NMC Policy Letter

Commanding Officer
United States Coast Guard
National Maritime Center

4200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 630
Arlington, VA 22203-1804
Staff Symbol: NMC-4B
Phone: (202) 493-1000
FAX: (202) 493-1062

16721
NMC Policy Letter 08-02
28 May 2002
From: Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center
To:
Distribution
Subj: ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF REQUESTS FOR COURSE APPROVAL
Ref: (a) Title 46, Code of Federal Regulations (46 CFR), Section 10.302
(b) Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 5-95
1. PURPOSE. This policy letter authorizes and provides guidance for electronic submission
of requests for course approval and renewal of course approval to the National Maritime
Center. This policy applies only to requests for original course approval and for the
renewal of courses. The National Maritime Center will consider expanding this policy to
include other requests in the future.
2. ACTION. Commanding officers of units with marine safety responsibilities should bring
this policy letter to the attention of the maritime industry and to institutions that offer U. S.
Coast Guard approved training. This policy letter will be distributed by electronic means
only. It is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.uscg.mil/STCW/mpolicy.htm.
3. BACKGROUND. The documentation required for requests for course approval is
specified in Reference (a), and the recommended format for these documents is specified
in Reference (b). Currently, these documents are provided to the National Maritime
Center by regular mail or other courier services in paper, “hard-copy” format. A typical
course approval submission will be 200 or more pages. Allowing these documents to be
submitted electronically will benefit both the Coast Guard and the marine industry by
reducing printing, reproduction, shipping costs, and document storage costs.
4. DISCUSSION. Requests for course approval and renewal of courses may now be
submitted in electronic format. This authorization is limited to requests for original
approvals and the renewal of course approvals. All other requests and correspondence
must be submitted in paper copy by regular mail or document courier. Electronic
submission is optional, and schools may continue to submit requests with paper
documents.

For the latest information on STCW and Licensing,
visit our web site at http://www.uscg.mil/nmc

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF COURSE APPROVAL REQUESTS
1. Supporting documentation must be in the format specified in Navigation and Vessel
Inspection Circular (NVIC) 5-95, Guidelines for Organizations Offering Coast Guard
Approved Courses. This document is available from the National Maritime Center web page
at http://www.uscg.mil/nmc.
2. Supporting documentation must be in Microsoft Word format (2000 or earlier versions) or
in Adobe Acrobat (pdf). Documents should be named and organized as follows, and have the
appropriate file extension:
·

CoverLetter.doc (CoverLetter.pdf) – a sample cover letter is Enclosure (2).

·

Framework.doc (Framework.pdf) – the Course Framework.

·

Schedule.doc (Schedule.pdf) – the Course Schedule.

·

Syllabus.doc (Syllabus.pdf) – the Detailed Teaching Syllabus.

·

Outline.doc (Outline.pdf) – the Course Outline.

·

Instructor.doc (Instructor.pdf) – the Instructor Manual.

·

Exams.doc (Exams.pdf) – The examination and assessment policy. Copies of
assessments, exercises, and written exam question pools and/or sample exams may be
provided as separate documents, provided that they are clearly identified and described
in the cover letter.

·

Critique.doc (Critique.pdf) – the Course Critique.

Resumes and other documents describing instructor qualifications may also be submitted.
These documents should be clearly identified and described in the cover letter.
3. Requests for course approval or the renewal of courses may be submitted by the following
methods:
E-Mail - Requests may be submitted by e-mail with supporting documents attached to the
following address: courses@ballston.uscg.mil. All requests should bear the subject line
“COURSE APPROVAL REQUEST.” Messages with any other subject line will not be
accepted.
Regular Mail or Document Courier - Requests for course approval or the renewal of
courses may also continue to be submitted by traditional methods. This material may be
supplemented with supporting documentation enclosed on CD-ROM, with a (paper) cover
letter that identifies the documents on the CD-ROM. When supporting documents are
enclosed on the CD-ROM they should be in the document format and follow the naming
protocol specified in paragraph 2, above. These requests should be sent to the NMC in the
format provided in Enclosure (2):
Commanding Officer (NMC-4B)
USCG National Maritime Center
4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 630
Arlington, VA 22203-1804

ENCLOSURE (1)

Nevada Maritime Training Service
123 Landlocked Drive
Dry Lake, NV 98765
June 1, 2002
Commanding Officer (NMC-4B)
USCG National Maritime Center
4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 630
Arlington, VA 22203-1804
Re: Request for Course Approval – 80-hour Advanced Navigation Course
Dear Sir/Madam:
We are submitting our 80-hour Advanced Navigation course for Coast Guard approval.
We request that this course be approved as meeting the Advanced Navigation training
requirements for STCW certification as Chief Mate and Master on vessels of 500 gross
tons (ITC) or more. We also request approval to sign student’s Control Sheets for
successful demonstrations of the following assessments from the National Assessment
Guidelines for Table A-II/2 of the STCW Code: M-1-1A, M-1-1B, M-1-2G, M-1-2H, M1-2I, M-1-3A, M-1-4A, M-201A, M-2-1B, M-2-1C, M-2-1D, M-2-1E, and M-2-1F.

SAMPLE

We enclose a CD-ROM containing all course documentation, as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Course Framework (Course.doc);
Course Schedule (Schedule.doc);
Detailed Teaching Syllabus (Syllabus.doc);
Course Outline (Outline.doc);
Instructor Manual (Instructor.doc);
Examination and Assessment Policy (Exams.doc);
Sample Written Examinations (Exam1.doc, Exam2.doc, and Exam3.doc);
Practical Assessments (Assessments.doc);
Course Critique (Critique.doc); and
Instructor resumes (Resumes.doc).

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact
me.
Sincerely,

XXXX
Director

ENCLOSURE (2)