Invalid Measurer Contact info in database

Duane,

There are a couple of problems here. Their email may be incorrect or their phone number may be wrong or both.

I could go through the list and ask for them to contact me, but that would take lots of time. If they didn't contact me then I could set the page not to show their information.

I change the page for a measurer when I'm contacted or if there is a new measurer then they are added.

Maybe,I could establish a new position specifically for a person to check this page on a semi-annual basis.

Gene,

I am contacting all of the measurers in my area of certification, to get updated information. When I get all the updated information, I can send it to you. For my area, this is not a big chore. For other certifiers, it may be more of a chore. But, I think it should be done by all. No deadline, but something that could be worked-through.

My question then becomes; what will we do when a measurer is listed, but we don't have accurate contact information? Will the measurer still be listed, but without any contact info? I think that is how it should be handled, in case the measurer sees that there is no contact info, and wishes to have it updated.

That may be a good thing to just list a name without contact info.

Again, I may look into creating another position on the council to work on the accuracy of the list.

Who maintains- and adds new measurers to- the list?

Not that I'm asking for any more work, but couldn't certifiers check the information as applications come in (as Duane is apparently doing proactively) and report any changes to whoever maintains the list on the website?

And as long as we're talking about it, how long must a measurer be inactive before their name is removed from the website? I'd propose that if someone hasn't measured a course for certification in three years USATF shouldn't refer people to them via the website. The list should be pared down at the end of the year- at the same time as the course list.

Just to let all know the Course Registrar maintains the list. When Pete took over the position, he was not sure how all this integrated into the USATF site. As he told me, it just appeared.

However, I noticed that the list doesn't automatically enter the date they last measured a course. I have been entering new measurers and they show on the USATF site. During my 2 months of doing this job I have not entered the date anyone last measured and I don't know if Pete did this during his short time on the job.

Actually, the person handling this job should check each certificate for any changes. I guess my job just got a lot bigger. I plan to start entering the date and checking their contact information at this point in time.

Why enter a "last-measured date"? The course number shows what year they measured their last course.

I have some that have a course number of "CO04...", and nothing since. When contacting them, I ask if they are still interested in measuring. So far, no contact info for that type has been valid.

And some have only measured one course. Likely they wanted to save money on the certification, and did their own course, with no interest in doing any more.

Maybe we, as certifiers, should note if someone is a new measurer, in our communication with the Regional Chair. It would be up to us to check the info coming in against the info on the USATF site. I think it is better to spread the task around, instead of have one person (Gene) shoulder the burden.

quote:

Originally posted by Gene Newman:
Just to let all know the Course Registrar maintains the list. When Pete took over the position, he was not sure how all this integrated into the USATF site. As he told me, it just appeared.

However, I noticed that the list doesn't automatically enter the date they last measured a course. I have been entering new measurers and they show on the USATF site. During my 2 months of doing this job I have not entered the date anyone last measured and I don't know if Pete did this during his short time on the job.

Actually, the person handling this job should check each certificate for any changes. I guess my job just got a lot bigger. I plan to start entering the date and checking their contact information at this point in time.

That's how I always did it. Every time a new cert came in, I'd check the measurer's contact info and update as necessary. The "last contact" column reflects the year of the last cert received.

The measurers database is part of the course list, and theoretically gets updated with each upload.

During the three-month period when I was registrar after Stu, I simply ignored the measurer contact info, as it was all I could do to learn the process and tackle the course list. I just took on the job to get it off Stu’s back. I was glad when Gene wanted to take it on. I agree with Mike that it’s valuable for the Chairman to have first-hand course information.

As for fees, I believe the $30 certification fee was set too high. It was set years ago, and maybe it’s not too high today. Not all certifiers charge $30.

I believe that the $3 that is sent to the vice chairs by the certifier should be increased to $5, but not as Gene proposes. I would prefer that the vice chairs get $2 per course and the registrar get $3.00. I don’t see a need to increase the $30 fee to the certifier. The remaining $25 is more than adequate for the work involved.

There may be other ways to keep the measurer list up to date. One would be an annual mass mailing to the measurers requesting that they look up their contact info and correct it if necessary. Those that respond will be listed. Those that do not respond will not be listed. This idea is preliminary and may be able to be improved.

I don't think it's productive to charge for calibration courses. They may be be used by all, and putting a fee on their creation will discourage people from getting them certified. Result: fewer cal courses for general use.