<p>In January, Airlines Reporting Corporation will unveil a revamped ARC Specialist Training and Certification program, which, among other things, will eliminate the requirement for agents to retake the certification exam every four years.</p>
<p>"The exam itself hasn't changed much in almost two decades, so in essence people were taking the same exam every four years," said Chris Flores, director of strategic agency relationships at ARC. "We wanted to address not only the examination portion of the recertification process - where we're actually eliminating that requirement for an agency to take the exam every four years - and put in place the requirement to take a continuing education module every year in order to maintain their certification."</p>
<p>Flores noted that the existing course features some outdated content with an online experience that can be cumbersome.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the current online course features just over a handful of primary courses. "We actually identified key chapters that our customers were telling us were critical and important to focus on and we pulled them out and made them primary focal points in the course overall," said Flores. "So now we have 20 modules that the travel agents are going to have go through in order to get their certification."</p>
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[BLURB]"From a technological standpoint, the new course provides more flexibility for the customer to have a better learning experience. It's just easier to use, access and follow." - Chris Flores, ARC<span style="line-height: 1.6;">[/BLURB]
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<p>The technology will also be greatly improved. "For instance, agents taking the course couldn't stop or go back without starting all over," Flores said. "From a technological standpoint, the new course provides more flexibility for the customer to have a better learning experience. It's just easier to use, access and follow."</p>
<p>Additionally, ARC has acquired a new learning management learning system that will serve as a portal to host the course, examination and continuing education modules, Flores said.</p>
<p>Feedback from agents has been extremely positive, according to Flores. "We tested it with some external customers, and they're all thrilled and excited about what's in store over the next couple months."</p>
<p>Flores said ARC will provide more details on the new program soon. "We have a communications plan in place, and our customers will hear a great deal about how to access the program and what the requirements are going to be if they're existing specialists today."</p>
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