Defense Acquisition University awarded national accreditation

Program Manager, March-April, 2003

FORT BELVOIR, Va. (Feb. 4, 2003)-The Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) has granted accreditation to the Defense Acquisition University, located at Fort Belvoir, Va. Announcement of the action was made by Harry L. Bowman, Executive Director, Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE), following the Commission's meeting held in Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 2-4, 2003.

The award of accreditation status is based on an evaluation to demonstrate that the institution meets not only the standards of quality of the Commission, but also the needs of students, the community and employers.

The Commission's evaluation process includes an extensive self-study by the institution and an intensive review by a visiting team of professional educators representing the Commission's member institutions from other states.

The Defense Acquisition University began its self study in July 2000 and underwent a team visit in November 2002. The visiting team chairperson was James Conely.

The COE, based in Atlanta, Ga., offers quality assurance services to postsecondary workforce education providers across the nation. Organized as a non-profit corporation, the mission of the Council is to assure quality and integrity in career and workforce development. Services offered include institutional accreditation (recognized by the U.S. Department of Education), program quality reviews for states and workforce education providers, and informational services. Most of the Council's work is carried out by qualified professional volunteers who are experts in workforce education.

Institutional membership in the Council is voluntary, but can be achieved only by becoming accredited. The Council's current membership makes it unique. Members include postsecondary public technical institutes, specialized military and national defense schools, Job Corps Centers, private career schools, non-profit workforce education providers, corporate and industry education units, and federal agency institutions. No other agency accredits and serves the diversity of organizations served by the Council. There are approximately 410 institutional members at the present time.

The Defense Acquisition University with headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., has regional campuses in Patuxent River, Md.; Dayton, Ohio; Huntsville, Ala.; and San Diego, Calif. For its primary mission, DAU provides training and education to approximately 129,000 practitioners in the Department of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Workforce (DoD AT&L).

Editor's Note: To view the DAU 2003 Course Catalog, visit http://www.dau.mil and click on "DAU Courses."