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Coming soon, NEW CHL process FYI


Mojoe

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The NRA has changed how classes will be taught with new online training required. What does this mean to the person looking to get their CHL? The process in the past has been to go to a certified Instructor who teaches a minimum of what the state requires. In March of 2015, Ohio went from a 12 hour to a 8 hour requirement for training, with online, or classroom, and range time. Traditional classes have still been allowed. As of February 2016, the NRA has online training set up which requires 90% on the test or better to pass. Once you pass, you print your certificate and get a pin number. You will find an Instructor through the NRA site and register for their class. This part does not seem to be up and running yet and has little detail, thus far. Once with an Instructor, you will do your range qualification and any other training that Instructor has for their course material. Then, the Instructor can sign off on your training and you take your certificate and other requirements to your Sheriff. This is the summarized version.

 

With the NRA taking away the ability to let Instructors buy student packets which come with the certificates, they have been out of stock for a month and not looking to be available anymore, there is no other way to get the certificate needed for your Sheriff to issue the CHL. There is a grace period of Mid May to teach without the online training, but your Instructor will need to have certificates stocked up with student packets.

 

Once you register with the NRA to take the online class, for $60, you will have three attempts to pass with a 90% or better to get your online certificate. Then, once you get to your Instructor, they can charge up to another $60 for your range time and other material they cover. The NRA has that outlined too.

 

With the online portion covering what I assume was the power point portion of the material, this will free up sitting int the classroom for a long day. I'm not pleased with the change. It makes the student look at material they may need help with, but have no one to help them that is informed. I see many people failing the test, where with proper instruction, they could have learned. Who is really going to pay to do the online again, if they miss it 3 times? Some would say, "well they are too dumb to carry then". I have taught smart people that do stupid things. And, I have seen people hate a computer, but problem solve situations like they have a PHD. The issue is, without passing the online, you never make it to an Instructor. There are several other things that need more detail, I will post more as I get the info and become more familiar with it.

 

The NRA online registration link:

https://onlinetraining.nra.org/online-courses/nra-basics-of-pistol-shooting-course/

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Last time I bought materials I read a little about this, but didn't interpret what was out at the time as removing the instructor's ability to buy the packets or teach the full course. If it's not just an online OPTION that's a major blow.

 

That's an interesting development.

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Last time I bought materials I read a little about this, but didn't interpret what was out at the time as removing the instructor's ability to buy the packets or teach the full course. If it's not just an online OPTION that's a major blow.

 

That's an interesting development.

 

It is a major blow. The NRA dips into more than 2/3 of the cost of what I was charging. Granted, now there is no student packets to buy, and get murdered on the shipping NRA charges. The cost of targets go up, because now there are 4 different targets to buy or print for each student. I'm glad the range portion has increased in the challenge. Over all, the student will have to pay more in the long run, compared to what they would be able to get their CHL for currently.

 

The NRA pushed an email out earlier in the month, and the Phase II PDF is posted on the Instructor portal site. Range qual has changed to, 10', 15', 20' and 45' requirements.

 

Dear NRA Pistol Instructor:

Excitement is in the air as we approach the release of the new NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course, on or about February 17!

Once the new NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course has been released, your ability to advertise the current NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course on NRAInstructors.org will not be available. However, there will be a transitional period through mid-May where it is permissible to teach the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course in both the traditional format and the new blended approach. Once this period ends, the only way to conduct the course will be via the blended format. Please take this into consideration when placing orders for new materials.

Basic Pistol course Student Packets will continue to be available on a limited basis until later this month and the NRA will be accepting returns and refunding instructors for unused NRA Basic Pistol Student Packets after the transitional period ends, less shipping and handling.

By now, we hope that you have reviewed both the Basics of Pistol Shooting Phase II Lesson Plans as well as the Phase I portion of the course on the Instructors-only webpage, which will help you prepare to teach in the new format. Students can find your courses as they always have, but they will be required to enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN) when they register for the course, prompting them to complete the e-learning portion (Phase I) first.

After a student has completed Phase I and prints the certificate, the PIN will be activated, allowing the student to register for the Instructor-led-training (Phase II) portion of the course. When the student uses the PIN to register for Phase II, the student's contact information and test score from Phase I will automatically populate on the Instructor's course report. Once a student has completed Phase II, the Instructor must submit the course report for the students who have passed to print the students' certificate from NRAInstructors.org.

We realize that many Instructors do not advertise or conduct courses regularly. Even if you conduct courses infrequently, your students must complete Phase I online so you can create a course report after you have completed Phase II with the students. Certificates will be populated with both the students' and the Instructor's information. All you will need to do is initial the level that the student has qualified at and sign the certificate. You will also provide each student with a copy of the Performance Requirements Checklist.

