Trevor Hawkins M5AKA

RSGB Exam Fee Increase

Below is a reply from Phillip Brooks G4NZQ RSGB Region 12 Manager, to my email of a month or two ago regarding the RSGB Exam Fee increases.
My concern was whereas in 2003 it cost just £34 to sit the C&G RAE exam to get straight to Advanced it now costs £75 to do the same thing.

Note that although there used to be a Novice C&G NRAE it was never a requirement that you had to sit that exam before doing the C&G RAE (Advanced licence). The one £34 exam sitting was all that was required.

These days you have to sit 3 seperate exams (plus all the assessments) instead of just one exam to get to Advanced. If you do the courses as well (assuming you can find them locally) then the total bill for getting the Advanced is some
£250.

A rough calculation shows that nationally currently only 1 in 20 of those who pass the Foundation go on the pass the Advanced exam.

73 Trevor M5AKA

I'm sorry for the delay in replying . It has taken a long time to recover after my holiday (in terms of catching up with work!) and I wanted to give this some thought.

I believe there is quite a split of opinion on the "value for money" aspect of the new examination fees. I talked to the Felixstowe and Suffolk Data Group Club on Monday evening and the apparently unanimous view of the audience was that, by today's standards, £75 for all three exams was not
extraordinary and compared reasonably with similar fees charged by other testing bodies. A member of the audience cited particularly the fee necessary to get a VHF licence for yachting as being about the same.

I am sure you will have seen the letter from Peter about the increases so the is no point in reiterating the contents here but the additional points that occur to me are:

1. RSGB members would, of course, get a £15 discount on the complete package. (I know this discount has come in for various comments in different places but judged solely using the Felixstowe Club as a "sounding board", it is seen as a fair and justifiable move.)

2. I believe that the closing fee for the City and Guilds examinations was £47.00 which would be at least £50 today for the two exams based simply on inflation increases. The amounts, I think, were £32.50 and £14.50 for the NRAE in 2002.

3. In considering the City and Guilds fee it also needs remembering that they had some quite hefty extra charges invariably applied: like £50 for a late entry exam fee; and £30 for duplicate certificates.

4. The City and Guilds had also stated that it was becoming non-viable in monetary terms for them to continue so, even if they could have been persuaded to carry on, their fees would surely have gone well beyond £75 for them to achieve profitability. Moreover, the RSGB benefit of increased
frequency would (almost certainly) still not have been provided by C&G.

5. It is also worthwhile remembering that with the City and Guilds it would take anything between 12 and 18 months to obtain a licence. Courses would normally start in September leading up to the May exam or start in January leading up to the December exam. Failures would have to wait a further six months to retake the exam. (The timescale was less for the NRAE as it was an (approx.) 30 hours course.) The RSGB approach is far more flexible in terms of timing. That time scale is actually very important bearing in mind the current expectation of young people in wanting action today rather than waiting until tomorrow. Combined with access to the Internet giving instant word-wide communication and other available interests, all of this was all adding up to a hobby in decline.

6. I talked to HQ about streamlining the exam in terms of content and maybe a reduced (or bulk buy) fee for people wishing to do the whole thing on the one day. They pointed out to me that the number of people who have taken all three exams in one day can be measured in single figures so there does not appear to be a prolific demand for that approach. It therefore seems unrealistic to expect a change in structure of the examination arrangements (i.e. the three level approach) which is well established and approved by
Ofcom. Regarding the "bulk buy" idea, even for the few who take all three papers in one day, there is little saving in HQ administrative costs (apart from a little postage) as all of the same processes have to be adopted. So there is little scope for a worthwhile reduction in the combined fee.

7. However one looks at it, the new arrangements have brought over 11,000 Foundation licensees into amateur radio (approx. 3,000 per annum) and the number of candidates moving on from the Foundation to the Intermediate level is increasing and the same applies for the Advanced. That is a plus point and shows a fair degree of approval with the arrangements amongst the user
community.

To sum up. The revised fees are arguably good value compared with similar qualification requirements. City and Guilds walked away form this because they were not making money out of providing a time restricted service. It is therefore inevitable that, even if they could have been persuaded to continue, they would surely have charged more that the RSGB's rate. And of great importance, the new arrangements are bringing new people into the hobby. That is a success for the current examination arrangements.

Phillip. G4NZQ

Other recent stories..

Other News Stories

• Get our news headlines for your website - click here
• Submit your news story - click here