Universal Referral Program (URP)

[owlbill]

Anyone have any info on what has happened to them? Their website is down and does not even come up on Google searches anymore.

 

[owlbill]

Anyone?

 

[DevonDiver]

Are those the guys that did the 'non-agency' sanction dive theory training...who reckoned you could then refer to any major agency to complete your in-water training?

I hope they've been closed

 

[owlbill]

Are those the guys that did the 'non-agency' sanction dive theory training...who reckoned you could then refer to any major agency to complete your in-water training?

I hope they've been closed

Nope. Universal Referral Program was a co-operation between IDEA, NASDS, NAUI, PDIC, SSI, and YMCA where a standard set up for open water dives was agreed upon and each agency could complete the dives on referral from eachother, providing proper training and paperwork were completed and the instructor doing the final dives was registered with URP. PADI was not part of it, but PADI instructors could also register and receive students to complete the dives.

I hope they have not gone under, as that makes it harder for us to do referrals. I really hope NAUI starts getting more southern shops/instructors on board, even if only for referral business.

NOTE: Please do not make this thread about training agencies etc. It is strickly about the status of the URP. Thank you.

 

[DevonDiver]

Ah.. definitely not what I was thinking of. There was a thread earlier in the week about a company offering online theory training.

 

[Scott]

May have to contact SSI about the site or program since they own the domain.
Registrant:
Concept Systems, Inc.
2619 Canton Ct
Fort Collins, CO 80525
US

Domain Name: UNIVERSALREFERRAL.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Clark, Gary <email masked>@SSIUSA.COM (from SSI's site usa@divessi.com )
Concept Systems, Inc.
2619 Canton Ct
Fort Collins, CO 80525
US
(970) 482-0883 fax: 999 999 9999

 

[Rob9876]

I realize this is an old thread, but I did a search and didn't really find any newer thread on the Universal Referral Program. I have a friend who completed his pool and classroom for NAUI certification -- is the Universal Referral Program still around? The web address is expired.

If the URP is not still around, is it common for instructors for other agencies to do something similar by either (1) take the NAUI pool and classroom completion and do the checkout dives, then issue a cert from the agency of the checkout instructor's agency; or (2) do the checkout dives and report back to the NAUI shop, and the NAUI shop issues cert? I'd rather not get sidetracked on the agency or liability aspects, just want to be able to tell my friend what his actual options are.

 

[ChuckP]

My newbie instructor experience with PADI says that we'd review NAUI course content verses PADI, complete all the PADI paperwork - do an in water evaluation (review) and fix any problems if there were any, cover any differences, continue on with the dives and certify you as PADI. I haven't completed one but that is the way I read our manual, I'd confirm it with my evil course director LOL...

 

[tursiops]

You'll find a lot of old/outdated and just plain wrong information out there if you go Googling Universal Referral Program.
As with much you find on the web, be VERY skeptical!
PADI used to reluctantly allow its instructors to particpate in the URP, but that is no longer even in the PADI Instructor Manual.

 

[ChuckP]

You'll find a lot of old/outdated and just plain wrong information out there if you go Googling Universal Referral Program.
As with much you find on the web, be VERY skeptical!
PADI used to reluctantly allow its instructors to particpate in the URP, but that is no longer even in the PADI Instructor Manual.

So it's a nada no can do thing? Start over thing? For PADI that is - in other words I was completely wrong up above?