Education and training opportunities
By USAASC Acquisition, Education and Training Branch
2014 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP): Applications will be accepted starting March 12- April 21. Following a review board, selections will be announced the week of May 19, 2014. Acceptance requires a three-year civilian service agreement (CSA). Acceptance to the program one year does not guarantee acceptance in subsequent years. Additional information and application instructions are available on the SLRP webpage.
Defense Acquisition University-Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SSCF): The announcement opened Jan. 29 and closes April 2. This Military Education Level One (MEL-1) Army-approved SSCF provides SSC equivalency at your local commuting area if you live in Maryland (Aberdeen Proving Ground), Alabama (Huntsville), or Michigan (Warren). The purpose of the SSCF is to provide leadership and acquisition training to prepare senior level civilians for senior leadership roles such as product and project managers, program executive officers and other key acquisition leadership positions. Participants not only graduate from an SSC, they will also complete the Army Program Managers Course (PMT 401), and have the option to complete a master’s degree. For additional information on this great GS-14/15 SSC, visit the DAU-SSCF website.
The announcement can be accessed through the Army Acquisition Professional Development System (AAPDS). Log in at the Career Acquisition Management Portal (CAMP). Next, click on Career Acquisition Personnel and Position Management Information System (CAPPMIS). Once in CAPPMIS, select the AAPDS tab, and then select the Application Module link. Click on Apply and view all Army DACM available opportunities.
REMINDER: Applicants need to complete the Civilian Education System (CES) advanced course prior to the start of the fellowship. If interested applicants have not yet completed the resident portion of the advanced course due to lack of seat availability, a waiver may be requested.
Naval Post Graduate School – Master’s of Science in Program Management (NPS-MSPM): The announcement closes March 18, 2014. NPS is the premier director of acquisition career management (DACM)-funded master’s degree program, and offers an opportunity to complete a master’s of science in program management on a part-time basis within two years. The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) Army DACM Office is the sponsor of the NPS-MSPM program and will fund the tuition and book costs.
This eight-quarter part-time degree opportunity is open to permanent civilian members of the Army acquisition workforce who are GS-11-15 or broadband or pay band equivalent and have met their current position Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification requirement. The target audience for the NPS-MSPM program is high-performing workforce members who have been identified by their organization as demonstrating the potential for positions of increased responsibility. Because of limited funds, this program is primarily intended for our Army acquisition applicants who do not currently have a master’s in an acquisition- or business-related discipline. Eligible Army acquisition workforce members must first obtain a letter of acceptance from the NPS prior to submitting an application through the USAASC Army DACM Office for consideration of funding. Selection of applicants will depend on funding availability.
For additional details and application instructions, visit the NPS-MSPM website.
School of Choice (SOC): There will not be a SOC announcement in FY14 because of the current fiscal environment. Should a command have an urgent need to send a high performing workforce member to obtain his or her bachelor’s or master’s degree during duty-time, please contact the AET Branch Chief Scott Greene to discuss potential for the DACM office to fund.
Having trouble keeping the dates straight? All of the opening and closing dates noted above are also posted to the USAASC Events Calendar.
FY14 DAU Course Registration: Students should continue to apply to the FY14 schedule using AITAS.
Student Application Profile: It is imperative that both student and supervisor email addresses are correctly listed on the AITAS student profile. For students with a disability, please ensure you select “Yes” on your student profile. This selection prompts a DAU Student Services representative to contact the student directly with additional questions and provide reasonable accommodations for student during the training period. For more information on DAU training to include, systematic instructions, training priority definition or FAQs, please visit DAU Training website.
Low-fill Classes: A weekly low-fill listing, posted on DAU’s website, allows students the opportunity to attend classes coming up in the next 60 days. Low-fill classes within 60 days from the start date of the class are available on a first-come, first-served basis for priority 2 students and 40 days for priority 3-5 students. Please remember that even if a class is on the low-fill list, students must choose the designated cost-effective location to minimize travel cost.
Alternate Delivery Method Courses: DAU continues to pilot innovative delivery methods to provide the same level of seat capacity of 57,000 and providing effective learning assets. Alternate delivery methods for student pilots include video teleconferencing (VTC), Telepresence using high-definition resolution, Defense Connect Online (DCO), and flipped classroom. The pilots will continue to run until the end of FY14. Upcoming pilots include ACQ 370, class 951 at Chester, Va., using flipped classroom format. Students interested in attending this pilot offering should apply in AITAS. This class is scheduled for three and a half days starting April 15 and ending at noon Eastern time, April 18. You will be required to complete several online activities that include several reading assignments, preparing and submitting a written summation of the readings, viewing a video, completing a group project, and taking a quiz. For more information, visit the flipped classrooms website.
College of Contract Management (CCM): CCM is now a new business unit under DAU with the primary goal to support tailored training for Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) employees. DAU deployed two new resident courses offered under the College of Contract Management (CCM), CMA 211 – Joint Government Flight Representative (GFR) and CMA 221-Joint Government Ground Representative (GGR). This is a certification course intended for those who will serve as an appointed GFR or GGR. If you are a supervisor or commander, contracting officer, contractor employee, or of another non-aircraft operations discipline who is interested in this subject matter, please pursue the Continuous Learning Module, CLX 110, “Fundamentals of GRF and GGR”. Commands must fund travel for both courses. DCMA employees, please seek travel funding from your unit.
DAU deployment of Single Sign-On (SSO): DAU recently deployed a single sign-on (SSO) capability, which allows users to authenticate once and have access to multiple applications within DAU for which they have privileges. SSO will allow users many self-service options such as resetting your own DAU password and re-activating login accounts without having to call the DAU Help Desk to reset or reactivate accounts to the DAU Virtual Campus; access to communities of practice hosted on Acquisition Community Connection; and other knowledge sharing resources like the Defense Acquisition Portal. The deployment of SSO did result in latency issues causing a high call volume to the DAU helpdesk. For quicker assistance, DAU advises students to email instead of calling the helpdesk.
- If you have questions on any Acquisition Education, Training, and Experience (AETE) programs or DAU Training, please contact the the AETE Branch Chief Scott Greene @ scott.greene4@us.army.mil
