Defense Acquisition University
The Defense Acquisition University is a corporate university of the United States Department of Defense offering "acquisition, technology, and logistics" training to military and Federal civilian staff and Federal contractors. DAU is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and is accredited by the American Council on Education, International Association for Continuing Education and Training and the Council on Occupational Education.
History
The University Charter was created in October 1991 by Department of Defense Directive 5000.57. Originally a loose consortium of existing training commands, DAU worked to standardize the training courses and establish mechanisms that allowed for centralized management of training funds for the DoD workforce.In the late 1990s, the consortium arrangement was replaced by a centralized structure, more like that of a corporate university. By 2014, DAU had grown to the point of graduating 181,970 students.
Leadership
DAU was headed by a Commandant until the year 2000 when it became a civilian institution, and since then the chief executive position has the title "President." DAU's Commandants and Presidents have included William L. Vincent, Claude M. Bolton, Richard A. Black, Leonard Vincent, Frank J. Anderson, Katrina McFarland, James P. Woolsey, and Bilyana Anderson.Locations
DAU is headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and serves the approximately 160,000 members of the defense acquisition workforce. DAU also has several other locations across the United States as well an online presence. These locations include:- DAU Capital and Northeast, located at Fort Belvoir, provides services to The Pentagon and Washington DC Department of Defense agencies, and acquisition and sustainment organizations throughout the Northeast. It serves a workforce of about 35,000 people.
- Defense Systems Management College, also located at Ft Belvoir, on the same campus as the Capital and Northeast Region
- DAU Mid-Atlantic, located in California, Maryland,
- DAU South, in Huntsville, Alabama, on Redstone Arsenal, serving 41,000+ members
- DAU Midwest, located in Kettering, Ohio,, serving 25,000+ members
- DAU West in San Diego, serving 30,013 people in the western United States and the Pacific Rim
- Various satellite locations at major military commands.
Admissions and costs
U.S. Federal employees and defense contractors may attend DAU courses at no cost when space is available, and may enroll in DAU's Defense acquisition credential learning pathways, and in online courses. DAU charges tuition only to certain foreign students.
Training and certificates
The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act requires Defense Acquisition Workforce members to be certified for the positions they hold. DAU offers training courses for all Defense Acquisition Workforce members in seven functional areas and at three certification levels.Functional Areas:
- Auditing
- Business:
- * Financial Management
- * Cost Estimating
- Contracting
- Engineering and Technical Management
- Life Cycle Logistics
- Program Management
- Test and Evaluation
Defense Acquisition Guide
The Defense Acquisition Guidebook is a text developed to aid in the understanding and implementation of United States Department of Defense Acquisition practices under the DoD Directive 5000 series. This text, also available in web-accessed electronic format and web-structured HTML basis provides insight to a life cycle view and functional roles within the lifecycle of acquisitions.In 2002, the DOD 5000.2-R became the Interim Defense Acquisition Guidebook.