Defense Acquisition University
Encyclopedia
The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) is a United States
military training establishment that trains and enables the 147,705 military and civilian Department of Defense
personnel in the fields of acquisition, technology, and logistics, including leadership, program management and bureaucratic organization
. DAU serves the members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce and their defense industry counterparts and recently celebrated the one millionth graduate.
DAU's mission is to provide a global learning environment to support a mission-ready Defense Acquisition Workforce that develops, delivers, and sustains effective and affordable warfighting capabilities.
DAU aims to impact acquisition excellence through:
The DAU vision is to enable the Defense Acquisition Workforce to achieve the right acquisition outcomes.
The Defense Acquisition Workforce is responsible for spending billions of dollars each year on systems, services, and supplies to
support the warfighter. The Defense Acquisition Workforce has an
even greater need to be a motivated, well-educated, and highly
trained workforce.
To ensure a mission-capable workforce, DAU has implemented the
AT&L Performance Learning Model (PLM). The elements of the
PLM—training courses, continuous learning, mission assistance, and
knowledge sharing—give the Defense Acquisition Workforce the
right training and tools to positively impact the acquisition outcomes
of our defense programs.
Training
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. DAU uses innovative approaches to impact all learners
and learning styles as they work to complete their certification training.
In FY09, there were:
• 6,479,014 hours of training (22 percent increase over FY08)
• 193,967 graduates (26 percent increase over FY08)
• 154,399 online graduates (30 percent increase over FY08)
• 39,568 classroom graduates (10 percent increase over FY08)
Continuous Learning
DAU’s Continuous Learning Center (CLC) places cutting-edge learning
modules on critical acquisition topics at the fingertips of the Defense
Acquisition Workforce whenever and wherever they want. With these
modules, DAU is able to deliver the newest initiatives and latest policy
changes as well as refresh the workforce’s skills. The continuous availability
of these modules conveniently and quickly helps the workforce meet their
continuous learning requirements and positively impacts job performance.
In FY09, there were:
• 236 continuous learning modules (CLMs) available in the online DAU
CLC
• 494,568 completions of CLMs (48 percent increase over FY08).
Mission Assistance
DAU’s multi-disciplinary faculty teams with acquisition organizations
to help positively influence acquisition outcomes. Mission assistance
extends services beyond the classroom and into the workplace. From
major defense acquisition programs to smaller acquisition teams, DAU
is able to provide advice, consulting support, rapid-deployment training
on new initiatives, or training targeted to address the mission needs of
acquisition field organizations. Through the mission assistance program,
DAU is able to impact acquisition outcomes by helping to solve program
and technical issues. In FY09, there were:
• 577 consulting, targeted training, and rapid-deployment events
(49 percent increase over FY08)
• 492,521 consulting, targeted training, and rapid-deployment contact
hours (17 percent increase over FY08)
Knowledge Sharing
By combining people and information, ideas are easily shared. DAU has
been doing this formally for years through coursework and consulting
efforts. But to expand the impact, information and ideas must be shared
informally. DAU does this through a variety of knowledge sharing assets.
Impacting the Defense Acquisition Workforce outside the classroom
through increased access to information enhances job performance and
improves acquisition outcomes. In FY09, there were:
• 696,701 contact hours on the Defense Acquisition Portal (DAP)
(59 percent increase over FY08)
• 540,270 contact hours on the Acquisition Community Connection
(ACC) (109 percent increase over FY08)
DAU headquarters is at Fort Belvoir
, Virginia
. It has five regional campuses located throughout the United States:
The DAU maintains strategic partnerships with over 160 colleges and universities that offer credit for DAU courses toward degrees and certificates.
DAU's publishing arm, DAU Press, provides a number of online publications, along with its flagship publications, Defense AT&L Magazine and the Acquisition Review Journal.
DAU was recognized for excellence in learning and development by Chief Learning Officer magazine. 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. This award recognizes high performance teams that implemented learning best practices and programs on a global scale. The DAU GLTC team was recognized for its unique seamless integration of both formal and informal learning programs. The second award presented to DAU was the Vanguard Award. DAU earned this award by effectively leveraging games and simulations to
improve learning assets. These interactive learning tools are having a significant impact on the quality of the Defense Acquisition Workforce’s learning experiences. The awards are peer-reviewed and judged by learning executives from the public and private sectors. Selection is highly competitive and prestigious—they recognize only the very best learning leaders and organizations from around the globe.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military training establishment that trains and enables the 147,705 military and civilian Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
personnel in the fields of acquisition, technology, and logistics, including leadership, program management and bureaucratic organization
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
. DAU serves the members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce and their defense industry counterparts and recently celebrated the one millionth graduate.
DAU's mission is to provide a global learning environment to support a mission-ready Defense Acquisition Workforce that develops, delivers, and sustains effective and affordable warfighting capabilities.
DAU aims to impact acquisition excellence through:
- Acquisition certification and leadership training
- Mission assistance to acquisition organizations and teams
- Improving the Core Technical Competence of the Defence Workforce
- Online knowledge-sharing resources
- Continuous learning assets
The DAU vision is to enable the Defense Acquisition Workforce to achieve the right acquisition outcomes.
The Defense Acquisition Workforce is responsible for spending billions of dollars each year on systems, services, and supplies to
support the warfighter. The Defense Acquisition Workforce has an
even greater need to be a motivated, well-educated, and highly
trained workforce.
To ensure a mission-capable workforce, DAU has implemented the
AT&L Performance Learning Model (PLM). The elements of the
PLM—training courses, continuous learning, mission assistance, and
knowledge sharing—give the Defense Acquisition Workforce the
right training and tools to positively impact the acquisition outcomes
of our defense programs.
