Pilot I

We expect the various commands and services will set their own policies as to how they incentivize/reward students for participation and/or completion of college courses and degree programs.

Current service policies do not require enlisted service members to pursue or complete college education. Both the USN and USMC enlisted advancement policies include some incentives for completion of college classes and degrees. Services can adopt or change policies in the future to further incentivize the use of the USNCC educational opportunities.

The pilot will be one course at a time, likely to be about 8-12 weeks in duration (similar to many online schools supporting Vol-Ed / TA).

Instruction is designed in an asynchronous fashion, which does not require the student to be online at any certain point, but will have a required amount of interaction and participation throughout the week/course to support successful course completion. An expected weekly workload for a given course may be between 8-12 hours/week.

Students’ course load will require participation in a similar fashion to online schools, allowing service members to complete courses during nights and weekends, not during the work day.

Student selections were made through service (USN, USMC and USCG) leadership in the month of October 2020 and submitted to the USNCC for participation in the pilot phase I program in 2021. We will expand and begin phase II Pilot program in 2022, so watch for the latest info on future opportunities on our USNCC Social Media and website.

No. The USNCC Pilot Program is separately funded. Participants will not need to use their Tuition Assistance (TA) or pay out of their own pocket to attend these courses. The USNCC will fund all tuition, mandatory course fees and digital course materials for these courses and fund application fees when applicable.

College education opportunities offered through the USNCC are funded independent from service offered TA programs. Participation or enrollment with the USNCC will not affect your TA (Vol-ED) entitlements.

Although college education opportunities offered through the USNCC are funded independent from service offered TA programs and participation or enrollment with the USNCC will not affect your TA (Vol-ED) entitlements, it is highly recommended that TA is not used while participating in the pilot program due to course load and demands.

The USNCC pilot Program will run from January to June 2021 and include two courses per student. Courses will be one at a time and normally be 8 to 12 weeks in duration, depending on the partner institution and the course offered.

The USNCC finalized partner school contracts in the Fall of 2020 and notified Pilot I students in mid to late November 2020 of the school selections and courses they are being enrolled in.

As part of our student communications and enrollment process, we will confirm with students the courses they will be enrolled in, based on previously completed college courses.

After completion of the prescribed pilot program in June of 2021 (USNCC data collection period), the USNCC will likely offer additional courses (courses 3-6) with the participating schools before Pilot phase II commences in 2022.

Yes, the USNCC will send out a new Student Agreement Form (SAF) in May 2021 for each student to digitally sign along with a digital signature from their command Educational Services Officer (ESO) or designated command education rep. The courses 3-6 SAF will contain updated USNCC academic policies and the command approval signature.

Although USNCC students may have an approved degree program on file with their service’s Vol-ED (TA) organization, while students are participating in the USNCC Pilot Program and taking USNCC funded courses, they should not be taking TA funded courses with other academic institutions.

The USNCC plans to offer 15 degree programs that are relevant to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, over the next three years. As part of Pilot Phase II in 2022, we will launch seven of our degree programs, so even if you don’t see a program that interests you now, continue to follow us on social media and watch our website for the latest degree program information. All of the USNCC AS degree programs will have established transfer pathways to related four-year degree programs at reputable colleges and universities.

No, USNCC students do not have to participate in all courses. We prefer students elect to take courses when their schedules can support the required time to successfully complete required course work.

No, for those students who volunteered to participate in Pilot Phase I, there is no obligation to continue after completion of the two course series. Courses three through six are an option provided by the USNCC to bridge the gap between Pilot I and Pilot II. Additionally, students can elect to switch schools/programs before beginning course three in the Summer of 2021. For more information, contact the USNCC at student.help@usncc.usmcu.edu.

As part of the degree program application and enrollment process, each student will be required to request an official JST be sent to the USNCC and the designated participating college/university in order for the school to potentially award credit from the prior college experience and/or ACE recommended credit from the JST. The USNCC is unable to pay or reimburse for official college transcripts requests, students are responsible for this action.

The USNCC team can be contacted at any time by emailing us at student.help@usncc.usmcu.edu for assistance to pilot students or for general questions or future inquiries at info@usncc.usmcu.edu. Please follow us on social media for current news and updates.