NASE Policies

Question 1

limits of depth, time, and overall conditions

Answer 1

limits of depth, time, and overall conditions speci ed by the individual course standards. Under no cir- cumstances, however, is a NASE Instructor to plan a train- ing dive in conditions that are deeper, darker, colder, have less visibility or more adverse environmental conditions that what the instructor can document he has personally experienced and is comfortable with himself.

Question 2

Max Students Per Instructor

Answer 2

The maximum allowable student-to-instructor ratio for in- dividual NASE courses are listed with each course’s stan- dards. Nevertheless, the maximum allowable student-to-in- structor ratio in open water, for any NASE diver training course, is eight students for each instructor, regardless of the number of assistants used.

Question 3

Minors

Answer 3

• Minimum age is to be reached by the beginning of the course.
• Prior to enrolling minors in a NASE diver course, the parents or legal guardians of minor students are to read and sign the NASE Parental Responsibility for Minor Divers form.
• The Review Guide for NASE eLearning must be printed and signed by student and parent or guardian.
• The parent(s) or guardian (s) of minor students must agree to restrictions placed on that level of training (see individual course standards).

Question 4

Certified Assistant

Answer 4

An individual who is:

• In Teaching status as a NASE Worldwide Divemaster or Assistant Instructor and Non-Teaching status Instructor
• Has current professional liability insurance
• Certied assistants may be used by the Instructor to increase student to instructor ratios for confined water or open water training sessions according to the individual standards for the specific course

Question 5

Mission Statement

Answer 5

NASE’s mission is nothing less than to fundamentally change how people learn and dive, while increasing safety and en- joyment, and providing greater protection for the environ- ment both above and below water.

Question 6

Goals

Answer 6

• Be the educational company providing quality, convenience, and value worldwide.
• Offer products and services that are environmentally responsible.
• Focus on safety, building con dence, and ensuring the en- joyment of diving for all participants by using de ned prociency standards.
• Provide members the cutting edge resources needed to pro t through training divers.
• Promote best business practices by our membership.
• Enforce a code of conduct for its members to ensure the highest possible adherence to these standards and procedures.

Question 7

Incident Liability Form

Answer 7

• Submit an Incident Report to NASE Worldwide headquarters no later than seven calendar days after the incident. However, it is im- portant that the report is led as soon as possible to minimize the loss of important information.

An accident is a set of circumstances occurring while traveling to or from a conned or open water dive site, during setup or disassembly of equipment, or during an actual dive in which there is any form of personal injury or loss resulting from a diving activity.

An incident is a sets of circumstances in which there re- mains a potential for personal injury or loss of equipment claims.

*Filing the Incident Report Form with NASE Worldwide headquarters does not replace the requirement to file and accident/injury report with your Professional Liability Insurance agent or legal representation.

Question 8

Incident Liability Form

Answer 8

• Submit an Incident Report to NASE Worldwide headquarters no later than seven calendar days after the incident. However, it is im- portant that the report is led as soon as possible to minimize the loss of important information.

An accident is a set of circumstances occurring while traveling to or from a conned or open water dive site, during setup or disassembly of equipment, or during an actual dive in which there is any form of personal injury or loss resulting from a diving activity.

An incident is a sets of circumstances in which there re- mains a potential for personal injury or loss of equipment claims.

*Filing the Incident Report Form with NASE Worldwide headquarters does not replace the requirement to file and accident/injury report with your Professional Liability Insurance agent or legal representation.

Question 9

Indirect Supervision

Answer 9

Indirect Supervision requires the certifying instructor to pre- pare to lend assistance and enter the water if necessary. The Instructor is not required to personally observe and direct all in-water student-training activities.

• The maximum allowable student/instructor ratio for any dive requiring indirect instructor supervision is eight to one, with an additional four stu- dents per certi ed assistant, up to a maximum of twelve.
• Confined water or open water activities, the certifying instructor must be present at the dive site, oversee and approve the activities, briefings, preparations, equipment assembly and inspection, entries, and exits.
• The instructor must be at the dive site and prepared to enter the water while students are in the water.
• For academic classroom activities, the certifying instructor must be in the area and ready to take control of the classroom when necessary.

Question 10

Bottom Time

Answer 10

This is defined as the time a diver spends underwater while using scuba. Time begins as diver submerges and continues until diver surfaces.

