Sailors planning to take college classes in 2017 are required to have their Tuition Assistance (TA) requests approved by their command a minimum of 14 days prior to term start dates.

As detailed in Naval Administrative Message (NAVADMIN) 219/16, and as part of the Voluntary Education/Navy College Transformation, all TA requests for courses starting on or after Jan. 1, 2017 must be submitted via the My Education/Web TA portal within the Navy College website, and command approved between 120 and 14 calendar days before the term start date.

"This is a major change for service members that were used to the old TA application requirements," said Ernest D'Antonio, Navy Voluntary Education Program director. "With the holidays coming up, it's critical to understand that for classes starting in early January, TA requests need to be in the pipeline no later than the middle of December."

Members that miss the 14-day advance deadline will be prevented by the system from submitting a new TA application; term start dates and TA request deadlines are posted on the Navy College website.

"First-time TA users are also required to complete the DoD Higher Education Preparation Training Course, WebTA Training and receive education counseling through the Virtual Education Center or a Navy College Office," added D'Antonio. "Those service members should start the process even earlier to make sure they are able to complete the process by the deadline."

Any questions or problems with the TA application process can be handled by the Virtual Education Center (VEC) or online via the Navy College website.

VEC hours are from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST Monday - Friday and may be reached by calling (877) 838-1659 or DSN 492-4684, or contacted via the website, www.livehelpnow.net/lhn/TicketsVisitor.aspx?lhnid=30432.

The URL for the new Navy College Program website is www.navycollege.navy.mil.

Sailors can also get the latest information by following Navy Voluntary Education on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NavyVoluntaryEducation/.

Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center values your feedback on the new look, feel and performance of the NCP website and VEC customer service. Submit your feedback at https://www.research.net/r/VEC_CUST_SVC_SURVEY_V1.

Additional information about the Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center can be found via https://www.netc.navy.mil/netc/netpdc/Default.htm.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Education And Training Professional Development And Technology Center, visit www.navy.mil/.