UMT and the DAU Forms Strategic Partnership to Promote Acquisition Management and Project Management

ARLINGTON, Virginia, January 30, 2004 - UMT and the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) have formed a strategic partnership to promote acquisition management and project management education.

UMT and DAU signed a strategic partnering agreement during a ceremony on January 6, 2004. The agreement has UMT and DAU working together to serve the educational needs of the acquisition workforce in the Department of Defense (DoD). Based on the agreement, UMT will accept DAU coursework as academic fare, and will offer credit for these courses which can be applied to work on a UMT degree or executive certificate program. UMT programs covered under the agreement include:

• Master of Science in Management, Project Management major
• Master of Science in Management, Acquisition Management major
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Executive Certificate in Project Management
• Executive Certificate in Acquisition Management
• Graduate Certificate in Project Management
• Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

Among the courses that are eligible to receive transfer credit are:

• ACQ 101. Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition Management (3 undergraduate credits)
• ACQ 201. Intermediate Systems Acquisition (3 graduate credits)
• PMT 250. Program Management Tools (3 graduate credits)
• PMT 352. Program Management Office (3 graduate credits)

Other DAU courses are eligible for transfer credit as well. For more information on transferability of courses, go to http://www.umtweb.edu/dau/transfer.htm.

Acquisition professionals essentially deal with acquiring capital assets. In general, acquisition management combines program management and contracting principles and practices. Some specific fields such as logistics and systems engineering are also considered components of acquisition management.

Currently, the Department of Defense alone employs 130,000 acquisition professionals. Other government departments such as the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Health and Human Services (HHS) also promote acquisition management as a profession. The defense community is concerned that between 2005 and 2007, it will lose half of its acquisition workforce to retirement. A top priority at DoD and many other government agencies is to educate and train a new generation of qualified acquisition professionals as quickly as possible.

The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) became law in 1990. It creates a three level career track in acquisition management that allows employees to advance their careers through education and training. To advance in the acquisition management career path, acquisition professionals are required to upgrade their knowledge regularly through education and training. For civilians to become government acquisition professionals, they can go through a two-year Acquisition Management Internship Program. A bachelor degree is required for such program.

Over the past few years, DoD has engaged in a major reform of its acquisition management processes. Not only do DoD managers need to understand the new processes, government contractors and subcontractors do as well. Consequently, interest in current acquisition management practice is high both in the public and private sectors.

UMT specializes in education and training in acquisition management, project management, and contract management, offering degrees and certificates in these fields. UMT Academic Dean, Dr. Frame says, “Clearly, the impending shortfall of acquisition professionals in government will create great career opportunities for people who commit themselves to learning acquisition management principles and practices.”

UMT is listed in the DAU strategic partnership database. To view the listing, please click here.