HM #3: Terms and Conditions Apply

Kia ora everyone,

Writing together, coming soon(ish)

In my last report I said the two Collaborative Writing courses would be out soon™, and it turns out that particular trademark comes with terms and conditions. A month and a bit later they are still not live, and so I owe an apology to anyone who has been waiting on them.

An internal review by the Shadow Academy staff turned up some excellent feedback, and I am working it in before the courses go live rather than releasing them as they stand, which means the delay is entirely down to me (I'm the problem, it's me).

I do not have a firm release date yet (it depends on how quickly I get through the rest), and so, rather than offer another soon™, I will announce both courses once you can take them.

Last orders for Fiction Studies

When the Collaborative Writing courses do go live, they will take the place of Fiction Studies in the Maven - Writing degree, and the old course (already marked as deprecated) will be archived shortly afterwards.

There's no firm date for that either, and so if it has been sitting on your list, this is your opportunity to take it before it goes away. We will give a short grace period, with another reminder, before archiving Fiction Studies... but you shouldn't bank on that if you are wanting to take it.

Shadow Academy Decathlon

Congratulations to our top three in the September Shadow Academy Decathlon:

• Newt, 114 Academic Credits from 53 exams
• Ellac Conrat, 60 Academic Credits from 23 exams
• Flelm, 12 Academic Credits from 10 exams

And to the top three for the 3rd Quarter as a whole:

• Tiberius Filth, 186 Academic Credits from 89 exams
• Newt, 114 Academic Credits from 53 exams
• Reltud Silversun, 82 Academic Credits from 43 exams

An extra nod to Newt, who placed in both on the strength of September alone (that's an average of close to two exams a day), and thank you to everyone else who took a course over the quarter.

The October and 4th Quarter competitions close on 31 October and 31 December respectively, and as participation is automatic for the top 35 students, all you need to do is take some courses.

Clearing up rank boosts

Thank you to Titius Osseus for researching Aurora Collegium of Sciences "rank boosts" and writing up a definition of them, which addresses an area of confusion that has come up several times recently.

The definition is in the Aurora Collegium of Sciences wiki article (once the wiki is back from maintenance, at least... otherwise I would have included it here!) and will also be worked into the Societies: Aurora Collegium course.

From Magistrate to Professor

Kalen has done wonders as Magistrate over the past (almost) year, and I'm very pleased to announced that he's volunteered to move across to become Professor of the Department of Writing (congratulations on the new role, Kalen, and thank you for the old one).

His move leaves a Magistrate's desk empty, and I will not be backfilling it at this time, although that will likely change quickly once we launch into 2027.

Pencilling in 2027

I am currently planning out what the Shadow Academy staff will be aiming to achieve in 2027, which is where I find out how many of my bonkers ambitious ideas can fit into a single year.

Very little is settled yet, but one thing to keep an eye out for next year is the accessibility work I mentioned in a previous report (such as making the Shadow Academy and Wiki friendlier to screen readers).

The rest will be set out in a future report, but before then, if there's a course you wish existed (or an old one overdue for a refresh), please let me know.

p.s. Thank you to Seals for endowing me with a fresh set of report graphics, which means the old header has been returned to the supply cupboard I found it in (dust and all).

Academy Changelog

DARK BROTHERHOOD FUNDAMENTALS

Activities 104: Roleplaying
- Added note about new `/rp leave` command
Essentials 103: The Brotherhood’s Galaxy
- Fixed a broken link (reported by Zekk Terrik)

DEPARTMENT OF BROTHERHOOD STUDIES

Societies: GMRG
- Fixed a typo (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Societies: Inquisitorius
- Fixed multiple typos (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Societies: Shroud Syndicate
- Fixed a typo (reported by Zekk Terrik)

DEPARTMENT OF GALACTIC STUDIES

Astronomy Studies
- Adjusted exam question due to wonky slider (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Capital Starship Studies
- Fixed multiple course notes errors and typos (reported by Zekk Terrik)
- Reworded confusing exam question (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Creatures & You
- Corrected broken links (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Freighters/Transports Studies
- Fixed a typo (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Galactic History 103 - Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
- Fixed a typos (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Mandalorian Culture Studies
- Fixed multiple typos (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Mandalorian History 101
- Corrected spelling error in course notes (reported by Zekk Terrik)
- Clarified misleading exam question (reported by Zekk Terrik)
Races and Species
- Corrected notes and updated exam question about what languages Wookiees can speak (reported by Flelm)
- Fixed a typo (reported by Zekk Terrik)

DEPARTMENT OF LEADERSHIP, LAW, AND COMMUNICATION

Markdown 101
- Fixed broken links throughout the course notes.
- Clarified reference-link syntax and added a note explaining the simulated example result.
- Corrected typos in the notes and “Setext” spelling in both the notes and exam.

DEPARTMENT OF LEGENDS

Krath Legends
- Removed stray metadata (reported by Flelm)
Sith Legends
- Fixed a typo (reported by Flelm)