Navy Advancement FAQ Page Two

16. E8/E9 Eligibility Profile Sheets

All advancement-eligible Chiefs and Senior Chiefs should check their Profile Sheets on My Navy Portal or contact your ESO. After you verify your eligibility you should ensure your record is up to date by using the Web Enabled Record Review (WERR) on BOL. WERR allows you to view documents that have been submitted, reviewed and accepted as a part of your official military personnel file.

17. Why do I Need a CAC to View my Profile Sheet?

Much of the information includes Personally Identifiable Information (PII). DoD policy clearly states CAC (Common Access Card) login is required when systems contain PII. Profile sheets are developed, maintained and linked to the Navy Enlisted Advancement System, and contain PII on individual Sailors.

18. I Took a Late Exam, When Will it be Scored?

Once NAC receives your late Navy-wide advancement examination answer sheet from your command, it is immediately scanned and scored. A profile sheet with your results is created and posted.

19. Does it Hurt to Know How You Did on the Last Exam When You are Planning Your Exam Study?

Not a bit. Exam writers test the major subject matter of their ratings. Major subject matter (shown as sections on the profile forms) will reappear. But not the same questions! Use past profile information as just another piece of information to help you organize your study plan. But don’t get trapped into thinking the profile form provides the questions or answers. It doesn't.

20. Why Haven't the Results Come Out Yet?

After a Navy-wide Advancement Examinations (NWAEs) are received at the commands, there are seven primary steps that lead to NWAE results.

Below is a basic snapshot of the process from NWAE administration to release of results:

1. NWAEs are administered.
2. Fleet and shore commands mail NWAE answer sheets to NETPDC - historically, this process step takes six to seven weeks due to mailing locations.
3. When approximately 95% of the NWAE answer sheets have been returned and processed for an advancement cycle, including late exams, NAC scores exams and determines test passer counts.
4. NAC then sends a list of NWAE passer counts for each examination rate/competitive group to OPNAV N132 for the Active Duty cycles and BUPERS-32 for the SELRES cycles.
5. Enlisted Community Managers (ECMs) and manpower authorities determine vacancies and funding available.
6. Advancement quotas are approved by the Chief of Naval Personnel and forwarded to NAC.
7. Individual rating FMS cut lines are set in the Navy Enlisted Advancement System based on the approved quotas.
8. Results are published first on BUPERS Online for TRIAD notification, then the following day in the form of profile sheets posted on NEAS Web for the command view, and on the NAC link for the individual Sailor's view.

21. How Does the Navy Figure Out What Records to Send to E7 Selection Board for Consideration?

Advancement to E7 requires selection board action. In order to qualify for selection board consideration, candidates must meet eligibility requirements in Chapter 2 of BUPERSINST 1430.16.

PO1s who are eligible to advance to Chief Petty Officer are rank-ordered against peers with only two Final Multiple Score (FMS) elements: 1) the candidate's performance mark average, and 2) their exam standard score (SS). Each candidate's FMS is rank ordered against all other E7 advancement-eligible candidates in the examination rate/competitive group. The advancement-eligible candidates who have an FMS that falls in the top 60 percent will be selection board eligible (SBE). The records of all candidates who have an FMS that falls in the bottom 40 percent (in each rating) will not be forwarded to the board for consideration.

Under the FMS formula outlined in NAVADMIN 312/18, the performance metric (evaluations) are 60% of the E7 FMS, and the exam SS is 40%.

22. How Can I Track the Advancement Opportunity for my Enlisted Rate?

The Navy Advancement Center (NAC) posts the two years or more of advancement results for Active Duty and SELRES cycles. You can view exam statistics by UIC or rate by logging into My Navy Portal (MNP). Select "Professional Resources" on MNP and go to the Navy Advancement Center Page. The exam statistics link can be found under the Command Advancement Resources pillar.

For E4/5/6, the data is displayed with the following fields:

• ERATE - Examination Rate
• GRP - Competitive Group
• TOTAL - Number of candidates in examination rate/competitive group
• ADV - Number of candidates advanced
• ADV % - Percentage of candidates advanced
• PNA - Number of candidates that passed the exam, but did not advance
• ADV PNA % - Percentage of candidates that passed the exam, but did not advance
• FAIL - Number of candidates that failed the exam
• FAIL % - Percentage of candidates that failed the exam
• DISC - Number of discrepant candidates
• DISC % - Percentage of discrepant candidates
• ADV SS - The average exam standard score of candidates who advanced

23. Advancement Pay Determination - I Just Got Advanced Off the Last Exam, When Am I Getting Paid?

For Active Duty cycles, OPNAV N132 provides monthly pay increment quotas. These quotas are loaded into the Navy Enlisted Advancement System (NEAS) monthly and spread across all examination rate/competitive groups by pay grade. For E4/5/6, selectees are advanced by Final Multiple Score, not exam Standard Score (SS). For E7/8/9, selectees are advanced by Selection Board seniority ranking. For SELRES cycles, BUPERS-32 provides pay increment quotas. These quotas are loaded into NEAS and pay determination is established for all increments at the same time.

Monthly increments are generated by the first of the month. Once your pay date is determined, your Profile Sheet will be updated with the actual date of advancement.

The pay increments for each exam cycle are as follows:

• JAN (Active Duty) and FEB (SELRES) E7 has 12 pay increments - Sep (current year) through Aug (following year)
• FEB (SELRES) and MAR (Active Duty) E4/5/6 has 6 increments - Jul (current year) through Dec (current year)
• AUG (SELRES) and SEP (Active Duty) E4/5/6 has 6 increments - Jan (following year) through Jun (following year)
• NOV (Active and SELRES) E8/9 has 12 increments - Jul (current year) through Jun (following year)

Typically for Active Duty cycles, the majority of Sailors will advance in the final month of the advancement cycle. Typically for SELRES cycles, advancement is spread evenly for each increment.

