What Makes USNCC Unique

 

The US Naval Community College works with active duty enlisted Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen as well as Coast Guard Reservists to apply credits earned from military training and prior education toward their associate degree. The USNCC provides a five-course Naval Studies Certificate that counts as 15 of the 60 credits required for associate degrees. The USNCC program is separate from tuition assistance and voluntary education programs, which means the lifetime limit on TA/VOLED credits for service members can be applied toward a bachelor and/or master’s degree. This helps set active duty enlisted Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and Coast Guard Reservists on a path of lifelong learning.

Additionally, there are a number of facets that make the USNCC unique:
●     Naval-Relevant Degree Programs – The USNCC envisions offering 14-15 different associate degree pathways that are relevant to our Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen - regardless of their rating or MOS - and cover both technical fields (e.g., nuclear, engineering, cyber) and generalist programs (e.g., organizational leadership, military studies). These programs help ensure that a service member improves in their responsibilities today, while building their capacity to take on challenges of tomorrow.

●     Naval Studies Certificate – The program is centered around a Naval/Maritime relevant curriculum that includes coursework providing all participants a similar grounding within the Naval Services and is based in part on the USNA and NROTC programs future officers receive. The Naval Studies Certificate supports ethical leadership development, an understanding of Naval History, Geopolitics, Civil/Military context, and Force Structure Design. This certificate, plus classes in English, math, and other sciences, will provide a strong educational foundation for all enlisted service members.

●     Stackable Certificates – While the ultimate goal will be an associate degree, students have an opportunity to gain recognition and be awarded certificates in pursuit of that goal. USNCC students can earn a Naval Studies Certificate and a Professional Certificate, which are made up of the ‘major’ (or concentration) classwork for their given pathway (e.g., military studies, nuclear fields, organizational leadership, etc.).

●     Online, flexible delivery – Coursework will be delivered online, asynchronously allowing USNCC students to use their own time, ashore and at sea. Coursework will be shorter in most cases (8 weeks) to accommodate our service member’s schedules. Because the courses are delivered online, there is no requirement for time away from one’s duties.

●     High Quality Academic Partners and Consortium – Although the USNCC will directly facilitate and deliver coursework for the Naval Studies Certificate, we are partnering with a select group of the best colleges and universities (via consortium) for working adults, who are experts in the particular concentration or professional area.

●     Military Friendly – All Consortium partner institutions are exceptional at providing high-quality education to our enlisted service members, with a track record of positive results for the military with policies and processes that recognize the challenges of military service. 

●     Connection to Lifelong Learning – As an institution and Consortium one of our primary commitments is to connect the service member to lifelong learning. As part of this commitment we ensure and maximize appropriate transfer credit for our service members, based on their military training and responsibilities, prior credit, and ACE review. Moreover, we are committed to building partnerships for USNCC students that allow seamless access/transferability for four-year pathways into bachelor degree programs with little to no loss of credit. 

●     Financial Benefits – Finally, as these funded programs have the potential to allow service members to access associate-level education at no cost, they can save their military TA, GI Bill, and other education benefits for higher-level degree programs.