DAU Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SSCF)

The DAU-SSCF program is a 10-month educational senior leadership development opportunity sponsored by the Office of the Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM). DAU-SSCF is conducted under the auspices of the DAU through the Redstone Arsenal, Picatinny Arsenal NJ, and Virtual Seminars. The purpose of DAU-SSCF is to provide leadership and acquisition training to prepare senior level civilians for leadership roles such as Product and Project Manager, Program Executive Officer, and other key acquisition leadership positions to include contracting. On March 28, 2013, IAW Army Reg 621-7, the Army approved the DAU-SSCF program as Military Education Level-1 (MEL-1) Senior Service College equivalent. DAU-SSCF is the only civilian Fellowship approved by the Army.

The program conducts multiple acquisition activities to include:

• Credit for completion of the DAU Program Management Course (PMT 4010)
• Leadership Courses (such as Ethics, Communications, ACQ 450 Series)
• Studies in resource requirements and acquisition integration for senior and strategic leaders
• Studies in executive leadership
• Applications of acquisition in national defense/security study
• Acquisition training in Life Cycle Management linked to Life Cycle Management Commands (LCMC)
• Research in acquisition issues and processes
• Mentoring program with government and industry senior leaders
• Senior Leadership Speaker’s Program

DAU-SSCF Policy

Key Dates

• Announcement Opening Date: November 4, 2024
• Announcement Closing Date: January 24, 2025
• Applicant Selection Notification: Spring 2025
• Class begins: Late July 2025

DAU-SSCF Locations:

• Resident Seminars: Redstone Arsenal and Picatinny, NJ
• Virtual Seminar

Note 1: Effective December 2018, applicants with duty locations (note: this includes remote agreement locations) within 60 miles of a Senior Service College (SSC) (i.e. The Eisenhower School, Army War College), may not apply to the DAU-SSCF. Applicants must apply to SSC via the Army’s Senior Enterprise Talent Management (SETM) program announcements.

Note 2: Effective December 2020, Applicants not local to a SSC, or one of the above DAU-SSCF locations are welcome to apply to DAU-SSCF, under the virtual seminar option.

Note 3:  The Virtual Seminar requires full time participation, at your own workstation, and is conducted in conjunction with a resident seminar.  All Fellows will participate in a series of courses, an elective or directed research project, resident and online courses and site visits, taken over a ten-month period. Each course is composed of numerous lessons. The lesson is the basic unit of instruction and consists of selected readings and other educational materials that support accomplishment of course objectives. Course performance is evaluated through writing forum participation and exercise requirements. Individual student requirements are subjective in nature, based on required study and designed to ensure that course objectives are attained. Regardless of individual cohort status (resident or virtual), attendance at scheduled resident exercises and site visits are required for successful completion of the curriculum.

Table of Distribution and Allowances

All DAU-SSCF selectees will remain on their current organization’s TDA while attending the DAU-SSCF program. The command must address the TDA requirement in the Command Endorsement Memorandum.

Funding

The Army DACM Office will fund the tuition cost of the program for Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) civilian participants. Non-AAW participants will be responsible for the cost of tuition, any per diem and travel cost, and are subject to participation on a space availability basis only.

Post Utilization

The DACM has directed that all Army personnel attending DAU-SSCF should be assigned to broadening positions, ideally of greater responsibility, upon completion of the program. The follow-on assignment process, to include the identification of the position the individual will be placed in, should be conducted within six months following the selection for the DAU-SSCF. Identification of position and placement of each individual upon DAU-SSCF completion is a command responsibility. Although identification and placement is a command responsibility, the Army DACM Office will assist in identifying potential post-fellowship opportunities. The command will address the commitment to assign the individual to a broadening position ideally of greater responsibility in the Command Endorsement Memorandum, which must be submitted as part of the application.

Applications are welcome from Army and non-Army Civilians. Following are the eligibility requirements for each applicant type. NOTE: Non-Army Acquisition Workforce Civilians (i.e. DOD, Federal Service and Industry) applicants must demonstrate eligibility equivalency for all criteria identified.

