VEC-02 — Lesson 2 of 6

Team Administration & the VE Portal

VE Portal access levels, VE nomination, scheduling obligations, and exam creation authority.

Lesson Objectives

Describe who has access to the VE Portal and at what level
Nominate VEs using the VE Manager tool
Meet the annual scheduling deadline and manage session listings
Apply the exam creation authority rules

Part A — VE Portal Access

Who can access what

Function	TL	DTL	VE
View team page	Yes	Yes	Yes
VE Manager (nominate/manage VEs)	Yes	Yes	No
Schedule / cancel exam sessions	Yes	Yes	No
Create exams and answer keys	Yes	Yes	No
Upload session files and scanned paperwork	Yes	Yes*	No
Change another TL/DTL’s personal information	No	No	No

*DTL upload is restricted: a DTL who had a family member applying at that session may not upload documents for it. App. 4 §2.21.1.1.

Nominating VEs

VE nominations are made through the VE Manager tool in the VE Portal. Once the VEC Chairman accredits the nominee, they appear on the team’s roster. App. 4 §2.2.1.

ℹ	Non-discrimination in VE accreditation The LARC VEC does not discriminate in accrediting VEs based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, or membership in any amateur radio organization. App. 4 §2.2.1.1.

Nomination is a judgment call, not a rubber stamp. A Team Leader is not required to nominate every licensee who asks to join the team. The same three grounds the Chairman uses to decide whether to accredit someone apply just as well to a Team Leader deciding whether to nominate someone in the first place: whether the person meets the minimum statutory qualifications, whether they’re competent to perform VE functions, and whether there are integrity or honesty concerns that could compromise exams. What a Team Leader cannot do is decline a nomination based on a protected characteristic or membership (or lack thereof) in any amateur radio organization — the same non-discrimination limits that bind the Chairman bind the Team Leader too.

Knowledge Check

Your team is chartered through a radio club that holds ARRL Special Service Club status. An Amateur Extra licensee with no ARRL membership and no other club affiliation asks to join your team as a VE. Should your club’s own ARRL affiliation change your nomination decision?

A. Decline to nominate them — your sponsoring club’s ARRL charter means every VE on the team must also hold ARRL membership B. Nominate them — your club’s own charter or bylaws can’t override the Laurel VEC’s non-discrimination rule; accreditation can’t be conditioned on ARRL membership C. Decline to nominate them — ARRL membership is the one exception where a club’s own affiliation can be used to require it of VEs D. Nominate them, but require them to join the ARRL within 90 days as a condition of staying on the team

Part B — Scheduling Obligations

Annual schedule posting

Teams must publish their upcoming exam schedule — dates, times, locations, and applicant requirements — on the team’s VE Portal page not later than 1 November each year. P&P §9.1.1.

⚠	Cancellation requirements When a session is cancelled for any reason, the TL must notify the RC within 2 days. In the Portal, enter the reason in the Session Correspondence dialog box — do not attach files to a cancelled session. P&P §9.1.4 and App. 4 §2.17.3.

Two exam sessions on the same day

Some teams occasionally need to offer two exam sessions on the same day — for example, a morning and an afternoon session to reach more applicants or work around VE availability.

💡

One session or two?

If the same VEs are present for both time slots, there is usually no need to split them into two separate sessions — simply run it as a single session spanning both time blocks. Splitting into two separate sessions makes sense when the VE team, testing location, or other requirements differ between the two time slots.

If you do run two separate sessions on the same day, the second session’s exam file name gets an A/B suffix — the first session’s file ends in “A,” the second in “B.”

⚠

Portal upload: one session listing or two?

You have two options in the VE Portal:

One portal session — both the “A” and “B” exam files can be uploaded and attached to the same portal session listing.
Two portal sessions — list two sessions on the same date with different times. In this case, you must manually verify each file is attached to the correct session listing — the portal does not automatically match the “A” file to one listing and the “B” file to the other.

Exam creation authority

Only TLs and DTLs are authorized to create exams and answer keys using ExamMaker, Exam Generator, or ExamTools. This authority does not extend to other VEs. App. 4 §2.16.

Knowledge Check

Your only available DTL has a family member applying at today’s scheduled session. The TL is also unavailable. What must happen?

A. The session can proceed — conflict-of-interest rules restrict administering and grading only, not conducting the session B. The session can proceed with the DTL in a limited role — they may handle registration but must step aside for grading and signing C. The session can proceed as long as a different VE handles document upload and signing while the DTL runs the session D. The session cannot be conducted — a conflicted DTL may not serve as Session Leader; if no non-conflicted TL or designated DTL is available, the session must be cancelled or rescheduled

Knowledge Check

As Team Leader you want to require that all VEs on your team also hold ARRL VE accreditation in addition to Laurel VEC accreditation. Is this permitted?

A. No — the Laurel VEC non-discrimination policy explicitly prohibits conditioning VE participation on membership in any amateur radio organization including the ARRL B. Yes — Team Leaders have full discretion over team membership and may set any additional requirements they choose C. Yes, but only if the requirement is applied equally to all team members and documented in team policy D. Yes, with prior RC approval if the RC determines the requirement serves a legitimate team interest

Knowledge Check

A properly licensed Amateur Extra operator applies to join your team as a VE and discloses a prior felony conviction during accreditation. What must you do?

A. This is your decision as Team Leader — neither FCC rules nor Laurel VEC policy prohibit a properly licensed amateur with a prior felony from being accredited as a VE; the TL may use their judgment B. Deny the application — Laurel VEC policy requires VEs to have no felony record C. Accept the application without reservation — FCC rules require VECs to accredit all qualified licensees regardless of criminal history and the TL has no discretion D. Forward the application to the VEC Chairman, who makes all final accreditation decisions when criminal history is disclosed

Knowledge Check

After listing your team’s upcoming session in the Laurel VEC portal, what additional step does the P&P recommend to maximize applicant awareness?

A. Consider also listing the session on the ARRL exam session finder and the ExamTools website B. Post the session details in the club’s newsletter — the P&P requires this as a mandatory step C. No additional steps are recommended — the VE Portal listing satisfies all advertising requirements D. Notify all local ham clubs by email within 48 hours of posting the portal listing

Knowledge Check

As TL of a club-sponsored team, what reporting obligations do you have to the sponsoring club?

A. None — the TL reports only to the RC and VEC Chairman, not to the sponsoring club B. Submit session summaries and FCC grant notifications to the club’s board as required by the VEC Chairman C. Submit session reports describing results and VE participation, and submit expense receipts for reimbursement, as required by the club D. Report only if the session resulted in a new license or upgrade — no-activity sessions require no club report

Knowledge Check

Your team is holding a morning and an afternoon exam session on the same day, and the exact same VEs will be present for both. You also plan to list two separate sessions in the VE Portal with different times. What is the most important thing to remember when uploading?

A. Nothing extra is needed — the portal automatically matches the “A” and “B” exam files to the correct listing based on time B. Since the same VEs are present for both, you are required to combine them into a single session and cannot list two separate portal sessions C. With two separate portal session listings, you must manually verify each exam file (“A” and “B”) is uploaded to the correct listing — the portal will not do this automatically D. Only the “A” file needs to be uploaded; the “B” file is discarded since the same VEs administered both sessions

Reference: Full P&P Document →

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