people take our classes. In fact, for many alliances, attendance in the classes is considered mandatory for their PvP pilots. However, attendance in a class doesn't necessarily mean that the student knows the material presented in the class. It certainly is possible to attend the class without learning anything at all. Furthermore, attendance in basic level classes is only the start of the PvP learning experience and there was a huge gulf of knowledge between the graduate of PVP-BASIC and the experienced PvPer. The Agony Certifications program is targeted to solve both of those problems.

Through attaining certifications, the pilot has proven their grasp of the material in the certifications and their ability to employ it in real life. Certifications are not merely given out for being there but require the certifying pilot to take an oral and demonstrative exam that focuses on the content of the particular certification. The roll of the classes then becomes to teach the students to the content of the exam material and prepare them for the certification, however, they could potentially take the certification test cold-turkey and become certified.

However, the certifying pilot should be warned that the Agony Empire pilots giving the certifications will be firm and not easy to fool. These same pilots have needed these certifications to rise in rank in Agony and they are just as hard on their students as their teacher was on them. Most certifications require not only oral examination but also demonstration of the techniques and the AGONY pilots will have those techniques mastered before they are cleared to give certifications. In addition, most certifications require traveling with an AGONY gang and AGONY lives very deep in 0.0.

AGONY Only Certifications

Some certifications are appropriate only for AGONY Empire members. For example, knowing the structure, rules and organization of AGONY will be only of use to an AGONY pilot. Other certifications allow the user to teach a PvP University course. These AGONY only certifications will not carry an evaluator or AGONY fee and will be marked and categorized as agony only certifications.

AGONY only certifications will be available to an AGONY member free of charge assuming they have the required minimum rank requirements. If an AGONY member does not have the rank requirements and wants to take a certification, they will need to have approval from their Squadron Admiral in writing in the forums. The Squadron Admiral should append his approval the member's scheduling thread for that certification before anyone will schedule a session.

Although we do not generally remove certifications when the player leaves AGONY, the AGONY only certifications and service awards are the exception. The reason for this is because the corp structure, PvPU classes and other aspects of AGONY might have changed since the player left. If the player rejoins AGONY, they will have to re-qualify for AGONY only certifications.

AGONY Service Awards

These are ribbons displayed for core AGONY pilots to indicate their time of service in AGONY. The awards are based on being a current member and adding up all the time the pilot has been in corp (even if you left and came back). These awards are not retained upon leaving corp. To apply for a service award (which are in increments of 6 months) please respond to the How to Apply for an Agony Service Award thread in the forum and a director will process your application. Note that these ribbons will not be merely granted by leadership, you must ask for them to avoid having to assign someone to track every pilot's time in corp.

Obtaining Certifications

In order to obtain a certification you will have to register to be examined by an AGONY pilot. This person will be referred to as your evaluator. This person will give you the certification exam and make a recommendation for approval of the certification when they are satisfied that you meet the criteria for the certification. Your evaluator will always be someone that already possesses that certification and their examination is subject to oversight by AGONY directors, Squadron Admirals and PvP University instructors. Periodically these senior AGONY members will audit examinations to insure their quality.

Except in Special Circumstances Certifications are Currently Only Available to AGONY Empire pilots at this time.

Non-AGONY pilots will pay a fee for each certification. A part of this fee will go to the evaluator to cover expenses of his or her time. A smaller part of this fee will go towards the corporation. The fee is scaled based on the level of advancement of the material as well as the difficulty and length of the exam. The fee must be paid to Agony Unleashed Corporation prior to the exam and the evaluator will ask Agony for Remittance of their share.

Once you have paid your fee and have been assigned an evaluator, you will make an appointment to be evaluated. You can expect that the appointment will need to be in the vicinity of Agony Empire operations. The evaluator will not be required to travel out of this region. if you come to a private arrangement with an evaluator to meet elsewhere for travel expenses, that is between you and the evaluator. When you meet with the evaluator for the exam, you MUST be on Agony Empire's comms to conduct the oral part of the exam. The examiner will only examine one pilot at a time in a private, secured channel.

Once you have completed a certification, you will be recommended to receive the certification and be given appropriate user class on the AGONY site to indicate completion.

Certifications Offered

In this section you will find a list of AGONY certifications that are offered. Certifications without active links, or certifications that have an "Under Construction" image in their page at the top are not yet ready to be offered. The content of the certifications takes some time to come up with and solidify. If your desired certification has no links, just come back and visit this page later to check if the certification is ready. The exam content for each certification can be found by clicking on the link for that certification.

AGONY_Structure_and_Organization_Certification, Covert_Ops_Specialist_Certification, Fleet_Logistic_Ship_Operations_Certification, High_Speed_Long_Range_Certification, Interceptor_Combat_Specialist_Certification, Interdictor_Operations_Specialist_Certification, POS_Gunnery_Certification, PVP-COVOPS_Instructor_Certification, PVP-WOLFPACKS_Instructor_Certification

Certificate Evaluators

This is a list of Agony members who are able to provide certifications listed below: Certificate Evaluators. If you are able to provide any of these but do not see your name listed in this article please add yourself to the list.

Evaluator Materials

NOTE: These links are accessible by Agony only.