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Sergeants and Below Promotions Embeds

The official seal for Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
Promotion Section
Quantico, Virginia
Expand List item 6806Collapse List item 6806  01 - Viewing Cutoff Scores in MCTFS

Viewing Cutoff Scores in MCTFS

Units may use the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) to view active and reserve parameters and cutoff scores for promotion.


Type “JEPA” in MCTFS and select the desired option.
 
9999 for the score indicates the specified MOS to that rank is closed.
F5/F6 = Toggle active/drilling reserve/ active reserve.
F7/F8 = Scroll up/down.
F10/F11 = previous/next month.
 
Marines may notice a higher or lower score reflecting in MCTFS then on the JEPES Marine Reported On Dashboard in Marine On-Line (MOL).
The MCTFS score is the one used for promotion purposes not the score listed in MOL.
 
The JEPES score used for promotion is computed in MCTFS using the total of a Marines objective scores and their command input marks prior to the command cutoff date (MCTFS cutoff) for each promotion period.
 
To ensure accurate cutoff score information is obtained for each month, units should view cutoff scores  after select grades have been received on their Diary Feedback Report (DFR).
 
For active-duty changes are made to the promotion parameters and cutoff scores during the third week of each month.
 
For reserve Marines changes are made to the promotion parameters and cutoff scores during the end of the 2nd month of each promotion quarter.
 
Published MARADMINS will contain authority to effect the promotions of Marines who receive select grades generated on the unit’s DFR.

Expand List item 6807Collapse List item 6807  02 - Time in Grade and Time in Service Requirements (minimum)
USMC & USMCR
Promotion to		 Regular Promotion Meritorious Promotion
 
TIG TIS TIG TIS
Sgt (w/o reenlistment) 12 MOS 4 YRS N/A 18 MOS
Sgt (w/reenlistment) 12 MOS 3 YRS N/A 18 MOS
Cpl 12 MOS 12 MOS N/A 6 MOS
LCpl 8 MOS 9 MOS   N/A N/A
PFC        6 MOS 6 MOS N/A N/A
 
Expand List item 6808Collapse List item 6808  03 - Professional Military Education

Commanders are reminded that all Professional Military Education (PME) must be entered in MCTFS in a timely manner. 
 
LCpls and Cpls who meet the cutting score but are not PME complete will not be selected for promotion to the next higher grade due to their PME flag in MCTFS being “N”.
 
PME incomplete Marines will not appear select grade. 

Expand List item 6809Collapse List item 6809  04 - Additional Commander Responsibilities

Ensure receipt of promotion MARADMINS as the official promotion authority.
 
Ensure receipt of select grade rosters generated on unit DFR.
 
Prior to being promoted, all Marines must be PME complete IAW MARADMIN 474/21.

Expand List item 6810Collapse List item 6810  05 - Junior Remedial Process

Late reporting of any data element which occurred prior to the command cutoff date, to include command input marks, will cause MCTFS to automatically recompute the JEPES score and effect the auto remedial promotion process.
Per MARADMIN 559/23, Junior enlisted remedial promotions no longer require a formal request via naval correspondence from the commanding officer to initiate the remedial process unless they fall within one of the following conditions:
 

  • Requests to correct entry level grades associated with a contracted private first class.

  • Requests for non-competitive intended military occupational specialties promotions.

  • Requests associated with Marine Corps Embassy Security Group PME waivers.  

  • Requests associated with the Musician Enlistment Option Program.

  • Request for reservists who changed components after their requested remedial promotion date.

  • Requests to correct a previous DOR for a Marine that has already been promoted.

For all other junior enlisted remedial promotions MCTFS will automatically screen all junior enlisted Marines who had late training or PME entries to determine if their new JEPES score meets or exceeds the cutoff from a previous month. 
Those that meet the requirements and are otherwise eligible for promotion will be automatically promoted in the system and a message is sent to the units JEPES modular in MOL.

Expand List item 6815Collapse List item 6815  Cutting Score - How is cutting score determined?

Corporal and Sergeant promotions are based on JEPES Scores. The number of the monthly promotions in each MOS is based on the actual vacancies in that particular MOS and is indicated by a monthly cutoff score published in MCTFS. A cutting score identifies a Marine and his/her JEPES score. Everyone with that JEPES score or higher is promoted, provided all other requirements are met prior.

Expand List item 6817Collapse List item 6817  Cutting Score - Who decides what the monthly cutting scores will be?
Manpower Plans and Policy dictate what all Active Duty cutting scores will be. They then pass these on to Enlisted Promotions towards the end of each month. 
Expand List item 6816Collapse List item 6816  Cutting Score - When will the cutting scores be released?

The cutting scores are provided to the Enlisted Promotion section by Manpower Plans and Policy after the mid-month Update and Extract. This ensures the last minute “NOT RECOMMENDED” for promotion entries post to the MCTFS. The cutting scores are normally released not later than the 25th of the month.

Expand List item 6812Collapse List item 6812  PME - I completed my PME after the select grades were ran. What do I do now?  

The command must reach out to MMPB-11 requesting the grade select be ran. However, this action can only be taken prior to the auto promote cycle. Once auto promote has occurred, a remedial promotion request must be submitted.

Expand List item 6813Collapse List item 6813  Remedial Selection - I went to the IPAC to have them run the remedial selection entry, but they said they will have to forward it to MMPB-11. Is that true?
No, your IPAC can run the request for remedial selection entry in UD/MIPS with the TTC 287-003. You will need to contact the personnel that run the entries to determine what source documents they will need in order to complete the action. This entry can only be ran between the 1st of the promotion month through the day before the select grades are ran for the following promotion month.
Expand List item 6821Collapse List item 6821  School Promotions - If the honor graduate is a LCPL or above and 2nd place is a Pvt or PFC, should 2nd place be promoted applying the 5% rule when 5% is more than one promotion?

Yes. The merit promotion is based on the top 5%, so if the class is 40 students you rate 2 promotions, so the 2nd place Marine is eligible for the promotion. But if the class is only 20 students and the 1st place is a LCpl or above, the 2nd place student is not in the top 5% and would not rate a merit promotion.

Expand List item 6820Collapse List item 6820  School Promotions - If we further use the 5% rule to classes with less than 40 Marines and apply rounding, specifically rounding up, any class with 30 or more students would be eligible for two promotions providing the 1st and 2nd place Marines were Pvts or PFCs. Is this interpretation true? (30 x 5% = 1.5; 29 x 5% = 1.45). To take this a step further, should we always round up for any fractional number? (21 x 5% = 1.05)?

No. You cannot carry the decimal point or round up.

Expand List item 6819Collapse List item 6819  School Promotions - LOS classes for entry-level students are almost always at least 40 Marines. Based on the 5% rule, we interpret that out of a 40 man class, 2 Marines would be eligible for promotin providing they are both Pvts or PFCs. Is this interpretation true?
Yes. The number of merit promotions is based on size of class.
Expand List item 6818Collapse List item 6818  School Promotions - We have courses that have more and less than 12 weeks of duration and all our courses, entry, intermediate and advance are assigned quotas as per our annual Training Input Plan (TIP). Para 3 seems the most likely one that applies to us as it does not delineate a duration. Which paragraph does LOS follow?

The top 5% is not based on logistics operations school but on a specific course or class. I would agree that your entry level courses would fall under the entry level paragraph (#3).