Navy College Program website improves My Education Module

As part of the continuing effort to make Voluntary Education more accessible to Sailors, the Navy College Program website www.navycollege.navy.mil, launched several significant upgrades to the ‘My Education’ module of the Tuition Assistance section May 8.

Steve Ramey, program manager for the Navy College Management Information System, said that user-facing and behind-the-scenes improvements will make the My Education module easier to navigate.

“These improvements will add additional self-service functionality as well as add internal functions to ensure Sailors’ Web Tuition Assistance (WebTA) and Navy College Program for Afloat College Education/Distance Learning (NCPACE/DL) automated processing functions are meeting Navy policy guidelines,” said Ramey.

Specific upgrades to the My Education Module include:

* NCPACE DL Grades and Collections: Sailors using NCPACE/DL now have more time to submit grades before initiating the grade-collection process; Sailors have 180 days from course completion to have grades recorded. This change will delay the collection process until Sailors have returned from deployment and can input their grade information. This change will also help prevent future TA eligibility issues, as Sailors can’t submit a TA request or NCPACE DL request if there is a missing grade.

* Additional Automated Reminders: After Sailors submits their TA/NCPACE DL application, additional automated reminders are sent to help Sailors navigate the education process. Reminders will be sent to Sailors using TA/NCPACE DL to assist them in ensuring important actions are taken such as tracking their TA/NCPACE/DL approval, ordering NCPACE/DL course materials to arrive before departing on deployment, and addressing any tuition or school fee issues with the academic institution.

* Mobilized Reservists: Navy College staff will be able to enter a detach date from the member’s orders to ensure Mobilized Reservists receive TA/NCPACE/DL funding in agreement with their active duty orders. This will improve the request-approval process by removing the need for manual processing when tour dates are missing.

* File Upload Enhancements: In order to ensure Sailors are fully serviced at the contact with Navy College, there are new features for Sailors when uploading documents to My Education. When Sailors upload documents, they will be required to identify the type of file (Education Plan, Orders, etc.) using a drop-down list. If the Sailor chooses Education Plan file, they will select their school and degree level from a drop-down list of options specific to that institution. When Sailors create a TA request or a NCPACE DL request, the school selected on the application will be matched against the Sailor’s education plan on file in My Education. If there is not a match, Sailors will be prompted to upload a new plan. By aligning the correct degree plan, school and course, request approval process is expedited.

* Internal audit functionalities: To ensure TA/NCPACE/DL automation is working as intended, the overall process is monitored through in-system checks validating eligibility and application data. Manual processing and review is greatly reduced with the confidence that the system works as designed.

* The addition of the icons for United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP) and Navy Credentialing Opportunities On-line (Navy COOL): This change is designed to provide easier navigation for the service member to reach the apprenticeship and credentialing opportunities from the My Education landing page.

* On the My Education landing page is a new icon for access to the Command Module. This icon will improve the navigation for Command Approvers’ access to their module to help streamline their process for the TA actions that fall under their responsibility.

* Changes not apparent to service members are made for internal counselor functions, to better support their business practices. E-mail notification for NCPACE activities are refined to support eligibility notification and grade reporting, and a change to the NCPACE section will assist Academic Institutions in uploading the student rosters for those participating.

Get the latest information by following Navy Voluntary Education on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NavyVoluntaryEducation/. (From Navy Voluntary Education and Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center Public Affairs)