All new instructors should receive their first teaching assignment and be evaluated within six months after completion of CIT. Other instructors should be evaluated as requested by management or when deemed appropriate by the EDS. Training coordinators are responsible for notifying the EDS of instructional assignments requiring evaluation.

Evaluations should be based on classroom visitations made by the appropriate EDS and a Subject Matter Expert (SME). The EDS and SME will collaboratively take into account the technical and procedural accuracy of the instruction in addition to the application of sound educational technology.

Evaluators may use Form 12088, Evaluation of Faculty Competencies (Instructor Evaluation, see Exhibit 6.410.1-3) as a guide when visiting the classroom. Although all factors on the form should be considered, certain factors may be more applicable than others in some situations. The main emphasis, however, in all evaluations should be on the students’ achievement of instructional objectives since the ultimate goal of any effective instruction is enhanced student performance.

Visitations should be made frequently enough to accurately observe the instructor’s actual classroom performance. The number of visits required to write an objective evaluation depends upon the course length, the experience of the instructor being evaluated and, to some extent, the subject matter being taught. Some instructors may need to be evaluated more often than others. If an experienced instructor does not need to be evaluated very often, discuss this with the instructor and note it in the instructor folder.

The evaluator should discuss the evaluation with the instructor each time a class visitation is made and provide the instructor with a copy. A copy of the evaluation should be given to the instructor’s manager and a copy placed in the instructor’s folder from CIT.

At the completion of the class, the cumulative data on Form 12088, test results on subjects taught by the instructor, and student comments from Forms 12463 (IVT), 12464 (Classroom CBT), or 12466 (Classroom) and 12469 (Trainee Comments) should be used to prepare an overall evaluation. The evaluation should be prepared on Form 12088, or converted to narrative or a combination.

Instructor evaluation procedures are different when the subject of the evaluation is a member of the Learning and Education Division, (Supervisory and/or a Resident Lead Instructor (RLI)), or an employee whose position description specifies instructor duties as part of their critical elements. These types of instructors may be evaluated with the same instruments as other instructors; however, their overall evaluation as instructors should be reflected on their Performance Evaluation, Form 6850.

These instructions apply to both IRS and contract instructors.

Titles and descriptions of all materials required in a training course are contained in the Training Publication Distribution System (TPDS) Course Catalog, Document 6398A, Catalog #45142P. The catalog lists Primary, Support, Miscellaneous and other material that may be ordered by using TPDS Training Requirements Form 5542 or TPDS Casual Requirements Form 5542-A. Business Units are required to order their own training material.

It is IRS practice to procure the services of non-Government instructors at fair and reasonable prices calculated to result in the lowest overall cost to IRS. The authorized contracting officer determines whether a price is fair and reasonable.

On the Form 1334, Request for Equipment, Supplies or Services, forwarded to the contracting officer, education personnel must specify the following:

In agreeing to a fair market value, IRS must consider the following factors:

Meetings and conferences often provide an important opportunity for improving the conduct and/or management of agency programs. The IRS may pay an employee’s expenses for attending a meeting or conference as a training expense when:

Responsibility for approving requests to hold off-site training and meetings in non-IRS locations rests with each Business Unit. Division Commissioners and Business Unit Chiefs have the authority to delegate this responsibility to the appropriate level in their organizations.

Each Business Unit should determine who will approve these requests in that organization. Two levels of approvals are recommended — the first by a manager at the level where the request is generated; the second in your Human Resources function — most appropriately perhaps, someone in the training function.

The IRM 1200 Subsection 1294, Selection of Locations and Facilities for IRS Meetings, which sets policy on the use of off-site space, is in the process of being changed and is not yet available. It will be reissued as IRM 1.4. For assistance in establishing your approval processes refer to:
http://www.dss.swro.swr.irs.gov/acss/web/corped/Offsite_trng.htm

The criterion-referenced approach to testing is to be used throughout the training system. This is also known as mastery testing. This approach to testing ensures that training builds competencies. A criterion test focuses on the application of knowledge and skills required to perform job-related tasks. Enabling Learning Objectives (ELOs) build toward Terminal Learning Objectives (TLOs). TLOs relate to job tasks. Therefore, tests must relate to job tasks and must be performance-oriented. All tests must also be valid. The extent and rigor of the validation process depends upon the uses to which test data will be put.

