Mixing Sea Duty and Learning
The Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE) was established to extend the benefits of the broader Navy College Program to the operational forces by providing sailors assigned to sea duty the opportunity to earn a degree and continue their professional growth.
By Marty Kauchak
The Navy College Program (NCP) provides opportunities to service men and service women to earn college degrees by furnishing academic credit for Navy training, work experience and off-duty education. The Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE) was established to extend the benefits of the broader NCP to the operational forces by providing sailors assigned to sea duty the opportunity to earn a degree and continue their professional growth. An important part of the NCPACE strategy relies on distance learning (DL)-delivered instruction to supply learning opportunities 24/7 around the globe.
Contractor-Led Effort
All NCPACE courses are offered by colleges and universities accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. And the price is right. NCPACE courses, including academic skills courses, are supplied to servicemen and service women tuition-free. While academic skills instructional materials are provided at no cost, sailors must pay the cost associated with their college textbooks and other educational materials.
NCPACE instruction is delivered through traditional classroom assignments and DL. The service has contracted the instructor-led (IL) program and NCPACE’s DL component to prime contractor Central Texas College (CTC).
“As prime contractor, CTC is the only institution that has a contract with the Navy. We recruit, train and provide instructors for the IL contract,” said John Hunt, associate dean, CTC, Navy Programs, Atlantic. “We also manage the considerable paperwork associated with both contracts, invoice for services rendered, interface with civilian and military Navy representatives and coordinate the work of all of our partner schools. We produce various printed reports and respond to the Navy’s changing education needs in this most dynamic of environments,” he added.
“NCPACE plans to continue to contract the current modes of delivery—instructor led and distance learning,” Dr. Mary Redd-Clary, director, voluntary education, Center for Personal and Professional Development, told Military Advanced Education. “These two modes of delivery are well received by our afloat commands. Ships with berthing availability can take advantage of the instructor-led courses, and ships with limited berthing capabilities can take advantage of the distance learning,” she added.
The NCPACE contract is in effect through the remainder of 2008, however the service “will be issuing new solicitation in the near future,” said Redd-Clary.
DL Program Partners
“For the DL contract, CTC has subcontracted with Coastline Community College (CCC) a world leader in distance learning education,” said CTC’s Hunt. “CCC administers the DL contract by coordinating the efforts of our subcontracted partner schools and by maintaining the proprietary computer database we use to facilitate the DL enrollment and records,” he added.
Service men and service women may select from 10 NCPACE DL institutions (eight others listed below in addition to CTC and CCC) which offer 168 courses (graduate and undergraduate level). Prospective NCPACE DL students need to be aware of the catalog since the e-document contains detailed information about the program’s institutions and courses.
In addition to CTC and CCC, the other eight members of the NCPACE DL consortium are Dallas Telecollege, ECPI College of Technology, Governors State University, Old Dominion University, University of Oklahoma, St. Leo University, Thomas Edison State College and Vincennes University.
Two Media, Variety of Programs
The shortage of reliable and adequate bandwidth on most ships for all but mission-essential purposes limits NCPACE DL courses to two delivery media. “Distance Learning NCPACE is delivered primarily using self-paced CD-ROM technology, since afloat conditions aboard deployed vessels preclude reliable and consistent Internet access,” according to the program. All 10 institutions provide courses on CD-ROM. Old Dominion University (ODU) also delivers instruction for three graduate courses by synchronous video teleconferencing technology (VTC) to some of the large ships possessing VTC technology and set-ups.
VTC is one DL media that supports ODU’s military learners. The university’s other DL media include video streaming (a means of delivering a live course to students) and online classes (courses and programs are available at the student’s discretion from any location with Internet access).
The NPACE DL portfolio consists of an interesting blend of institutions, four of which are described below.
St. Leo University “is a Catholic, coeducational liberal arts university offering programs leading to the associate’s and baccalaureate degrees and the Master of Business Administration, Master of Education and Master of Criminal Justice degrees. Saint Leo University has been a leading provider of higher education to military-related personnel in the United States since 1973. Saint Leo is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,” reported the university.
Dallas TeleCollege is the Dallas County Community College District’s online campus. Dallas County Community College District is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges.
ECPI College of Technology is an independent, private college offering Bachelor of Science, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science, certificate, and diploma programs with national recognition for producing graduates in computer science and engineering technology. The college is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges.
And Thomas Edison State College, established in 1972, is one of New Jersey’s 12 senior public institutions of higher education and one of the oldest schools in the country designed specifically for adults.
These four institutions and the other six DL partners, provide ship-based learners with an impressive variety of NCPACE DL courses:
* Central Texas College offers 11 courses in English, government, math and other subjects.
* Coastline Community College delivers 27 courses in areas ranging from art and astronomy to sociology and Spanish.
* Dallas Telecollege provides instruction in seven courses in economics, government and other subjects.
* ECPI College of Technology offers 11 courses in a variety of technical topics. Some course titles are introduction to networking, client operating system and UNIX operating system. These and other courses are the foundation of computer and information science degrees at the college.
* Governors State University’s nine courses are in English, psychology and other subjects.
* Old Dominion University delivers instruction in four undergraduate engineering courses and 10 graduate courses in accounting, marketing and other subjects.
* St. Leo University provides instruction in 14 courses in criminology, religion and political science.
* Thomas Edison State College offers 15 courses in economics, finance, history, management, philosophy, psychology, sociology and other subjects.
* The University of Oklahoma provides NCPACE students the opportunity to enroll in statistics, mathematics, chemistry, geology, physics, human relations, sociology and journalism undergraduate courses, two management information systems graduate courses, as well as the core courses from two new distance learning degrees, the Bachelor of Liberal Studies/Administrative Leadership and the Master of Liberal Studies/ Administrative Leadership.
* Vincennes University’s 17 courses allow NCPACE DL learners to complete studies in accounting, law enforcement and other subjects.
Incentives to Enroll
The prospective learner has compelling reasons to enroll in NCPACE DL courses. In addition to paying for only textbooks and other incidental fees, all undergraduate courses are from institutions with Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges—Navy (SOCNAV) affiliation ensuring sailors the opportunity to transfer credits and complete degrees more readily.
With that confidence-building information, the reality of balancing watch-standing requirements and other shipboard routines with personal interests should not be an impediment for a motivated service learner. NCPACE DL courses are offered as an alternative to instructor-led program courses for those sailors who cannot regularly attend scheduled classroom formatted instruction or those sailors who desire the convenience of a self-paced study environment.
Two items are provided for the prospective learner’s consideration before accessing his or her initial NCPACE DL CD-ROM. “First-time students taking college courses should consider taking a traditional instructor-led class before attempting a distance learning course,” suggests NCPACE. And before enrolling in any course the prospective learner should review the course title and number against the SOCNAV degree map to confirm whether credits for completing that course are awarded toward a degree. MAE randomly selected St. Leo’s Criminology 332 (Terrorism) and 333 (Violent Crime) courses and learned from the e-degree map that for both offerings, the “X indicates that the college may grant credit for this requirement from the source marked for at least part of the requirement. Contact Saint Leo University for details for credit awarded.” ♦