Expiring? I'm just considering getting in to GUE and had not heard about this. What's the expiration on GUE certs and what is needed to renew them?
(FYI: My end goal is Tech 1)
Technically a GUE cert is valid for three years. Renewal is on the honor system and requires going online and stating that you have conducted 25 dives over the past three years at the specific cert and paying a nominal renewal fee to get a new card shipped to you (I think it is like $40, I never actually done it). Fundies is 25 dives over three years, Tech 1 is 25 deco dives over three years, etc. Doing 25 deco dives over three years would satisfy requirements for both.
The words "Renew By MM/YY" are on the card, but in my experience they mean very little in the real world. Just about all my cards are expired (especially the fundies) and I have not had an issue. I am sure some people here who have been certified by GUE for a decade or more will have more relevant information.
I wouldn't allow this to play a part in deciding if you want to down the GUE cert. Diving at this level enough, its not looked at and there are methods around it. It's more of a minor inconvenience - one that I also have to put up with with my PSI VIP certification.
Appreciate on the clarification on provisional vs tech pass provisional, getting language right matters; but i'm not sure how it changes things. If you get a provisional you have to either come back for a skills evaluation within 6 months or retake the course correct? Unless your provisional changes to a rec pass? If you get a rec pass you have to either come back for a tech upgrade (I assume there is some cost for that depending on the instructor; plus having to find another student to do it with you) or retake the course correct? The only change to what I said is that if you get a rec pass there is no 6 month time limit on coming back, I assume your fundies result changes to a rec pass and you have to either retake the course or get a tech upgrade.
If you get a provisional you have to either come back for a skills evaluation within 6 months or retake the course. If you get a rec pass there is no retaking the course, you passed and you can do a tech upgrade if you wish. The upgrade is typically half a day or one full day. Some instructors might charge a small fee (~$100), most will let do it for free if you are joining in for a day of an already scheduled class. You also don't need to find a buddy. The instructor can do the evaluation by himself or he will have a local friend play buddy for you.
I wonder if the "high failure rates" using the early iteration method can be attributed to the training methodology or the mindset of the instructors at the time. GUE has a reputation of being extremely harsh gatekeepers, some would say fanatical. I have heard they are working very hard in the last several years to change the reputation and reinvent themselves, I have heard that from GUE instructors so it seems reasonable to believe it is true. Addressing failure is as much about figuring out why something happened as fixing it, so you are not fixing the wrong problems.
The high failure rates are because it takes legitimate skill to earn a tech pass. Even today only 20-30% of students will earn a tech pass on the first attempt. Using the earlier iteration that is a 70-80% failure rate.
Using the previous thought process mentioned above, one day for the initial evaluation, one day for classroom and methodology instruction-ok. What if student is part of the 70-80%?
Let's call it one day for in water-practice and tune up, plus one day for the revaluation.
One day for the initial evaluation, one day for classroom and methodology instruction, one day for in water-practice and tune up, plus one day for the revaluation. It almost sounds like a course......like a four day fundies course
There has been a large influx on new GUE instructors. Just as scuba has mellowed out since the 80-90s so to has the GUE instructor ranks and a student can now choose from a variety of personality types, from the best friend type to the hardnose drill instructor--all of which is a good thing.