A Docent is a First Class professor or a State University lecturer, but the term has been expanded to designate the corps of volunteer guides who staff many of the museums and other educational institutions in the Imperium. During the time of the Corrino Empire, the docents are educators, trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and pre-historical collections of the institution. In many cases, docents, in addition to their prescribed function as personal guides of the Great Houses, also conduct research utilizing the institution's facilities.