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YAPC|10
10th Anniversary Yet Another Perl Conference
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
June 22-24, 2009

YAPC|10 Courses
June 20, 21, 25, 26

This year, for the 10th Anniversary Yet Another Perl Conference, we want to offer the Perl community a wider selection of courses and tutorials than have been offered at previous YAPCs. Here's our plan:

  1. We are opening YAPC|10 to all experienced Perl instructors who have courses to offer. Want to offer a course? Submit a proposal and name your per-student fee.
  2. We will collect proposals and add the proposed courses to the YAPC|10 site as we get them – first come, first served.
  3. The Perl community will select courses by registering for them.
  4. On June 1, we will allocate rooms for the courses based on registration counts. If we don't have enough rooms, the least-popular courses will be dropped and refunds issued. Registration for the remaining courses will remain open.
  5. At the conference, instructors will give their courses. We will take care of food and facilities. Instructors will take care of everything else their courses require.
  6. After the conference, we will pay instructors 100% of their course fees, less our actual expenses.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Why the change?

Our goal is to serve the Perl community. If the community is interested in more courses – and it seems that it is – we want to make more courses available. There's certainly no shortage of instructors who have asked to offer their courses at YAPC|10. Our job, then, seems clear: to connect good instructors with interested students.

What's the YAPC|10 organizers' role in all this?

We're serving as matchmakers and facilitators on behalf of the Perl community. We will collect course proposals, handle registrations, and provide food and facilities (at our discounted rates). The rest is between instructors and students.

Is YAPC making money off of courses?

No. Our goal is to remain revenue neutral. After covering our actual costs to provide "food and facilities," instructors will keep the entire balance of their course fees.

I'm an instructor. How do I submit a course proposal?

Course submissions are now closed.

  • The title of your course
  • A one-sentence summary of your course
  • The price per student
  • The dates on which you would be willing to give your course (list all acceptable from June 20, 21, 25, 26)
  • The name(s) of your instructor(s)
  • A short bio for each instructor
  • A longer description of your course, including
    • the course's length (e.g., full day, 2 day)
    • the intended audience
    • any prerequisites or expected level of knowledge
    • any supplies you will be providing to students
    • any supplies you expect students to bring
    • a short course outline
  • A list of requirements for the venue (A/V, Internet, etc.)
  • A URL giving the location of a course page that you maintain to provide additional information beyond the standard information we are collecting for all YAPC|10 course offerings

I'm an instructor. What should I know about offering a course?

First, if you offer a course, make sure it's good. You ought to be an expert in your course's subject, and you ought to be effective at teaching it. It's your job to make your students happy they paid to attend your course.

Second, our rooms hold 20–40 students and come with projectors. Larger rooms have amplified mics. If you need anything else, say so in your course submission.

Third, write a good bio. If you don't give potential students good reason to take a course from you, they probably won't.

I'm an instructor. How should I price my course?

You must charge at least $35 per student per day to cover the "food and facilities" expenses we will pass on to you. Beyond that, it's your call. We will say, however, that YAPC is intended to be a low-cost conference. In the past, one-day courses have cost about $100. Feel free to charge more, but recognize that attendees are savvy enough to comparison shop.

Note: Our actual costs really do scale linearly with class size. (There are no per-room costs because of our relationship with Carnegie Mellon University.)

I'm an instructor. Can I reduce my "food and facilities" expenses by opting not to offer my students food?

No. We are providing a standard level of "food and facilities" for all course offerings. This standardization helps us control costs while offering quality food for everyone. Besides, do you really want to compete for attention with your students' empty stomachs?

I'm an instructor, and I don't think the arrangement you describe above will work for me. Now what?

We'll work something out. Talk to us: organizers@yapc10.org.

Where can I get more information?

From time to time, visit the Call for Courses page on the YAPC|10 web site for the latest information.

I have a question not answered here. Whom do I ask?

Send your questions to organizers@yapc10.org. We'll answer them promptly.