Training
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. DAU uses innovative approaches to impact all learners
and learning styles as they work to complete their certification training.
In FY09, there were:
• 6,479,014 hours of training (22 percent increase over FY08)
• 193,967 graduates (26 percent increase over FY08)
• 154,399 online graduates (30 percent increase over FY08)
• 39,568 classroom graduates (10 percent increase over FY08)
Continuous Learning
DAU’s Continuous Learning Center (CLC) places cutting-edge learning
modules on critical acquisition topics at the fingertips of the Defense
Acquisition Workforce whenever and wherever they want. With these
modules, DAU is able to deliver the newest initiatives and latest policy
changes as well as refresh the workforce’s skills. The continuous availability
of these modules conveniently and quickly helps the workforce meet their
continuous learning requirements and positively impacts job performance.
In FY09, there were:
• 236 continuous learning modules (CLMs) available in the online DAU
CLC
• 494,568 completions of CLMs (48 percent increase over FY08).
Mission Assistance
DAU’s multi-disciplinary faculty teams with acquisition organizations
to help positively influence acquisition outcomes. Mission assistance
extends services beyond the classroom and into the workplace. From
major defense acquisition programs to smaller acquisition teams, DAU
is able to provide advice, consulting support, rapid-deployment training
on new initiatives, or training targeted to address the mission needs of
acquisition field organizations. Through the mission assistance program,
DAU is able to impact acquisition outcomes by helping to solve program
and technical issues. In FY09, there were:
• 577 consulting, targeted training, and rapid-deployment events
(49 percent increase over FY08)
• 492,521 consulting, targeted training, and rapid-deployment contact
hours (17 percent increase over FY08)
Knowledge Sharing
By combining people and information, ideas are easily shared. DAU has
been doing this formally for years through coursework and consulting
efforts. But to expand the impact, information and ideas must be shared
informally. DAU does this through a variety of knowledge sharing assets.
Impacting the Defense Acquisition Workforce outside the classroom
through increased access to information enhances job performance and
improves acquisition outcomes. In FY09, there were:
• 696,701 contact hours on the Defense Acquisition Portal (DAP)
(59 percent increase over FY08)
• 540,270 contact hours on the Acquisition Community Connection
(ACC) (109 percent increase over FY08)
DAU headquarters is at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It has five regional campuses located throughout the United States:
- Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- Huntsville, Alabama
- San Diego, California
- California, Maryland
- Kettering, Ohio.
The DAU maintains strategic partnerships with over 160 colleges and universities that offer credit for DAU courses toward degrees and certificates.
DAU's publishing arm, DAU Press, provides a number of online publications, along with its flagship publications, Defense AT&L Magazine and the Acquisition Review Journal.
Awards
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. At the awards ceremony, the presenter discussed the judges’ awe at how much the magazine staff members are able to do with only two staff members and varying levels of contractor support. Over the past year, the look and feel of the magazine was completely redesigned, converting to full color and displaying new layout techniques. The magazine has implemented outreach efforts, including developing a reader survey, establishing Meet-the-Author events, and ensuring magazine staff attendance at major acquisition conferences. The award is a reflection of the magazine’s overall efforts to serve as an effective communications and learning tool for the acquisition workforce.DAU was recognized for excellence in learning and development by Chief Learning Officer magazine. 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. This award recognizes high performance teams that implemented learning best practices and programs on a global scale. The DAU GLTC team was recognized for its unique seamless integration of both formal and informal learning programs. The second award presented to DAU was the Vanguard Award. DAU earned this award by effectively leveraging games and simulations to
improve learning assets. These interactive learning tools are having a significant impact on the quality of the Defense Acquisition Workforce’s learning experiences. The awards are peer-reviewed and judged by learning executives from the public and private sectors. Selection is highly competitive and prestigious—they recognize only the very best learning leaders and organizations from around the globe.
Controversy
In the summer of 2011 hacker group Anonymous compromised DAU's servers which resulted in public release of user's personal information. This event resulted in the DAU online learning site being put offline for a period of several months. During this outage the DAU failed to post notices connecting the outage to the hacking of their servers or to notify those affected of the possible release of their personal information into the public domain. DAU has yet to publicly acknowledge the fact that their servers were hacked or that user information was compromised.Accessibility Issues
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.Alumni association
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, an annual symposium, periodic hot topic forums, through partnerships with industry, and more. Each of the DAU regional campus locations have DAUAA chapters. More information about the DAU Alumni Association can be found on the DAUAA website located at http://www.dauaa.org.See also
- Simulation & Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements, and TrainingSimulation & Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements, and TrainingSimulation & Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements, and Training is a program that was discontinued by the United States Army in 2005.All public access to any SMART-related documents were removed at that time but have started to resurface....
- Military acquisitionMilitary acquisitionMilitary acquisition is the bureaucratic management and procurement process dealing with a nation's investments in the technologies, programs, and product support necessary to achieve its national security strategy and support its armed forces...
- Joint Capabilities Integration Development SystemJoint Capabilities Integration Development SystemThe Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System, or JCIDS, isthe formal United States Department of Defense procedure which definesacquisition requirements and evaluation criteria for future defenseprograms...
External links
- Defense Acquisition University
- Continuous Learning Center
- Acquisition Community Connection
- Defense Acquisition Portal
- Integrated Defense AT&L Life Cycle Management Chart
- Defense Acquisition Guidebook
- ACQuire Search Tool
- Best Practice Clearinghouse
- ACQuipedia
- Program Managers e-Tool Kit
- DAU on iTunesU