Coast Guard corrects errors that led to cancellation of May exams > United States Coast Guard > My Coast Guard News

The Coast Guard has corrected the issues that led to the cancellation of the May SWE exams and enhanced quality assurance to ensure that the upcoming August make-up exams – and all future SWEs – are properly checked for errors.

The department is also accelerating its transition to electronic testing, which would make the annual process more efficient and less prone to human error. The goal is to conduct beta testing of E-SWE next year. If all goes well, SWE will be fully electronic by 2026.

The announcements come as the Coast Guard concludes its investigation into the causes of printing errors in test packets for the May exam. Investigators determined that turnover and hiring gaps at the Payroll and Personnel Center (PPC) left inexperienced staff struggling with an entirely new SWE file transfer process this year, one that had not incorporated adequate quality assurance.

Since then, the PPC has staffed the unit that handles SWE testing, the annual test that, along with other factors, is a necessary step in moving from the E-5 to the E-8 level for most grades in the Coast Guard. Staff have also undergone extensive training to ensure they understand their role and the new processes.

Additionally, PPC has implemented more quality assurance procedures. The office now looks at larger statistical samples to increase the likelihood of detecting problems. They’ve also added additional quality checks. “We’ve tripled what we used to do,” said Capt. John Henry, commanding officer of PPC.

Henry said his office has already received the make-up exams (scheduled for August 26-29, 2024) from the printer. “We are currently carrying out the quality assurance checks with the updated tests,” he said. “Our plan is to get them checked and sent out in time to be ready for the make-up exams. »

-USCG-

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