Question 11

Skill Competency

Answer 11

NASE Worldwide defines competency as the ability to meet the stated performance objective:

A combination of related knowledge, skills, and attitudes that leads to successful participation in scuba diving.

• When asked.
• Repeatedly.
• Without significant error.
• Without undue stress.
  *While maintaining neutral buoyancy.

Question 12

Open Water Dive Requirements

Answer 12

Open water training dives for recreational-level NASE World- wide diver courses must meet the following requirements:

• To count as an open-water training dive, a dive must be one in which students accrue at least 15 minutes of Actual Bottom Time (ABT) or consume the equivalent of at least 1,400 liters/50 ft3 of breathing gas.
• The minimum depth for an open-water training dive is 5 m/15 ft.
• The maximum depth for recreational open-water training dives is 40 m/130 ft.
• All dives must be planned to keep students well within the no-decompression limits.
• The minimum time between dives is ten minutes.
• With the exception of Cavern, Cave, Wreck, and Ice Diver courses, students must always have direct access to the surface.
• With the exception of Advanced Open Water and Night Diver course night dives, and dives made during any level of Cave Diver training, dives are to begin at least 30 minutes after sunrise and end 30 minutes before sunset.
• All training dives conducted above 300 m/1,000 ft must follow altitude diving procedures

Question 13

Required Equipment

Answer 13

• An exposure suit for thermal and environmental protection that is adequate for the needs of each individual at the specific dive site.
• Scuba cylinder for compressed gases with sufficient volume for planned dive
• First and second stage regulator complete with alter- nate second stage (octopus)
• BC with a low-pressure in ator
• Submersible pressure gauge
• Depth gauge or dive computer
• Mask and fins
• Weight system and weights, as required.
• Dive watch, dive computer, or other timing device.
• Dive computer use is strongly encouraged for all NASE training. Nevertheless, any student who does not have a personal dive computer is to have his or her own depth gauge, timer, and dive tables. If entry-level students will not be receiving instruction in dive table use, each student is to have his own personal dive computer on all open-water training dives.
• A means of logging dives, either written or digital.
• Instructors and Certified assistants must also have a knife or other cutting device; underwater compasses; Audible and/or visible signaling devices.

Question 14

Maximin Training Day Dives

Answer 14

Unless modied by the individual course standard, no more than three open-water training dives are to be con- ducted on a given day.

Students enrolled in advanced courses above the Open Water Diver certi cation level may, at the instructor’s discretion, dive recreationally after all training dives have been satisfactorily completed (this does not modify or re- move individual responsibility of the involved divers to carefully observe all depth, time, and surface interval re- quirements for conducting multiple dives).

Question 15

All Training Dives Must Contain

Answer 15

• A briefing
• Equipment assembly
• An entry
• Training Activity/Tour
• An exit
• Debriefing
• Equipment disassembly
• Logging the dives in the student’s personal logbook

Question 16

Student to Instructor Ratios

Answer 16

The ratio for Open Water training dives is eight students per instructor.

• These ratios may be modified for experience dives and advanced training dives as given in each particular course outline (see individual course standards).
• The ratio for Confined Water training is 12 students per instructor, 14 if using a certified assistant.
• See specific course standards, such as those for the Open Water Diver course, for specific ratios that may apply to individual courses.

Question 17

Instructor Updates

Answer 17

Instructors must attend and/or complete a biennial (every two years) training update to remain in Teaching status. These are conducted by Headquarters sta or Regional Training Director or available online from NASE Headquarters.

Question 18

The primary function of risk management is _______________.

Answer 18

PREVENTION

Sometimes, no matter how careful we are, circumstances are set in motion that result in an unfortunate scuba accident. Students, former students, and their families may seek legal remedies to recover their loss. This can, and usually does, include everyone involved in their scuba training.

Question 19

The Steps of Risk Management

Answer 19

1. Make yourself aware of your legal responsibilities to your students, to yourself, and to your training agency. By understanding thoroughly your responsibilities, you can take the necessary steps to assure that your responsibilities are fulfilled and head off any potential problems long before they happen.

• apply reasonable and prudent care in protecting the student from those hazards.
• fully informing the student as to the nature of the hazards involved so that he or she can make an informed decision about whether or not to risk the exposure.

