Academic Divisions: Classes and Parties
Calvard Academy positions its student base in a very interesting arrangement of academic subdivisions and 'homeroom' like accommodations which serve to the benefit of all students involved. The hierarchy of student life can be described in two stages:
- Level of Class
- Level of Party
Within these categories, titularly dubbed as "Levels," they represent varying metrics of growth in the student's education and capability as an Adventurer. These categories will be further explained below.
Classes are the foremost of the organizational units of Calvard Academy. They represent the basic unit of a group of students enrolled at the Academy. A Class is dictated by two factors: a corresponding age range, and a corresponding level of expertise in a student's given field of study. In essence, there are always three Classes with an unspoken 'fourth' being for circumstantial exceptions, such as those who are 'held back' or likewise advance rapidly between the Classes. For each Class, there is a Master who is assigned to watch over and regulate their collective groupings; much like conventional schools, the Academy has informal ways of addressing each of the three Classes' students. "Upperclassmen" for the Heroes, "Classmen" for the Journeymen, and "Underclassmen" for the Apprentices. These are typically informal terms, and are not used by the faculty for the purposes of record-keeping.
The Classes are defined in the following ways:
- Class of Heroes (3 years)
*Age Range: 22, 23, 24.
(PF2E) Level Range: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
- Class of Journeymen (2-3 years)
Age Range: 19, 20, 21.
(PF2E) Level Range: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
- Class of Apprentices (2 years)
Age Range: 16**, 17, 18.
(PF2E) Level Range: 1, 2, 3, 4.
*All Ages are listed in corresponding Human Cycles (Years of Maturity). Equivalences are made for the proportional ranges of the same stages of maturity seen in other races.
**It shall be observed that while the Class of Apprentices officially does not permit any students to be actively enrolled on campus at an age younger than 16, there have been rare expectations for 15-year-olds to live on campus and be preemptively prepared for their eventual transition into Academy life.
Within these Classes, there are then a variable number of
Parties which are simply the more specific groupings of individual students. Parties are grouped in units of no more than six, but no less than three students. They're formed with the intent of fostering a modicum of growth and team bonding through co-ed living spaces, specialized educational regimens, and carefully chosen assignments made just for them. A Party is the lifeline of any Adventurer, for the Academy strictly discourages the 'Lone Wolf Phenomena' and will not hesitate to provide thorough reorganization efforts to include survivors of a fallen Party into a new one. However, it is not discouraged for Parties to disband upon their graduation day, as the Adventurers may simply wish to pursue independent careers in life. Though, those that stick together sometimes end up forming professional Adventuring Companies to gain standalone recognition by their various city-states.
One of the facets of Party assignments however is that the Academy is responsible for choosing who will become the Party Leader. Of the students selected for a given Party, the one who presents the greatest potential to be a qualified 'face,' or leader for the Party will be given that responsibility as part of their grouping. The Party Leader is chosen during their formation, however the process by which a Leader is decided on remains a private affair.
