Trainings
All NFC users are entitled to watch other users operate equipment for free, but most of our users find it easier to arrange for personal or group training by our NFC Trainers. Non-NFC Student Users may NOT train other student users. The amount of training required to become an official “authorized user” of each piece of equipment varies with the equipment and the individual. The most difficult pieces of equipment take approximately 3-5 (approx. 1 hour) sessions, and several easy pieces can be learned in 1 session. The user must be checked-out by the NFC director, Dr. Seyoung An, or an assigned NCF Staff member, to demonstrate that they can safely and responsibly operate the equipment. Users may request a check-out after one training session minimum required), but failure to pass a check-out immediately results in two additional training sessions being required.
NFC trainers can check-out a user temporarily to allow him/her to use the equipment. Fees and scheduling of check-outs by NFC staff are the same as for training. Check-outs cannot be combined with a training session (exceptions will occasionally be made) to ensure that the user remembers how to safely and responsibly operate the equipment, even a few days or weeks later. Users can occasionally get their own work done while being trained; depending on the class size.
To request specific instrument training, check-out, or process assistance, users must email a training request to the lab manager (ncftech@uic.edu). The normal procedure is to request a training session, and the NFC staff will attempt to find a mutually agreeable time in the current or following week. This lets the NFC use its staff and equipment as efficiently as possible. On occasion, a user needs immediate training that week, so the NFC staff will make every effort to accommodate their request, but the training fees may be doubled.
Training Rates Heading link
| One User | Two Users (Shared Training) | |
|---|---|---|
| UIC and IL Non-Profit Users | $65/hr | $40/hr added user |
| Non-UIC Users (other Non-Profit & Industrial) | $100/hr | $55/hr added user |
Training continued Heading link
UIC rates apply only if ALL training participants are affiliated with UIC. Up to 4-6 participants, based on equipment.
The fee for shared training can be calculated by following formula:
Total fee = training hours * [base charge additional hourly fee*additional number of user]
Base charge is $65 if all trainees are UIC users, and $100 if one of trainees is non-UIC.
Additional hourly fee=$20
Additional number of user=total trainee number-1
Anyone who has a scheduled training session will be required to email Dr. Seyoung An at least one business day in advance in order to cancel a training session without being charged. In other words, if you need to cancel a training session scheduled for 9:00am Monday, you must let Dr. An know by 9:00am the provious Friday. We have to do this in order to keep our training charges as low as possible, and to use our training staff efficiently.
Users must be re-certified on each piece of equipment they are using once per year of uninterrupted access, or at the beginning of interrupted access, if the absence lasted three months or longer. This is done to ensure the user is still able to safely operate the equipment after a prolonged period of time.