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Volume 1, Issue #5

Some thoughts on putting on a first rate PE class L. Daniel Maxim, ANACO-RB

This issue of the Ed-Vantage covers some best practices in putting on a first rate PE class. If you have ideas to share, please contact COMO Tom Venezio (tvenezio@me.com) and we will include these ideas in a future issue. Many Flotillas have a highly successful public education (PE) program. They take the trouble to build an effective team, recruit outstanding instructors, and present effective and popular classes. The rewards are clear, including valuable word of mouth publicity, increased attendance in future classes, and a great opportunity to recruit new members. Other Flotillas are less successful. Here are some tips to make your program successful.

• Get organized: It takes more than good instructors and good course materials to attract and conduct a good class. It takes a team effort. You need to (i) identify your market, (ii) find an interesting venue, (iii) publicize your course effectively, (iv) manage the course appropriately (including building a sense of family among the students), (v) provide interesting presentations, (vi) handle any required paperwork efficiently, and (vi) celebrate the graduates. Job titles for team members don’t matter much as long as you have the necessary tasks covered, but you do need to be organized. This is just as important for short (2 - 3 hour seminars or 8-hour NASBLA approved certification courses) courses as longer courses (e.g., BS&S or Weekend Navigator).

• Identify your market(s): For example, if you are promoting courses at your local marina or yacht club, most of the prospective students (at least those in states with mandatory education programs) will not be interested in an 8-hour NASBLA approved course because they probably have already completed such a course. For this audience, consider seminar courses (e.g., How to Read a Nautical Chart, Navigating with GPS, or Suddenly in Command) or more advanced courses (Weekend Navigator).

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• Promote the course: Figure out the best way to promote or advertise your course. Flotillas have had mixed results with paid newspaper advertising, but there are opportunities for free promotion if you contact writers of sports or boating columns. There are many other ways to get free promotion. You can put up flyers at your local and nearby marinas, marine dealers or sportsmen’s clubs, hand out flyers at boat shows or VSC stations, or get newspaper coverage if you have something newsworthy to include. Many high schools and community colleges will advertise these classes in their adult education catalogs. More and more computer savvy Flotillas are figuring out ways to advertise courses on the web.1 And make sure that you list your course with the Auxiliary and on District web sites. Churches, supermarkets, senior centers, and other locations may be willing to allow posters to be placed on bulletin boards or other designated locations (ask first!). Think of where potential students will have an opportunity to see your materials. For example, local churches, grocery stores or Hispanic social or business clubs might be good places to advertise for the course Navegando America. (As a point of interest a Google search result for Hispanic Social clubs, Miami, resulted in 808,000 hits.) Moreover, there are clubs for people who want to learn Spanish—some of them might be interested in a Spanish language boating course to increase their Spanish proficiency as well as to learn about boating.

• Find an interesting venue: Teaching a course in an unsafe or unsightly venue does not create a good first impression. Try to find professional looking or at least interesting course locations. Community (or other) colleges, attractive office buildings, marinas with suitable classrooms, yacht clubs, and nice hotels or motels are possibilities. Some of these locations may charge for use of the classroom facilities, but these charges can be recovered in the price of the course. Many attractive locations can be had without charge, such as Coast Guard facilities or upscale senior centers. In the past, Flotillas have put on classes on cruise ships, museums, planetariums, and restaurants with private dining facilities.

• Appoint a class supervisor: The role of a class supervisor is to manage the course and orchestrate the efforts of the entire PE team. Possible duties include ensuring an efficient registration process, acting as a “friend of the student” (more below), arranging for primary and fallback instructors, expediting the paperwork process (e.g., course completion certificates or paperwork for the state), and possibly serving as the Master of Ceremonies (MC) for a graduation ceremony. The class supervisor does not have to do all this alone—other Flotilla members should help.

1 Here are some examples; http://wow.uscgaux.info/pe_class_flyer.php?course=7434, http://public.d11nuscgaux.info/PublicEd/basic_navigation.htm, http://www.maineevents.com/event/coast-guard-auxiliary-weekend-navigator-course-45674, http://marinadelrey.patch.com/events/suddenly-in-command-5f0d1c51, http://miami-class.com/, and http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/07/us-coast-guard-auxiliary-offers-course-on-how-to-read-a-nautical-chart.html.