Students who register for the new NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course will not receive a packet from the NRA Certified Instructor. Instead, students will have immediate access to the NRA Guide: Basics of Pistol Shooting in a digital format, and a hardback book will be mailed directly to them at no additional cost. The NRA has considered a lot of factors in determining the student cost to take the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course, which will not exceed $60.

We look forward to these exciting times and rolling out the new NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course. Thank you for all you do and for your continued support of NRA Training Programs.

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I have at least one person wanting to cert that will not have anything to do with computer-led or online courses, the NRA just alienated a portion of people that either don't have internet, or don't want to mess with the hassle of updating their java/flash/browser/etc to make online courses work.

 

 

Sure hope they go back to purely instructor led, at least the option ASAP.

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Joe the TL;DR is NRA is mandating an online course for a portion of the test and also messing with your pricing model?

 

I'm interested in why this seemed important enough to make happen...

 

I would guess it's because of the (very few) shady instructors who were issuing certs without actually teaching the class. This way they at least verify you got some training.

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There were a few guys who issued over 400 certificates for training, without training to standard. So, what Brian said would fall into that.

 

The NRA had not been making money off of certified Instructor, after they are certified. The money that was being charged by the instructor covered NRA student packet(I'm sure there is a profit in there), facility expenses, targets, guns, ammo refreshments, and their knowledge and time. Now the NRA is taking $60 up front and saying " good luck" to the instructors. As an example, we barely cover our ammo and utility cost with our classes. But, that is to our own fault and the students benefit, for us refusing to teach large classes. Larger classes would mean a profit. We feel information in larger classes simply does not get exchanged will. We would like to make money to buy fun toys doing this. But, we enjoy seeing people progress in what we teach them, and go out and be better shooters with the right mind set. That really turns out to be to payment for us. The fact is, we have full time careers we still have to focus on, so teaching more classes isn't really an option sometimes.

The structure we teach will change because of this.

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I have at least one person wanting to cert that will not have anything to do with computer-led or online courses, the NRA just alienated a portion of people that either don't have internet, or don't want to mess with the hassle of updating their java/flash/browser/etc to make online courses work.

 

 

Sure hope they go back to purely instructor led, at least the option ASAP.

 

And we will run into that time and time again. Mandating online training will hurt people going through the process and deter them. The web site will be down, people will have issues logging in, they will complete the test but not get a certificate, and all the other things I have seen with my work and required online training.

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So are you still able to sneak someone in during the grace period?

 

Yes. We have a class scheduled for this Sunday. And I will continue to teach traditional classes until I run out of student packets, or mid May.

 

Are you able to make the class on Sunday?

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The web site will be down, people will have issues logging in, they will complete the test but not get a certificate

 

Deal with this all day every day at work. I hope the NRA is plussing up their call centers to handle the angry mobs.

 

I have one packet left, have to decide which lucky student gets it before the change

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Sounds like a huge money grab on the NRAs part, at the detriment of the students and good instructors like yourself.

 

Can you setup to have the students do the online portion, or at least part of it, at your place? That way you could still lead them like you currently do. Can you do a day long class where, whatever time and money portion is the CHL part.... and the rest is your own class? That way you technically meet what the NRA is requiring but can still do your own thing.

 

Ok, I'm not a 'gun guy', so here's the part I really can't wrap my head around about all of this. Why is the NRA even involved in the CHL process? CHL is a issued from the state/county, under the guidance of state laws, but the only place you can get the certificate from is from this not for profit political group. Seems very confusing to me.

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Ok, I'm not a 'gun guy', so here's the part I really can't wrap my head around about all of this. Why is the NRA even involved in the CHL process? CHL is a issued from the state/county, under the guidance of state laws, but the only place you can get the certificate from is from this not for profit political group. Seems very confusing to me.

 

Easiest way for nationwide standardized training

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Sounds like a huge money grab on the NRAs part, at the detriment of the students and good instructors like yourself.

 

Can you setup to have the students do the online portion, or at least part of it, at your place? That way you could still lead them like you currently do. Can you do a day long class where, whatever time and money portion is the CHL part.... and the rest is your own class? That way you technically meet what the NRA is requiring but can still do your own thing.

 

Ok, I'm not a 'gun guy', so here's the part I really can't wrap my head around about all of this. Why is the NRA even involved in the CHL process? CHL is a issued from the state/county, under the guidance of state laws, but the only place you can get the certificate from is from this not for profit political group. Seems very confusing to me.

 

 

The NRA has a standardized training program that is recognized by the states. There are other ways you can get certified.(OPATA for example), but the NRA is the most accessible certification for both students and instructors.

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