Policy and Procedures
-Absences
Participants are required to notify the training site and the contact person at their Domestic Relations Section (DRS)/Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) office if they will be unable to attend a scheduled training day. Absences must be approved and excused by the DRS or BCSE Director.
+Certificates
All participants will receive a certificate of completion. In addition, those attending New Hire Training will be awarded 6.5 Penn State Continuing Education Units (CEUs) while those attending Performance Enhancement Training (PET) will be awarded 3.5 Penn State CEUs. Persons missing more than 10% of a class (i.e., more than one day for the two-week New Hire Training and more than a half-day for the one-week PET) or those with an unexcused absence will not receive the certificate or CEUs. The participant’s Director will determine excused absences.
+Class Attendance
Instructors are required to take daily attendance at each scheduled class. Attendance may be taken throughout the day, including after breaks and lunch, to ensure mandatory attendance requirements are met. Attendance issues will be reported to the DRS or BCSE Director.
+Consent Forms
Participants in the New Hire Training and PET are required to sign and turn in to faculty a consent form that allows the Pennsylvania Child Support Enforcement Training Institute (PACSETI) to share their Pre-test/Post-test scores with their Director.
+Enrollment Confirmation
After a participant enrolls for training, PACSETI sends an e-mail to the Director or designated contact. An e-mail will also be sent to the participant if a valid e-mail address is provided. The Director is responsible for confirming enrollment with the participant.
+Holiday Attendance
If a scheduled training day falls on a holiday that is observed by the DRS or BCSE, but not by PACSETI, all participants are still required to attend. Such holidays may include, but are not limited to: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, President’s Day, Columbus Day, and Veteran’s Day. The DRS and BCSE, at their discretion, will compensate employees based on applicable personnel policies.
+Improper Participant Behavior
Improper participant behavior includes any action that interferes with or distracts from classroom instruction. In the event a PACSETI faculty member observes improper participant behavior, the following steps will be taken:
- Step 1: The PACSETI faculty member discusses the improper behavior with the participant in an attempt to resolve the issue.
- Step 2: If the improper behavior continues, PACSETI informs the appropriate DRS Director of the participant’s behavior.
- Step 3: The DRS Director discusses the situation with the participant.
- Step 4: If the improper participant behavior continues, PACSETI notifies the DRS Director that the participant is required to return immediately to the DRS.
+Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, faculty at each regional site will decide whether class will be held. A decision to cancel class will be made and announced no later than 6 A.M. the morning of class. If a decision is made over a weekend to cancel a Monday class, it will be announced as early on Sunday as possible.
Class cancellation information can be acquired via:- A recorded phone message at each regional training site;
- A message posted on the PACSETI Web site; and/or
- Local media (radio/television).
Any days missed due to cancellation must be made up by the participant within 90 days to receive credit. Faculty will assist participants with arranging a makeup class during a subsequent training course. Participants must contact the PACSETI instructor to schedule the makeup class at least one week prior to the class date in order to ensure a seat is available, as seats are limited. Participants will be able to take the post-test at the completion of their makeup classes.
If the first three days of a PET course cannot be held together, the entire weeklong course will be cancelled and rescheduled.
+Internet Usage
The Pennsylvania State University administers all PACSETI training. Computer and network resources available to participants during training are the property of the University. When attending a PACSETI class, participants shall follow University policy regarding use of computer and network resources, as found in "Policy AD20 Computer and Network Security". During training, participants shall not use the Internet unless instructed by faculty to do so for classroom training purposes only. When at the DRS or BCSE, participants are expected to adhere to the Department of Public of Welfare's (DPW’s) Systems User Security Agreement.
+Participant Scores
New Hire:
Participants will be able to view their pre- and post-test scores before leaving New Hire Training and PET. Upon completion of New Hire Training and PET, each Director will receive a copy of each participant's scores . These results will include the pre-test and post-test percentages for both the participant and the class overall. Directors will share these results with each participant.
100-Level Courses:
Participants will be able to view their pre- and post-test scores by logging into the LMS and viewing their employee transcript. A checkmark indicates a score of 80% or higher; no checkmark indicates a score of 79% or lower; and, N/A indicates that the course occurred before any pre- and post-tests were implemented for that particular course. Note: The scores to 100-level tests are not e-mailed to Directors . Directors can access scores by logging into the LMS and viewing an employee's transcript.
100-Level Online Courses:
Participants will be able to view their scores to the online courses by logging into the LMS and viewing their employee transcript. No scores will appear on a participant's transcript until he or she earns a score of 80% or higher on the course mastery test. The mastery test is unlocked after the participant successfully completes all of the tutorials contained within an individual online course. Note: The scores to 100-level tests are not e-mailed to Directors . Directors can access scores by viewing an employee's transcript.