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• Build relationships with students: Depending upon the class length and how it is

organized, an individual instructor may spend only a little time with the class (e.g., one hour in an 8-hour NASBLA approved class). This makes it a challenge for the instructor to get to know the students personally and build relationships. Here is where the class supervisor can play a key role. The class supervisor should attend every class session. If the instructor completes the presentation, but students are puzzled, the class supervisor can provide remedial instruction—or at least commiserate with the students and advise the next instructor to amend his/her presentation. The class supervisor can make name tags or place holders to make it easier for instructors to call on students by name. To help the students learn nautical terminology, you might start a jar system where, for example, any student who refers to a nautical chart as a map is “fined” $1.00. The class supervisor keeps the contents of the kitty and the money is used to buy drinks at (or favors for) the graduation ceremony.

• Build relationships with others: Think about ways to build relationships with others who might be in a position to refer students to a class put on by your Flotilla. For example, meet with marina owners, marine supply dealers, and yacht clubs and inform them of the courses that you have available. You might link this with the PV (formerly MDV) program. Relationship building is not a short-term activity. You may need several visits to build a strong relationship. Why not invite key personnel to your change of watch or other Flotilla function?

• Use capable instructors: All the team’s efforts will be undermined if your instructors are not first-rate. You must be careful to select knowledgeable and capable presenters. If your Flotilla is blessed with such instructors, it’s simply a matter of finding a convenient schedule. Not all Flotillas are so fortunate and you need to set up a professional development program and/or figure a way to borrow capable instructors from another Flotilla. WAYPOINTS is a publication designed to help instructors improve their presentation skills and should be required reading for your instructors. The class supervisor can observe your instructors at work and gather student impressions to help you identify those who would benefit from additional training. Consider teaming a strong instructor with a weaker one for on-the-job training. And encourage your instructors to participate in the upcoming Educational Excellence program. Don’t overlook the possibility of using non-Auxiliary instructors for certain sessions. For example, you might be able to get someone from NOAA to speak on marine weather. As long as you have a qualified Auxiliary instructor present, this is fully in accord with policy.

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• Include a recruiting pitch: Have someone from your Flotilla provide an introduction to the Auxiliary and its missions to the students. It need not be long, but should be interesting and well presented. The discussion should identify members-only courses and other training opportunities that would be of interest to prospective members.

• Be helpful: Some of your students will own boats and could benefit from a Vessel Safety Check. Why not offer to do this for any interested student?

• Celebrate the graduates: Merely handing the students a course completion certificate at the end of class misses an opportunity to make them feel welcome and valued. (And spelling their names incorrectly on the completion certificate is an insult!) One idea that works is to have a graduation party at a local restaurant attended by the students and other members of the Flotilla (preferably in uniform). If it is inconvenient to have the party at a local restaurant, consider a barbecue or other get together where you can present their graduation certificates. Giving awards for the students affords an opportunity for additional recognition and humor.

• Give careful thought to course pricing: Some Flotillas are in a financial position to be able to offer courses at no charge.2 But most Flotillas are not so fortunate and need funds generated by course revenues to purchase such items as PowerPoint projectors, computers, printers, and other legitimate purposes. You should survey the market for these courses in your area—unless you are in a position to offer real and obvious additional value, you cannot charge whatever you would like for a course. However, if you can offer additional value, there is no reason not to charge appropriately. For example, you might increase the price of the course to pay for a particularly convenient or attractive venue (e.g., a hotel meeting room) or for other extras (e.g., navigation tools or charts). Several states accept no-cost online courses to comply with mandatory education requirements or, alternatively, offer inexpensive in class courses. It’s tough to compete with free, but not impossible. An in-class course with competent instructors and a professional program offers value. Students can ask and get answers to questions from highly qualified instructors and will also benefit from social opportunities in a classroom situation. These and other benefits should be noted in your flyers or other promotional material.

2 See e.g., http://www.miami-class.com/public_education_FAQ.html.