In January 2004, a group of organizations and agencies began working together to create a certification program for Kenai River fishing guides. The Alaska State Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation (DPOR), Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Kenai River Professional Guides Association (KRPGA) and Kenai Peninsula College (KPC), a community campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage, collaborated in creating the Kenai River Guide Academy®.
In early 2005, the Kenai River Working Group (KRWG) incorporated the Kenai River Guide Academy® program into their recommendations to DPOR for new State Park Regulations. Draft regulations were written and a public hearing was held in Soldotna in January 2006 to listen to comments about this program as well as other changes to Title 11. The regulations were signed by Lt. Governor Loren Leman and took effect on March 14, 2006.
The purpose of the Kenai River Guide Academy® is to educate and train all Kenai River fishing guides in the following areas:
• Regulatory
• Safety
• Guide ethics and behavior
• Habitat and conservation
In 2007, the KRGA course became mandatory for all new guides who wish to possess a Kenai River Commercial Guide Permit. Guide applicants must successfully complete a course approved by the director of DPOR that is specially designed to train persons to provide professional guide services as sport fishing guides within the KRSMA. The course you are taking at Kenai Peninsula College is the only approved course presently offered. Guides must pass the course in order to receive a DPOR commercial operator permit to guide on the Kenai River.
All classes meet at Kenai Peninsula College on the Kenai River Campus in Soldotna. Meeting times are:
• Monday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Tuesday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Wednesday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Thursday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Friday 8:00 am - 2:00pm
Written exams are administered on Friday morning, beginning at 8 am, and scored immediately after completion. After receiving written scores, guides take a 20-minute oral examination. Oral exam results and Certificates of Completion for those who successfully pass both written and oral exams are presented Friday afternoon.
Everyone is expected to attend and participate in every class. Much of the learning that takes place will be a result of your interaction with other guides in the class and by engaging in the class discussions. There will be no makeup class time. Remember the more class time you miss, the more you decrease your odds of passing the written and oral exams.
Cell phones set on vibrate are permitted in class. During the written exams all cell phones are placed on a table in front of the room with the test proctor.
Coffee will be available each morning and you are welcome to bring donuts, snacks, etc. Upon arrival, lunch menus are passed out; you will fill a menu out and return it to the KRGA Coordinator. Lunch is delivered outside the classroom and be eaten in the room during class, with the exception of Friday. Friday lunch is on your own. Instructors will try to give a five-minute break every 1.5 hours; however, feel free to leave the classroom if you need to use the facilities.
This is a pass/fail course. You must pass the written test with an 80% or higher and oral exams are graded as pass/fail. Guides that do not pass the written test in any year can retake the test two more times that same year. If a guide does not pass the written test on the third try, they will be required to take the course again, pay the class fee again and retake both the written and oral exams. Guides failing the oral exam may be able to retake it if another class is being offered that spring. If not, they will need to take it the following year. You must pass both the written test and oral exam in order to pass the course.
There is no test out option. All guides are required to take the course and pass the tests in order to receive their Kenai River Commercial Guide Permit.
On Friday morning, all participants will take a 100-question multiple choice/true-false test. A passing score on the test is 80% meaning you can miss up to 20 questions and pass. Exams will be graded while you wait.
You have three hours to take the written test. This is a “closed book” test. You are not permitted to have any papers, notes, etc., at your table when taking the test. All test materials become the property of the college and no exam materials may be taken from the room or with you when you finish the exam.
Cell phones must be turned off and placed on the table in front of the test room. As with any test, cheating of any type will not be tolerated. Those caught cheating will be failed from the course. They will be permitted to take the test one more time, at another time. Your test proctor will review those options with you. If you cheat the second time, you will be disqualified from the course. You will be eligible to take the course and another test, the following year after paying another course fee.
If you receive a failing score on the written exam, you will be allowed to take the test up to two more times. Your test proctor will provide you more information about this if you are not successful in passing the test. If you need to take the test a second time, it will be a different test.
After completing the written test (whether you pass it or not), you will take an oral exam. The oral exam will be given by members of the Kenai River Guide Academy board of directors, state and federal agency officials, KRGA instructors and senior Kenai River fishing guides.
If you fail the oral exam, the only time it can be retaken is when the next course is offered. If the oral exam is failed during the last course of the academic year, typically in late April, the guide may petition the KRGA board of directors to retake the oral before May 31 that same year. Remember, you must pass both the written and oral exams in order to receive your Kenai River Commercial Guide Permit from Alaska State Parks.
If a guide fails the oral exam and written test, in order to take the oral exam a second time, they must pass the written test on their second or third attempt. If the guide does not pass the written after three attempts, they will not be allowed to retake the oral exam. If a guide fails the oral exam a second time they will be required to take the course again, pay the class fee again and take the written and oral exams again.
As of 2007, Guides must pass both the written and oral exams in order to successfully complete the KRGA course and receive a Certificate of Completion in order to receive your Kenai River Commercial Guide Permit.
If you pass both the written and oral exam you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Kenai Peninsula College. For new guides, beginning in 2007, you will need to present this certificate at the Kenai River Center in order to receive your Kenai River Commercial Guide Permit. Alaska State Parks will have a list of those who successfully pass the course and will confirm your certificate against the list they have been provided by the college.
If you would like information about disability accomodations, please contact Disability
Support Services at krc.dss@alaska.edu
or 907-262-0373. Students requesting accommodations need to make an appointment with the DSS office at KPC to establish eligibility. Early planning is encouraged
to allow DSS staff adequate time to make the necessary arrangements for support services.
Accommodations and services are not retroactive and begin after the intake process
when faculty are notified by the DSS staff.
Those interested in enrolling in the KRGA must be at least 18 years old when they take the course and be able to show proof of age when registering and paying for the course.
