As I've mentioned in previous Headmaster reports, we have planned a number of improvements for the Shadow Academy to make it more user-friendly and easier to access. We have begun to make some of those changes today, and I wanted to take the opportunity to announce them and how it could affect you.

Reorg = Now Hiring!

One of those items was to reorganize and condense the courses into more coherent Departments. This had the side effect of lowering the number of staff positions that are necessary to the smooth functioning of the SA. With that in mind, we have decided to open up all of the new Professor and Docent positions to applicants. All existing PROFs and DOCs have been removed from their positions, but are very much welcome to reapply. We are currently seeking applicants for the following positions:

• Professor of the Department of Lore Studies
• Professor of the Department of Legends Studies (soon to be renamed to Historical Studies and have the History courses shifted into it)
• Docent of Communication (the non-Leadership courses within the Department of Leadership, Law, and Communication).

Applications should be sent to both myself and Marcus; failure to send to both will result in an automatic rejection of your application. Applications are due no later than Saturday at 11:59 pm CST (I haven't had my coffee and don't feel like converting to GMT). If you would like to apply for a specific Department or Departments, please let us know. The requirements are as follows:

• no more than a 24 hour grading turn around time, with 12 as a strong preference
• successful completion of the course(s) within the Department(s) you're applying for
• ability to regularly maintain and update your courses as new information arises

Vertical Alignment

In areas of the SA where the content overlaps with the "territory" of another member of the Dark Council, the DCer in question with his or her staff have been given control of the department/courses. This should allow us to ensure that the information within the SA is always as updated as necessary and that there isn't any confusion in policy or procedure. That will apply as follows:

• The Department of Gaming & Combat will be overseen by the FIST as Professor, with his Praetor as Docent.
• The Department of Writing will be overseen by the VOICE as Professor, with his Praetor as Docent.
• The Department of Leadership, Law, and Communication will be overseen by the MAA; as already noted, we are hiring a Docent specifically for the Communication courses and the Law courses will be decided after they are revamped by the JST.
• The Novitiate Hall and the COREs have been folded into the newly-renamed Dark Brotherhood Fundamentals department. This department will be maintained by our shiny metal overlord, dbb0t.

No good deed goes unpunished...

I learned a lesson the hard way today that I want to pass on to current/future leaders of any level in this club: when the Seneschal warns you to fully plan out something so that it doesn't break the site, you should really listen to him. As some of you might be aware of, the shifting around of courses caused a few issues with our automated tracking tools. Some elements that are tied into Shadow Academy courses - including some promotions and degrees - might not fully work correctly until James has had the opportunity to fix my screw up. As a reminder, the MAA and his staff can override and award promotions and I can override and award degrees manually if necessary. If your Promotheus reports are showing as incorrect and you need assistance, feel free to reach out to us so that we can make the corrections needed; this is something we can always do, in case you've ever been concerned. We just normally don't have to, since James is a coding wonder.