The Navy College Program, NCP, provides opportunities to Sailors to earn college degrees by providing academic credit for Navy training, work experience, and off-duty education. The Navy College Program integrates all components of Voluntary Education. While the NCP is primarily geared toward enlisted Sailors, some NCP components are also available to officers. The NCP components are listed below:
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Academic Advice
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Academic Skills
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Apprenticeship Program
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Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES)
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Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE)
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NCP Distance Learning Partnership Schools
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Rating Roadmaps and Degree Roadmaps
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Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART)
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Service members Opportunity Colleges Navy (SOCNAV)
Tuition Assistance
Combining the various components listed above, the Navy College Program serves the needs of our mobile Sailors. They provide uncomplicated access to information along the path to a degree including transferability of college credit and access to education regardless of the Sailors' location or duty station. Participation is voluntary. Sailors participate at their own pace when they are ready.
Tuition Assistance Program
Tuition Assistance (TA) is the Navy's educational financial assistance program. It provides active duty personnel funding for tuition costs for courses taken in an off-duty status at a regionally, nationally or professionally accredited college, university, or vocational/technical institution recognized by the Department of Education. Navy TA pays for both classroom and independent study/distance learning courses, regardless of course length.
Navy Tuition Assistance pays up-front the tuition and fees charged by educational institutions for course enrollments. It is no longer necessary for Navy students to pay tuition and show successful completion before they are reimbursed. Navy TA pays 100% of tuition costs for courses applicable to the completion of a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. For other education levels, there is a fiscal year credit limit of 12 Semester Hours, 18 Quarter Hours, 180 Clock Hours or 18 CEUs per individual.
Payment for tuition and fees will not exceed the following caps:
$250.00 per semester hour
$166.67 per quarter hour
$16.67 per clock hour
$166.67 per Continuing Education Unit (CEU)
Requesting a waiver remains a viable option for those Sailors who want to take more than 12-semester hours per fiscal year, and have a compelling reason to do so.
Veterans' Affairs (VA) Educational Assistance Programs
Veterans' Affairs (VA) educational assistance is financial aid available for eligible veterans and active-duty personnel to attend school. Veterans' educational assistance is available primarily through the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans' Educational Assistance (VEAP) and the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) For more detailed information, contact your local Navy College Office, the VA office at the college or university you are attending, or the Navy Personnel Command, PERS-604, at DSN 882-4258/59 or 901-874-4258/59.