From Captain Bradley Clare,
Commanding Officer, National Maritime Center (NMC)
The inventory of course and program approval requests remains high, causing National Maritime Center (NMC) staff to begin evaluating requests more than 90 days after submittal by requesters. In an effort to drive inventory down, we are taking the following actions:
- The NMC will extend all courses and programs that expire between January 31, 2022, and October 31, 2022. In an effort to mitigate the unequal distribution of course approval expirations, we will individually assign new expiration dates. Training providers can expect an updated approval certificate to be e-mailed in the coming weeks. The e-mail and certificate will serve as documentation of the extension.
- Courses and programs awaiting evaluation at the NMC will also be extended. However, we will continue to process those requests and will assign new expiration dates in the approval letter. Training providers should respond to requests for information regardless of extended expiration dates. For those requests currently at NMC, we will prioritize original and modification applications while we work through the inventory.
- Training providers are encouraged to submit renewal requests at least 90 days before the expiration date. However, we request renewals not be submitted before July 1, 2022, unless a significant modification is required in conjunction with the renewal. Significant changes to a curriculum must be approved by the NMC.
- Training providers should continue to submit original and modification requests in accordance with regulation and policy. The NMC Website contains additional guidance including checklists for your use.
- In order to maintain a reasonable distribution of work moving forward, we will monitor the distribution of course and program expirations and may assign expiration dates that do not coincide with a “normal” 5-year approval. Training providers who have specific concerns with an assigned renewal date should contact the NMC at [email protected] to request adjustment.
We believe our internal efforts to increase processing capacity combined with this extension of courses and programs will allow us to reduce the inventory to acceptable levels in the coming months. We will push additional information in the coming weeks. Training providers who are not members of our List Server are highly encouraged to sign up in order to receive e-mail notification when we post new information.
Training providers are encouraged to contact us with questions and concerns regarding your priorities or this notification at [email protected] or by calling 304-433-3720. We will continue to work with you individually to mitigate the impacts of the current inventory and to meet your future needs.
For general questions, concerns, or feedback, contact the NMC Customer Service Center by e-mailing [email protected] or calling 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).
