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ESO Bulletins: FY-08 #16


Non-Resident Training (NRT) Department


Printing of CGI-2800 Online Answer Sheet

CGI-2800 Online Answer Sheet: To print or not to print. We have had numerous inquiries regarding whether or not ESOs who use the online 2800 answer sheet should print the screen of answers before electronic submission.

ESOs shall print the screen showing the students answers & secure it for one month or until the official score is validated / reflected in Direct Access (DA).

Validating the official score in Direct Access closes the loop on a student's EOCT process. Once this is done, the screen print out can be shredded (not thrown in the regular trash). Please understand this measure ensures we have a process in places as a contingency if we were to encounter an automated disruption / failure during the scoring transfer process (has not happened in over nine months). The ability to produce a screen print of the original answers will support the members test results and allow for immediate corrective action, including manual entry of the student's score vice having to retake the test.

February 1, 2008 Terminal Eligibility Date (TED)

The TED has come and gone and as expected we had a tremendous amount of testing up to the final date of 1 Feb. We appreciate the efforts by all ESOs to accommodate the surge that always accompanies the TEDs. However, we would like to emphasize that we received an enormous amount of test proctoring questions from all levels of ESOs that lend to considerable concern regarding basic ESO testing fundamentals’ and requirements. We are very close to completing our revision to the ESO procedural guide and hope that this will help in numerous areas of your responsibilities and ask that each and everyone one of your take a moment to review the current publication as it contains the appropriate guidance for proctoring test.

Challenge Questions

Prior to submitting a challenge to an EOCT question, you MUST review the credited challenged questions before submitting the form. The below is verbatim from paragraph three (3) of the form:

“Please review the APPROVED CHALLENGE QUESTIONS before you submit a challenge, because it may have already been approved by the SMS. Do not submit a challenge if the question has already been approved by the SMS”

We continue to be inundated with challenged questions that have already been identified as credited, please help us help you!

Completing PQG & EPQs Prior to Attempting an EOCT

Please continue to disseminate to your respective AOR’s that attempting a rating EOCT before completing the PQG and EPQs (or taking an AQE before completing the E-PME Performance Requirements) is STRICTLY prohibited. We have received several disturbing situations, which clearly depict a “breach” in the enforcement of this policy.

Voluntary Education (VE) Department


DANTES Testing

In an effort to help and/or sustain your professional development it is imperative that we emphasize this area of responsibility as it is a critical aspect of our mission support to our workforce. Please accept this in the spirit of helping us, help you! Our hope is that it provides a simplified “job aid” approach to your ESO/TCO duties.

  1. The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) mission is to support the off-duty, voluntary education programs of the Department of Defense and to conduct special projects and development activities in support of education-related functions of the Department. Additionally, DANTES supports the Voluntary Education programs of the Coast Guard through a contractual agreement between the CG and DANTES.
  2. As part of that contract with the CG, DANTES provides funded testing programs for active duty and reserve Coast Guard personnel and for funded special emphasis programs for eligible spouses and civilian employees. One key aspect of our contract with DANTES is that we do not fund testing for dependent children. CG TCO’s may test dependent children but it is on a fee basis only.
  3. We advertise throughout the Coast Guard that taking DANTES exams is free. That is true…it is free for the most part if the tests are taken at our own DANTES test centers. If taken at a National Test Center there may be testing fees for the exam that the member must bear but the cost of the actual exam is still free to the member. While DANTES exams are free to the member they are not free to the Coast Guard. As part of our annual contract with DANTES we are paying for each and every exam taken by CG eligible personnel. The cost for each type of exam is dependent on several variables such as; location, if the test was computer based or paper based and what the total volume for the test has been for the FY (i.e. some costs go down as more tests are taken). For FY-07 the Coast Guard paid just under $250,000 for exams administered.
  4. Here are some testing activity facts:
    • Nearly 1,500 CLEP exams were funded by the CG.
    • Nearly 500 DSST exams were funded by the CG
    • Nearly 130 GRE exams were funded by the CG
    • In total the CG funded over 2,300 DANTES exams.
  5. The DANTES website is full of great resources for TCO’s and ESO’s. For example this link will take you to recommended materials for education centers: http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/distribution/
    recmats.htm     This link will take you to other examination program materials that include the Guide for Test Examiners. Every TCO should have this publication and it can be ordered or downloaded for free. http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/distribution/
    exam1.htm     There are other web pages ESO’s can direct their members to that will assist in test preparation. The Navy NKO site has numerous free resources. https://wwwa.nko.navy.mil/portal/splash/index.jsp. Annenberg Media has a wealth of courses available to prepare for exams at http://www.learner.org/index.html. Also, many thanks go to Mr. Dan Rogers (ESO Sector Key West) for locating the following web link, which is invaluable in test preparation, http://www.instantcert.com/.
  6. Let’s close with just a few thoughts regarding professional responsibilities of an ESO. With the size of your customer base it is fair to state that it is easy to get into a mind-set of allowing just any eligible person to sign up for a DANTES exam, such as a CLEP test, without ensuring the member has properly prepared for the exam. You may think that it is none of your business to determine if the member if prepared, especially since the exam is free. Well, as we have explained above no exam is free, just free to the member. We need to be aware that every CLEP, DSST, GRE…etc exam comes with a price. If the member has not prepared for the exam chances are the member will fail and yes the CG is required to pay for that failure. In FY07 only 32% of all CG funded CLEP exams were successfully passed. That means that 68% of all our funded CLEP exams were failed and neither the member nor the CG received any benefit by taking the exam. We fully realize exams will be failed even with solid preparation but we need to be prudent in our professional responsibilities and demonstrate due diligence to ensure our eligible members have at least attempted to prepare for an exam by using the CLEP study guides, taken the practice exams available on-line and perhaps by participating in group study or starting (Brown Bag University) programs in your learning centers.

As you have a free minute look around your learning centers and see if you have all the free materials from DANTES. Those materials exponentially assist you and your members as they pursue their educational endeavors.

Officer Boards - CG Recruiting Command Partnership

The following are recent changes based on feedback from ESOs, officer selection panels and officer program coordinators:

  1. Block added for:
    "College Semester Hours Completed (Non-Degree Temp Applicants Only)"
    This is information the OCS program Coordinator needs for OCS Temp applicants that do not have a college degree.
  2. Relocated the Coast Guard Applicant Survey to be the first item included on the left side of the application so it is easy to pull out when it gets to CGRC.
  3. Relocated the DD4 Document:
    "Copy of Enlistment/Reenlistment Document (DD-4) (Required for Civilians applying to OCS, BLUE 21, CSPI and SRDC)"
    Effective immediately the DD4 does not need to be submitted in the original application package. It is only required for the OCS/Blue 21/CSPI/SRDC civilian applicants that are selected by the officer selection panel. Once Recruiters find out that one of their applicants gets selected they should complete this form and send it to CGRC, attention Ms. Izola Proctor.
  4. Removed the requirement for the resume to be double spaced. This is still required to be a maximum of 2 one sided pages.
  5. Removed the requirement for the "CG Memorandum to CGRC via command" to be double spaced. This is still required to be a maximum of 2 one sided pages.

Finally, CGRC will accept the old and new versions of the checklist and required forms for the FY-08 Selection Panels during this transition phase. In the spirit of collaboration and codifying our relationship with our ESO professionals we IMMENSELY appreciate the feedback, recommendations and certainly identifying areas for improvement in our collective and Herculean effort to recruit the best qualified personnel for our organization, thank you!

Executive Officer
CG Institute
(405) 954-7232

Last Modified 9/8/2008