• Be a permanent GS-14/15 (or equivalent broadband) Department of the Army Civilian, with Career Status.
• Occupy an Army acquisition-coded position.
• Have a Secret clearance at time of application
• Possess a bachelor’s degree
• Be identified by their organization as on track for executive level service. This information should be addressed in the Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (SRPE).
  • AAW must submit SRPE, via the AAPDS/CAPPMIS System
  • Non-AAW will address the SRPE in their Endorsement Package. [Note:  For content reference only, a blank SRPE is available for download here].
• Applicant must meet the DAWIA certification requirement or are within grace period for their current position and hold the grade of GS-14/15 (or broadband equivalent), prior to application.
• AAW must submit ACRB, via the AAPDS/CAPPMIS System
• Non-AAW will address all DAWIA eligibility criteria, typically documented on the ACRB, in their Endorsement Package.   [Note:  For content reference only, a blank ACRB is available for download here].

• Army Civilian Education System (CES) Advanced Course completion by April 15, 2025.

  • If completed prior to January 24, 2025: AAW will have CES Advanced Phase I (Distance Learning) and Phase II (Resident) documented on their ACRB, and will upload supporting documentation into AAPDs. Note: Course completion can be met in one of three ways: CES Advanced Course completion (both phases); Equivalent Credit and/or Constructive Credit.
  • If not completed prior to January 24, 2025: Upload registration confirmation to attend CES Advanced Phase II (Resident) into AAPDS – registration confirmation must show that the Phase II (Resident) course will be completed prior to April 15, 2025. Once completed, send completion documentation to the DAU-SSCF Program Manager at kelly.n.quigley.civ@army.mil by April 15, 2025.

Note:
CES Advanced Course: https://armyuniversity.edu/amsc/courses/advanced
CES Equivalent Credit: https://www.atrrs.army.mil/CHRTAS/Equivalency/Request/Home
CES Constructive Credit: https://www.atrrs.army.mil/CHRTAS/ConstructiveCredit/Request/Home

The documents identified below under Required Documents must be submitted in full in order to receive consideration. All required documents must be submitted by AAW through the online application tool, AAPDS, as discussed above. Incomplete applications or submissions received outside of AAPDS will be deemed ineligible.

• Complete online applications must be finalized and submitted NLT 5:59 p.m., 24 January 2025. Late applications will not be accepted.
• Applications are subject to verification
• Application Best Practices: https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/best-practices/

Note: You must upload or type the requested information in these sections within AAPDS:

• Verification of Applicant/Supervisor Data: Validate your email address and your supervisor’s information; check the boxes if your email address and supervisor’s information is correct.

Please select the location you desire to attend; one selection is required.

• DAU-SSCF Site Selection: You must annotate 1 of the following options, as your site selection for the program year advertised. Note 1: If your duty location is within 60 miles of either of the following sites, you must select that site for resident participation, vice virtual. Note 2: Applicants with duty locations (note: this includes remote agreement locations) within 60 miles of a Senior Service College (i.e. The Eisenhower School, Army War College), may not apply to the DAU-SSCF:
  • Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
  • Picatinny, New Jersey
  • Virtual Seminar

• The board will be administered by the Army DACM Office to select the best-qualified candidates from those nominated. The senior-level board will make selections based upon an assessment of the qualifications and potential of each nominee for continued outstanding service to the Army, the level and degree to which the nominee possesses the knowledge and abilities required of the program, the appropriateness of the training to the nominee’s occupation, and the overall benefit to the nominee and the Army as reflected in the official record before the board. The board will review the training, education and experience of each applicant and make a recommendation to the DACM.
• The Army DACM Office DAU-SSCF Program Manager will notify all applicants of the board results. Successful candidates must accept or decline attendance, in writing, within ten (10) calendar days of notification. In accordance with AR 350-1, a selectee who declines a quota will be removed from any future consideration for the DAU-SSCF Program. The Army DACM Office DAU-SSCF Program Manager (contact info below) should be notified telephonically of any declination. The declination must be followed up in writing by memorandum through the organization’s chain of command to USAASC (addressed to the Director, Acquisition Career Management, 9900 Belvoir Road, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060). Please email the memorandum to the Army DACM Office DAU-SSCF Program Manager (contact info below).

The Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office requests assistance in identifying research topics related to real world acquisition challenges. Proposed topics will be compiled and may be used in research papers by civilian/military scholars participating in Senior Service Colleges, Naval Postgraduate School, Defense Acquisition University-Senior Service College Fellowship, and Advanced Civil Schooling.  The research topics compiled are not mandatory for any student to use.

If you have an UNCLASSIFIED acquisition research topic proposal, fill out the Research Topic PDF and submit it to the DAU-SSCF Program Manager at kelly.l.terry2.civ@army.mil.

Ms. Kelly Quigley
USAASC, Army DACM Office
Kelly.n.quigley.civ@army.mil