Promotions being pushed on students with expensive testing fees attached

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well I am a firm believer in no testing fee's for any reason. I think even if you make a little exception then someone down the line will realize that they can make a big buck and start charging people like crazy! I think you need to make tests some thing special that have meaning with no monetary figure attached! Then again I also think some systems simply have these tests regularly every couple of months to line their pockets. Personally there is no reason to test anyone more than once or at most twice a year. In IRT most people are lucky to have a formal test once a year. However, that is just how we do it! To each their own and really there probably is no right way! Just in my opinion a formal test should be some thing unique and special at any level!

 

[Twin Fist]

I have heard of some of the high fees and just can't believe it. My BB test was about $300, that was for the panel, belt and I bought the steaks for the guys on the panel after at the BBQ.

yeah, but let me guess who was on your panel, and how many were wearing red and silver belts....

 

[dancingalone]

I don't like connecting revenue generation to belt promotions. I would rather just build everything into the tuition cost itself rather than potentially giving the appearance that money has anything to do with rank achievement.

Universities don't charge you a fee when you take your midterms and finals. The cost of administering exams are accounted for already in the semester's tuition and fees due at the beginning of the term.

 

[Blade96]

This is something that I brought up on another thread, but rather than sidetrack that thread, I thought I'd start a separate thread.

Scenario: suppose the promotion being given also comes with the student being asked to pay out a large sum of money, say anywhere from three to eight hundred dollars?

Assuming that the student can afford it, is it really appropriate for a master to lay that on a student?

And to clarify, I do not mean a situation where the master says, 'hey, I feel that you are ready to test, but there are association fees of _____ hundred dollars, so whenever you have the resources, let me know,' but a situation of, 'I'm promoting you to ____th degree and the test is on __/__/2010. You'll need _____ hundred dollars.'

LOL No sensei in our association would ever say that! Not for a kyu, and not for a Dan. They say when they think you're ready to test, but they would never say 'I'm promoting you to X and you'll need blabbity blah amount of money'

Last time there was a black belt grading in august 2010 (yes i was there and watched the grading) for a small collection of brown belts and two shodans trying out for a nidan here were the fees: Taken from the website:

The Grading Fees are as follows: Shodan $200. Nidan $250. Sandan $350. Yondan $400

I really think it depends on the test and such. For us kyus we have only a little fee. like $25 when i went from white belt to yellow belt. The brown belts and blacks have what you see above.

and just because some here might wonder, well how did they do? They all passed.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I don't like connecting revenue generation to belt promotions. I would rather just build everything into the tuition cost itself rather than potentially giving the appearance that money has anything to do with rank achievement.

Universities don't charge you a fee when you take your midterms and finals. The cost of administering exams are accounted for already in the semester's tuition and fees due at the beginning of the term.

That is my opinion as well.

Daniel

 

[MJS]

I don't like connecting revenue generation to belt promotions. I would rather just build everything into the tuition cost itself rather than potentially giving the appearance that money has anything to do with rank achievement.

Universities don't charge you a fee when you take your midterms and finals. The cost of administering exams are accounted for already in the semester's tuition and fees due at the beginning of the term.

That is my opinion as well.

Daniel

Sounds good to me as well. If we think about it, there are alot of things that are just other ways to make the extra $$$. IMO, the arts should be about spreading the art, to help it grow, rather than collecting huge fees for every little thing.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Sounds good to me as well. If we think about it, there are alot of things that are just other ways to make the extra $$$. IMO, the arts should be about spreading the art, to help it grow, rather than collecting huge fees for every little thing.

Absolutely! Now, if I'm paying less than fifty dollars a month and the testing fees are only a flat twenty dollars every few months, that is fine. But when paying 99 dollars a month or more, there is simply no reason for escalating test fees and certainly nothing to justify a five hundred dollar black belt test.

Daniel

 

[WC_lun]

Absolutely! Now, if I'm paying less than fifty dollars a month and the testing fees are only a flat twenty dollars every few months, that is fine. But when paying 99 dollars a month or more, there is simply no reason for escalating test fees and certainly nothing to justify a five hundred dollar black belt test.

Daniel

Sure there is a reason. The school is trying to get as much as they can as quickly as they can, knowing that most children students do not stay for more than a year. Notice I didn't say it was a reason you'd like