Question 20

Documentation - Required Paper Trail

Answer 20

1. Student and Instructor log books signed and dated with the appropriate entries document the training dives that were conducted, and the dates that they were conducted, with bottom times and depths, surface intervals, and water conditions.
2. Medical Statement forms, signed and dated by the student or guardian, or a physician if required, gives ample warning to the student that existing or potential medical conditions may increase the risks that he or she will be exposed to during underwater training.
3. The Liability Release and Assumption of Risk establishes and con rms that the student has been informed of the risks inherent to scuba diving, that the student acknowledges those risks, and assumes the risk releasing the instructor from liability.
4. The Acknowledgment of Safe Diving Practices and Release After Training documents that the student has been informed of safe diving practices and habits necessary to enhance the safety and quality of their diving. The Release After Training section of the form reiterates to the student the inherent risks of diving, the student acknowledges and assumes that risk, and releases the instructor and diving facility from liability pursuant to the student’s own diving.
5. Documentation of Academic Learning: This can be in the form of the eLearning student training record, or in the form of a written exam answer sheet, similarly initialed and signed by the student. To be useful for documenting that students have mastered all required learning objectives, these items need to demonstrate 100 percent comprehen- sion of the required material. There is no “passing score” for these assessments; students must acknowledge the fact they completely understand the correct answers to any questions missed.
6. In addition to student, a parent or guardian must sign the exams of all students under the age of 18.

Question 21

Liability Insurance - All NASE Worldwide Instructors in training status are required to have ________________________.

Answer 21

All NASE Worldwide Instructors in training status are required to have industry standard, agency recognized, Professional Scuba Liability Insurance coverage, and if your insurance is not NASE Worldwide sponsored you must list NASE World- wide as an additional insured.

Question 22

Legal Risk Management Steps

Answer 22

1. Use the NASE Worldwide training materials and training system in all of your courses.
2. Strictly follow the NASE Worldwide standards as given.
3. Use all the risk management forms as given below, assure that your students have completed them fully and signed and dated them. Keep them together in the “Student Train- ing Record” folder.

Students must be required to complete and sign these forms for every course that they enroll in. The Student Training Record folder can be used to keep them all together.

• Liability Release and Assumption of Risk form
• Medical Statement and Physicians Approval for Diving (if required)
• Acknowledgment of Safe Diving Practices and Release After Training
  4. Make sure all student quizzes, exams and eLearning Student Records have the student’s initials by the questions that they have missed. Don’t change the wording of these forms or allow your students to change the wording.student’s concerns.
• Consult a legal expert in your local area to gain additional information as to the things that local law may require in addition to those presented here.
• Use your best judgment when evaluating a student’s suitability for enrollment in your course in the areas of health, fitness, and maturity. Remember that it is your course that you are teaching.
• Evaluate conditions at the dive-training site before committing students to the water. Under marginal conditions, be conservative and err on the safe side. It may be best to reduce ratios or change to another site, or delay to another day if conditions are not the best.

Question 23

Natural Questions to Ask Students

Answer 23

Do you have any questions about what you’ve seen or read in the eLearning program?

Have you purchased your (anything from mask, snorkel, and ns to compass, lights, reels, and lift bag)?

What are your plans for (anything from open-water training to their plans for their rst dives following certi cation)?

Question 24

Contract Law is Based On__________________.

Answer 24

1. Understanding and
2. Agreement.

While your orientation should take care of the understanding part, you need to have an agreement in writ- ing, testifying to the fact the student not only fully under- stands your requirements, but agrees to them and is willing to accept the consequences of not ful lling his or her end of the bargai

Question 25

Minors and e-Learning

Answer 25

To comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), no minor under thirteen may participate in the NASE eLearning course.

Question 26

Control and Supervision

Answer 26

1. Under ideal conditions, the largest number of students most of us can e ectively guide is four. In less-than-perfect visibility, that number drops to two.
2. Remember that you or your assistants must be able to maintain eyes-on contact with students at all times
3. Once students have demonstrated competency in a particular skill in con ned water, your Assistant Instructors can supervise additional practice of that skill independent of your supervision.

Question 27

The Basic of Training

Answer 27

1. No masks on foreheads: This is actually self-correcting be- havior.
2. No tanks standing upright.
3. Exhale whenever the regulator is out of your mouth.
4. Work as a team.
5. How much gas?
6. Be positive any time divers surface in water too deep to stand in, you expect them to immediately inflate BCs. Until divers reach this point, they shall keep their regulators in their mouths.
7. Stay OFF the bottom