The Navy College Program (NCP) announced a new, more efficient customer service opinion survey July 24, as part of the continuing improvement process for Voluntary Education.

"The survey asks for Sailors' opinions about the Navy College Program's education support, counseling services, information, and admin," said Don Squibb, Navy VOLED assessments program manager. "We're seeking feedback on their experience so we can adjust and improve our service."

According to Squibb, the new survey asks only ten questions, and the average Sailor completes their input in just over four minutes.

"The surveys are the primary channel we have to gather customer input on how we're doing, and we use the fleet feedback to refine the service delivery of the Navy College Virtual Education Center," he said. "By shortening the survey, we hope to increase participation while retaining key information.

One Sailor that participated in both the longer and shorter NCP surveys is Aviation Structural Mechanic 1st Class (AW) Brad Powell, instructor at the Naval Air Technical Training Center.

"The new Navy College Program survey gets right to the point and only took a couple of minutes to get my opinions," said Powell. "I can tell that the Navy College folks value my time and are genuinely interested in improving the VOLED experience."

Navy VOLED Director Ernest D'Antonio noted that constant process improvement is key to serving Sailor's educational needs.

"Over the past two years, we've made significant improvements to the Navy College Program's customer service, and much of that was based on Sailor input," said D'Antonio. "We've completely revamped the Navy College Program website, added customer-friendly improvements such as our mobile application, automated WebTA processing, chat and trouble-ticket features, made self-service improvements in My Education and to NCP internal processes to ensure we are meeting Sailor's high expectations in keeping with CNP's transformation guidance. Any Sailor, CONUS or OCONUS, can use the survey link to provide feedback."

One measure of NCP success that has been identified by the customer satisfaction surveys is the number of times a Sailor has to contact the Navy College Virtual Education Center (NCVEC) in order to solve a problem.

"According to our latest survey feedback, 80 percent of Sailors are able to resolve their issue with their first call to the NCVEC," said Squibb. "That's not perfect, but it's a great indication that we're moving in the right direction."

The link to the new NCP customer service opinion survey is: http://www.research.net/r/NCVEC_CSAT_SURV_V2

Squibb also emphasized that Fleet survey responses are anonymous and their identification will not be shared.

"The way this program works, combined with the way I send out the invitations, makes it impossible to identify a Sailor who prefers to remain anonymous," said Squibb. "If someone wants to receive a call-back from the NCVEC regarding an issue they raised in their response, they may voluntarily include their contact information, but it's not mandatory. We read all the comments, regardless of whether or not Sailors self-identify, so their comments definitely will be reviewed for appropriate action."

More information can be found by visiting the Navy College Program website: http://www.navycollege.navy.mil/index.htm including how to start the education process, complete required training, submit a Help Request through the NCVEC, initiate a Live Chat session, or review knowledge management articles. The NCVEC can be reached toll free by calling 1-877-838-1659; DSN 492-4684, Monday-Friday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. EST.

An additional program, the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP) works closely with the Department of Labor to provide nationally-recognized apprenticeship programs that result in journeyman-level certificates of completion for members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

For more information about USMAP or to register for an apprenticeship, visit http://usmap.netc.navy.mil/usmapss/static/index.htm.

Get the latest information by following Navy Voluntary Education on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NavyVoluntaryEducation/.

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


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

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