As part of the continued transformation of the Navy's Voluntary Education Program, the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE) Distance Learning (DL) will transition to individual enrollment Oct. 1 as announced in NAVADMIN 243/17.

The NCPACE DL courses are self-contained (no internet connectivity is required to complete the course), and are available at any time for eligible Sailors assigned to type two and type four sea duty. Sailors enroll using the new NCPACE DL application process available in the My Education Application module on the Navy College Program (NCP) website.

A major change to the program is that all NCPACE DL courses will now be funded using the same rate authorized for Tuition Assistance courses; $250 per Semester Hour (SH) or equivalent. Sailors may only receive funding for up to 16 SH or equivalent, per fiscal year through TA, NCPACE DL, or any combination of the two. NCPACE DL courses now also require the same grade attainment standards as TA courses at all levels to avoid tuition reimbursement to the government.

"This is a significant upgrade to the NCPACE DL program that greatly increases the number of schools available to deployable Sailors," said Lt. Cmdr. Nick Turner, deputy director of the Navy's Voluntary Education Program. "We're anticipating an increase in the number of schools involved, and an increase in classes available at every level for our Sailors on sea duty."

Instructor-led (IL) NCPACE classes will continue to operate under contract support and NCPACE command coordinators will use the NCPACE section of the NCP website to select courses, pre-register Sailors and order courses. IL courses do not fall under the funding cap restrictions of TA and DL courses for Sailors.

First-time TA or NCPACE users must complete the prerequisite training listed on the NCP website prior to obtaining funding approval for courses. For each level of educational or academic pursuit (certificate, associate, bachelor's or master's), Sailors must:

- Receive academic counseling from the Navy College Virtual Education Center (NCVEC) or an overseas Navy College Office counselor. Counseling must occur before submitting the official education plan.
- Submit, at a minimum, an unofficial education plan to the Sailor's My Education record before enrolling in any classes.
- Following counseling by an NCVEC or overseas NCO counselor, submit an official education plan or Service member Opportunity College agreement to the Sailor's My Education record within the first nine Semester Hours of instruction.
- NCPACE IL command coordinators will ensure IL participants meet these requirements.

Sailors who have completed the training and met eligibility can now receive automated approval of TA and NCPACE DL requests for Academic Institutions (AI) who have uploaded their catalog of applicable courses into the AI module of the Navy College Management Information System. The NCP website has details and complete information.

Additional details on Voluntary Education Program updates, including NCPACE DL and IL, can be found in NAVADMIN 243/17.

Visit the NCP website: www.navycollege.navy.mil to start the ashore or afloat education process, complete required training, submit a Help Request at the Assistance Center, initiate a Live Chat session, or review knowledge management articles. The NCVEC can be reached toll free 1-877-838-1659; DSN 492-4684, Monday-Friday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. EST.

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

Additional information about the Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center can be found via: 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/.