As a former instructor at NNPTC for over 3 years I will tell you my opinion on the situation.
Pre-1996
1. When most Navy nukes came through NNPTC (the ones the post here) the attrition rate was insanely high. (Our 'A' school class had 28 to start and only 3 made it through the entire pipeline including myself) I believe the numbers were around 35-40 percent.
2. Most instructors at the time really did not care what the students did/did not do. There were quite a few that if you went to get help they would say "get the F$#K out of here we are talking about football etc etc." OR you needed a direct question that required little information from them. There were exceptions, but not to many. In order to pass you worked YOUR ass off and studied to make it through the program. Runtime was non-existant. In prototype to get signitures it was a coke or candy or you could forget about it (well ok... not all the time)

3. If you were caught doing anything wrong in most cases (unless you were female or other then white male) you were booted from the program no questions asked.
4. You failed Comp you were gone with very rare exceptions.
5. You drank underage and were stupid enough to get caught..... forget it you are to dumb to be a nuke. (you have to be creative:)
Present day:
1. The attrition has been driven super low (less the 6 percent including non-acedemic drops). This was driven because the manning of the nuclear program down the road is insanely low. There is a reason the bonus is 100k to reenlist and it is not because the Navy wants to pay you more money. The manning for experienced operators out in the fleet has been and will continue to decline in the future. They are trying to throw money at the problem and send more students, vice actually fixing the real problems.
2. The instructors for the most part are forced to bend over backwards to help the students pass the exams. Most divisions had people available for runtime during the day and at night during NDI (division dependent). If a student is failing they are assigned to other instructors for more help. If they fail more they are giving academic boards which they almost always pass. If they fail the comp, almost an automatic recomp.
3. The students for the most part worked hard. I would say 80 percent worked hard, 10 percent required no work and 10 percent required more work then they were worth. They would have failed within 3 weeks in the old program but now we are forced to hold their hands. NFAS/NPS is usually the first time in their lives they are actually required to work in their lives and some students just can't/don't want to do this.
4. The military aspect of the school has gone down significantly. There is no fear of "getting talked to" by the chief or section leading petty officer (SLPO). Even if they got sent to the Department Head there were many students that had no fear of that. Going to mast almost became a joke to some students. In reality, some of this is due to their upbringing, alot of this is due to the "touchy feelyness" instilled in the military. We had students coming out of boot camp that would talk back, swear at instructors, and in general be very disrespectful.
5. Overall I believe the students coming out of the pipeline know as much, if not more then what we did when we went through the program. The instructors put in the time and the exams are still equivalent. I believe that integrity went out the window, the underage drinking problem never got solved, and the military aspect decreased significantly. This has been shown/fedback to the command via sea-returnees complaining about the Nubs they received out in the fleet, not wanting to qualify or expecting to have their hand held the whole way. They even had a few that showed up and when told to go look it up in the S+EPM they said the what? They had no idea, since prototype has alot of stuff computerized.
6. MMCIcebergDX was correct about standards. The upper chain believe every person put into the program by the recruiters should pass. In an ideal world... maybe. In reality, no way in hell. Some students are not required to even take the NFQT anymore. I had one student that had a waiver for MATH and PHYSICS? How can that be possible??? Anyone who fails math in 'A' school should have been an autodrop..... the math is very basic and taught the fundament of all nuclear programs... follow the procedure.. can't do that.."boot". There was one student who cheated on Comp. and was caught redhanded by the staff. Went to mast, RIR, lost money, retained in program?


That is a loss of standards I do not care if the CO himself told all of us it was not. (not the current CO btw).
Worth it?
1. Absolutely 100% yes! I would not be where I am today and making the money I do without the Navy Nuke program. The experience you gain and contacts/friends you make are probably the best in the world. Once you get out you will be amazed at the amount of ex-navy nukes there are and the job opportunities are limitless. My advice: work hard, get your degree while you are in, don't bitch and moan at every little thing, work hard, listen to what your LPO/chief has to say (they might actually be right), say yes sir! when you really mean (F%$K off), and work hard!
EX-nukeet1