At the top of the Profile Sheet page is an email sign up service that will notify you when the advancement month is set by the pay increment. Once you have signed up, you don’t need to check My Navy Portal every month to see when you advance.

24. What is Pay Increment Difference Between E4-E6 and E7-E9?

Since E4/5/6 Navy-wide advancement exams are administered twice a year, there are six monthly increments. Since E7/8/9 selection boards are held once a year, there are 12 monthly increments.

25. Advancement Exams and IA Deployments - I was on an IA and Missed an Exam. What do I Need to do?

If you missed the Navy-wide advancement examination while you were in an IA (Congressionally Designated Combat Zones and Approved Contingency Operations Area) status, the first thing you need to do is contact your ESO and take the next available examination. When your ESO sends the examination answer sheet to be scored, they will also send in an Advancement-in-Rate or Change of Rating worksheet for the exam missed that includes what your PMA, awards and SIPG would have been if you had taken that exam. Your FMS from the exam taken is not used to compare with the Final Multiple required of the exam missed.

To recalculate your FMS for the missed exam, the Navy Advancement Center (NAC) takes the standard score of the exam you took, the PMA, awards and SIPG from the missed examination worksheet and recalculates your FMS for the examination missed. If that FMS equals or exceeds the Final Multiple required for the examination missed, you will be advanced off that exam. If not, you may receive PNA points. A new profile sheet will be created for the examination missed for you to view and print at on My Navy Portal.

Refer to BUPERSINST 1430.16 for further directions.

26. Selection Board Eligible (SBE) Criteria for Candidates Serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and HOA

NAVADMIN 336/07 establishes criteria for E7/LDO candidates in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa who may be waived from participation in the CPO advancement exam. Although Sailors may be waived from taking the CPO exam, they ARE NOT automatically Selection Board Eligible (SBE). SBE waiver validation must be completed by the eligible Sailor's permanent command using a validation answer sheet transmittal letter. Refer to NAVADMIN 336/07 and the Advancement Manual, Chapter 6 for additional information and specific requirements.

The authoritative source to determine selection board eligibility is the profile sheet. Sailors who do not have a valid profile sheet for the Active Duty or SELRES CPO selection board are not SBE. A candidate may verify their selection board eligibility on My Navy Portal. Failure to comply with established policy and procedures will result in a missed advancement opportunity.

27. What are the Exam Content and Scoring Differences Between Active Duty and Reserve Personnel?

None, both Active Duty and SELRES have similar Navy-wide advancement examination content and are scored the same. Reserve personnel are required to have the same knowledge as their active duty counterparts. The only difference is the advancement opportunity or quota. OPNAV N132 provides quotas for Active Duty cycles and BUPERS-32 provides quotas for SELRES cycles.

28. What Number of Questions Answered Wrong Will Result in Failing an Exam?

A raw score cut value is applied to each Navy-wide Advancement Examination (NWAE) rate to determine whether a candidate passed or failed to pass the NWAE. If a candidate’s raw score (the number of questions answered correctly) falls below the applicable cut value, then the candidate “fails” to pass the NWAE and is eliminated from competition for advancement. Currently, the raw score cuts for a 175-item NWAE (without deletions) are 49 for E4, 55 for E5 and 61 for E6 and E7.

29. I Am Taking the Advancement Exam for the Next Higher Paygrade. What Should I do to Improve my Chances for Advancement?

Your advancement opportunity is based on two primary factors; first is your individual Final Multiple Score (FMS) and next is number of vacancies which create quotas. Every examination rate/competitive group has different quotas and advancement opportunity. Exam Stats by Cycle can be reviewed to determine and review how your examination rate/competitive group has performed historically.

The Navy Advancement Center (NAC) uses the FMS to rank-order Sailors to fill available quotas in each rate. The Navy-wide advancement examination is only one part of the FMS, but Sailors have the opportunity to increase their advancement opportunity by scoring higher than their peers taking the same exam (see note "What is the standard score? How is it determined?"). Mastery of the exam comes down to how well you know your job. Learn as much as you can about your rating from all sources. Study the references listed in your bibliography. Bibliographies are examspecific, so be sure to download and review the material listed for the correct cycle.

Bottom line, the two primary things you can do to get advanced are to maintain stellar performance on the job and know your job well enough to score higher than your peers on advancement exams.

30. What Will my Advancement Opportunity be Next Cycle?

Quotas are the total number of test-takers who will be advanced. Quotas, or vacancies, within each rating community and paygrade are determined by the Chief of Naval Personnel, Commander, Naval Reserve Force, and Enlisted Community Managers. Advancement opportunity and career progression are directly linked to a rating's manning level. Personnel in undermanned ratings have greater opportunities for advancement than those in over-manned ratings.

31. If I Have Done all That and Still Get Only PNA Points, What is the Problem?

Advancements fill vacancies. Advancements, especially in the higher paygrades, can seem very slow. You must remember that when there are few or no vacancies, there are few or no advancements. It is a vacancy driven system; advancement cut off scores are different from cycle to cycle.

32. When Questions are Deleted From an Exam, How Does This Affect my Score?

Deleted questions do not enhance or detract from anyone's advancement opportunity. Raw to standard score conversions are based on the raw scores of the peer group, so everyone is treated equally.