Defense Acquisition University

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Defense Acquisition University
DAU Seal.png
Established 1992
Type Professional Development
President Jim McMichael (acting)
Location Fort Belvoir, Virginia, USA
Website dau.mil

The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) is a Department of Defense (DoD) training establishment authorized by Congress under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act of 1990 and established by DoD Directive 5000.57 on October 22, 1991, that trains the approximately 150,000 military and civilian DoD personnel in the fields of acquisition, technology, and logistics. In addition, DAU provides services to defense contractors.[1] DAU is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education.[2]

DAU provides the following services:

  • Acquisition certification and leadership training
  • Mission assistance to acquisition organizations and teams
  • Online knowledge-sharing resources
  • Continuous learning assets

Contents

Learning assets [edit]

DAU has implemented the AT&L Performance Learning Model (PLM).[3]

Training[4] The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) requires Defense Acquisition Workforce members to be certified for the position they hold. DAU offers training courses for all Defense Acquisition Workforce members in 14 career fields and at three certification levels. Through DAU’s Core Certification and Core Plus training courses, the workforce can fulfill the training requirements needed to achieve the certification required by DAWIA.

Continuous Learning[5] DAU’s Continuous Learning Center (CLC) DAU’s Continuous Learning Center (CLC) helps the Defense Acquisition Workforce receive the required continuous learning points required to stay current in their position. Continuous learning modules cover specific acquisition topics.

Mission Assistance[6] DAU’s multi-disciplinary faculty provides consulting services to variable-sized teams in acquisition organizations.

DAU's publishing arm, DAU Press, provides a number of online publications, along with its flagship publications, Defense AT&L Magazine[7] and the Acquisition Research Journal.[8]

Locations [edit]

DAU serves members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce that are located around the country and world. Branch campuses are located in areas with a high concentration of Defense Acquisition Workforce members. Each branch campus focuses its training on the workforce members in its region. DAU’s branch campuses are found in the following locations:

DAU headquarters is at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The DAU maintains strategic partnerships with more than 160 colleges and universities that offer credit for DAU courses toward degrees and certificates.[9]

Awards [edit]

In 2009, DAU’s Defense AT&L magazine received the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Silver Inkwell Excellence in Communications Award. The magazine was judged by senior communicators in the Washington, D.C., area and won in the category of Government/Military Communications.[10]

On September 29, 2009, DAU was presented with two awards during the Chief Learning Officer Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Global Learning and Technology Center (GLTC) received the Learning Team Award for high performance teams that implemented learning best practices and programs on a global scale. The awards are peer-reviewed and judged by learning executives from the public and private sectors.[11]

Controversy [edit]

On July 2011 a hacking incident occurred affecting DAU’s Web-based training site. This incident occurred on a vendor’s network that provides the underlying source code of the learning management system.[12] This inhibited access to online courses for almost two months. While DAU was not hacked, U.S. Cyber Command (U.S. CYBERCOM) evaluated the risk level to DAU’s system based on the incident that occurred on the vendor’s network and temporarily suspended online training course operations to secure the system and protect the personal information of students.

Accessibility issues [edit]

DAU fails to maintain open browser accessibility and requires students accessing the web-based training site (DAU Online) to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer versions 6-8. No support is provided for IE9 or for any other browsers (Chrome, Firefox, or Opera), in spite of the lower security protections offered on IE6-8. Further, this restriction may be in violation of the Competition in Contracting Act ("CICA"), 10 U.S.C. § 2304(a)(1) if goods or services leading to a "Microsoft Only" product accessibility requirement were as a result of inappropriate procurement practices.[13]

Alumni association [edit]

The Defense Acquisition University is supported by an active alumni association that partners with the DAU and industry to provide additional learning opportunities for the Acquisition Workforce. Some examples of efforts supported by the DAUAA are the annual research paper competition,[14] an annual symposium,[15] periodic hot topic forums,[16] through partnerships with industry, and more. Each of the DAU regional campus locations have DAUAA chapters.[17]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ DAU Annual Report
  2. ^ Accreditation
  3. ^ DAU.mil
  4. ^ DAU Annual Report
  5. ^ DAU Annual Report
  6. ^ DAU Annual Report
  7. ^ DAU.mil
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ DAU website
  10. ^ DAU Annual Report
  11. ^ DAU Annual Report
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ [3]
  14. ^ DAUAA.org
  15. ^ DAUAA.org
  16. ^ DAU.mil
  17. ^ DAUAA.org

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Defense_Acquisition_University&oldid=530525131"