FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2007
Media Contact: Michael Corby 904.632.3310

Accelerate to Excellence: FCCJ selected by Navy for pilot program to provide education for delayed entry enlistees

Florida Community College at Jacksonville has been selected by the Navy as the designated degree-granting institution for a three-year pilot program under a sole-source contract. The Accelerate to Excellence program allows enlistees to obtain an associate degree as part of their initial rate training while in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). Students are paid a monthly stipend by the Navy, eventually earning an associate degree prior to reporting to their first permanent-duty station. The pilot program is open to eligible applicants in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It is targeting 100 people the first year.

Eligible applicants (as determined by Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery score, high school or college GPA and other standard Navy eligibility requirements) can sign up for one of two degree programs: Industrial Management Technology and Industrial Management Technology with an emphasis on Electronic Engineering Technology. The future sailors are enlisted into DEP and select their job specialty (during the pilot limited to selected technical fields) and degree program.

The DEP participants will then attend Florida Community College for two semesters while receiving a college stipend of $475 a month. An added element of the program is the potential for top performers to be considered for application into officer commissioning programs. The DEP personnel will enter basic training (Boot Camp) at Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, Ill. at the pay grade of E2, with an automatic advancement to E3 upon graduation from Boot Camp.

The sailors will then be stationed at Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), Pensacola, Fla., where they will attend their third and final semester from Florida Community College to complete their associate degree. The sailors will be on active duty and receive full benefits during their third semester of classes. In addition, they will receive general Navy instruction and training and participate in a physical training regimen. During this final semester, the sailors will be expected to complete all degree requirements that cannot be met through American Council on Education credits earned by the sailors from their Navy technical training (“A”) school.

The sailors then attend “A” school to receive basic technical training in their career fields. Upon completion, they will be advanced to Petty Officer Third Class and receive their associate degrees. A year after graduation, the sailors will be eligible to advance to Petty Officer Second Class following an advancement exam, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements. The program is envisioned to expand into additional Navy rates in the future.

For more information about the Accelerate to Excellence program email military@fccj.edu or call 877.633.5950.