Navy Academic Skills Training Goes Online

The Online Academic Skills Course (OASC) provides access to basic educational and academic skills at no cost to the student. The online course is currently available, but as of Sept. 30, the current academic skills program available in NCLCs and the shore-based instructor-led English, math, and language basic skills courses will no longer be available to shore commands. The academic skills courses currently delivered to deployed Sailors through the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE) will remain unchanged for qualified units.

The OASC is a self-paced skills course and customized program that evaluates an individual's reading level, vocabulary, and math ability based upon a pre-test. It designs individual lessons to increase proficiency in each of these academic areas. Participants may also choose an abbreviated review with shortened lessons through the online course.

"The switch to online-only academic skills training gives Sailors 24-hour worldwide access to OASC from any computer with an internet connection, not just at their Navy College Center," said Ann Hunter, the Navy's Voluntary Education (VOLED) service chief. "It also expands the amount of learners that can take the courses, so we've been able to include family members and government civilians."

"Each lesson is supported by interactive exercises such as drag-and-drop matching, video-game-style multiple choice or dynamic flash cards," added Hunter. "Quizzes and practice problem sets also help students gauge how well they are mastering the material."

One of the benefits of the OASC is that it can help Sailors who need to increase their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) score in order to qualify for specific Navy ratings.

"Sailors need justification to retake the ASVAB; they need to be able to show that they have improved their educational and academic skills since their initial test," said Hunter. "Currently the OASC does not produce a certificate of completion. However, the Military Personnel Manual (MILPERSMAN) section 1236-010 suggests other options for demonstrating positive improvement in education as a justification for retest of the Armed Forces Classification Test (AFCT) version of the ASVAB. Completion of the OASC can help fulfill that 'improvement' requirement and help service members reach their career goals."

"OASC has the added benefit of standardizing academic skills programs across all services," added Hunter. "OASC replaces academic skills programs for all the services, resulting in the elimination of redundant programs, saving resources. This has been a successful "joint" voluntary education initiative whereby all service members and their families use the same program for academic skills development."

OASC is available at www.nko.navy.mil via the NKO Learning Tab and on the Navy College website under the academic skills link. Story Continues