Classroom performance data includes information concerning trainee test results, classroom attendance, participation, and other indicators of trainee accomplishments, motivation, interest, attitude, or learning ability.

At an appropriate checkpoint during classroom training, CMLC personnel — with the assistance of the instructor(s) — will determine whether any trainee is at risk of failure or whose performance is otherwise substandard. The trainee first should be counseled.

If trainee performance does not improve as a result of counseling, the trainee’s manager will be notified of the circumstances.

Decisions to remove a trainee from a training course may not, however, be based solely on data from unvalidated tests.

Each trainee’s performance in a course will be summarized to include, at a minimum, a list of the training objectives met and the training objectives not met. This report will be provided to the trainee’s manager.

ACES Training History will be completed in accordance with ACES procedures.

If a trainee is required to complete a course which is a prerequisite to another course, he or she should meet the minimum standard for the prerequisite course before being admitted to the advanced or other course. In those exceptional situations in which a functional manager elects to renominate a trainee for the same course or nominate a trainee who has not completed the prerequisites for a course, the reasons for the nomination should be stated in a memorandum attached to the certification.

The Administrative Corporate Education System (ACES) is the national standard application for training administrative processes. It is used Servicewide by over 1200 users for training plan development, and delivery, to document in-service (classroom), out-service, on-the-job, and self-study training events, as well as budget projection and budget tracking.

The Office of Personnel Management and Treasury Department recognizes ACES as the system of record for training data in the Internal Revenue Service. Strategic Human Resources and each Business Unit (BU) use ACES to document training for Internal Revenue Service employees.

The Course Catalog is the foundation or backbone of ACES. This file provides training program information for Document 6172, Catalog #44944J, Course Catalog, and standard data about training programs that ACES needs to make decisions about such as scheduling classes, assigning class numbers and support to budget by activity code.

Strategic Human Resources and each Business Unit are required to list in the Course Catalog the courses they offer to employees.

Servicewide Program Managers (SPMs) in Strategic HR are required to use the ACES Resource Plan options to plan and track their training budget.

Business Units may voluntarily choose to use the Resource plan option based on a decision from their management.

The following ACES training plan functionality is available for Strategic Human Resources and the Business Units to use to develop quarterly and annual training plans.

The sponsor of the course either Strategic Human Resources, or the Business Unit, is responsible for entering all scheduling data in ACES.

If the course is cross functional in nature either Strategic Human Resources, or a Business Unit, will be identified as the sponsor, and will take responsibility for entering all scheduling information in ACES.

The nominating Business Unit will enroll participants for training events. Only IRS employees should be enrolled.

The Business Unit sponsoring the class should remove records and add records to reflect actual participants attending the classroom training class.

ACES will automatically close any classroom scheduled training event 12 calendar days after the class ending date if the following criteria are met:

The sponsoring Business Unit staff is responsible for entering On-the-Job Training (OJT), self-study and out-service training events within 12 calendar days of the class ending date. The system will automatically close, out-service records on the day following the completion date. OJT and self-study records are closed when a "C" (for completed) is entered in the status field.

Based on the negotiated agreement with NTEU for Self-Study training events, employees have 105 calendar days to complete the course. If the enrollment status has not been updated, the system will automatically update the enrollment status to "D" (for Dropped) in night processing.

Strategic Human Resources annually establishes measures by which training delivery events are reviewed.

Business Units may also establish annual measures by which training delivery events are reviewed.

Evaluation Summary data maintained in ACES may serve as data for metrics or measures for training evaluation.

SPMs in Strategic Human Resources and the Business Units must add and update ACES data accurately and timely to facilitate a comprehensive and equitable evaluation of training.

ACES is the database for recordation of employee training events completed through all delivery methods.

The employee history also contains all instructor and facilitator certification information.

The employee history is updated biweekly with data from the Treasury Integrated Management Information System.

Employees may request a copy of their individual training history at any time from the ACES Web at http://aces.web.irs.gov

If a training event was omitted or needs to be corrected, an employee can submit Form 12201 and appropriate documentation to their Business Unit for entry into their employee history.

ACES uses the Intelligent Query (IQ) software to provide ad hoc report writing and data extract capabilities for the database.

The staffs in Strategic Human Resources, Agency-Wide Shared Services and each of the Business Units are trained in report creation and generation using IQ.

A large number of reports are available from ACES.

Refer to Section 9 of the ACES User Guide (Document 10845, Catalog #26211J) for detailed report descriptions and report samples.