Middle States Commission on Higher Education

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3624 Market Street. Philadelphia, PA 19104-2680. Tel: 267-284-5000. Fn: 215-662-5501

VI. fl www.msche.org

January 5,2016

Maj. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla, USMC

President

National Defense University

Bldg 62 - Marshall Hall

Fort McNair, DC 20319-5066

Dear General Padilla:

At its session on January 4, 2016, the Executive Committee for Substantive Change of the Middle

States Commission on [ligher Education acted:

To acknowledge receipt of the substantive change request. To include the

additional location at the Joint Forces Staff College, 1141 Stewart Avenue,

Colorado Springs, CO 80914 provisionally within the scope of the institution’s

accreditation pending a site visit within six months of the commencement of

operations at this location. The Commission requires written notification

within thirty days of the commencement of operations at this additional

location. In the event that operations at the additional location do not

commence within one calendar year from the approval of this action, approval

will lapse. The Periodic Review Report is due June 1,2018.

This action is a substantive change action. An explanation of this type of action is provided in the

Commission’s policy Accreditation Actions, which is available on the Commission’s website.

For more information on submitting a follow-up report, please see Commission guidelines Follow-up

Reports and Visits. The institution is obligated to make a full and honest disclosure in its reports.

If the request for a follow-up report includes Standard 3, the Commission requires that you

include in or submit with the report the following data for the three most recent years: Title IV

cohort default rates; USDE Financial Responsibility Composite Scores; and the status with

regard to Heightened Cash Management with USDE.

If the request for a follow-up report includes Standard 14, the Commission requires that you

include in or submit with the report the following data for the three most recent years: 1 OO%,

150%, and 200% normal time to completion graduation rates. For graduate-only institutions,

please provide appropriate data on student outcomes such as normal time to completion rates.

Enclosed is a copy of the institution’s Statement of Accreditation Status (SAS) for your review, If any

of the factual information is incorrect, please contact the Commission as soon as possible.

The Middle States Commission on higher Education aecredits institutions of higher education in Delaware, the District of Columbia,

Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other locutions abroad.
Maj. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla, USMC

Page 2

In accordance with the policy Advertising, Student Recruit,nent, and Representation ofAcciedited

Status, the accreditation status of the institution must be accurately represented. Please ensure that

published references to your institutions candidate status or accredited status (catalog, other

publications, web page) are accurate and include the full name, address, and telephone number of the

accrcditing agency, and the effective date (month and year) when status was granted. Candidate for

Accreditation is a status with the Commission that indicates that an institution has achieved

membership and is progressing toward, but is not assured of, accreditation.

Please be assured of the continuing interest of the Middle States Commission on 1-ligher Education in

the well-being of National Defense University. If any further clarification is needed regarding the

SAS or other items in this letter, please feel free to contact Dr. Debra G. Klinman, Vice President.

Sincerely,

George A. Pruitt, Ph.D.

Chair
I.iiJJIL Mll)Dl4l: S’I’;VI’KS (‘OiflhISSlON ON lIl(;IIER

3624 M:iikri Sireel. I’liihidelpliifl. PA 19103.26H1. Eel: 26-2S4—5OU{). Fn: 21S6&2—5501

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STATEMENT OF ACCREDITATION STATUS

NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY

Bldg 62 -Marshall Hall

Fort McNair, DC 20319-5066

Phone: (202) 685-1700; Fax: (202) 685-3935

www.ndu.edu

Chief Executive Officer: Maj. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla, USMC. President

INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION

Enrollment (Headcount): 1871 Graduate

Control: Public

Affiliation: Government-Federal- Department of Defense

Carnegie Classification: Not Classified

Approved Degree Levels: Postbaccalaureate Award/Cea/Diplorna, Masters;

Distance Education Programs: Fully Approved

Aecreditors Recognized by U.S. Secretary of Education: nla

Other Acereditors: Process for Joint Accreditation (PAJE) conducted by the Chairman of

the Joint Chiefs of Staff Centers of Academic Excellence by National Security Agency

Instructional Locations

Branch Campuses: Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA.

Additional Locations: John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Bank Hall, Fort

Bragg, NC; Joint Forces Staff College, Tampa, FL; Joint Forces Stall’ College, Colorado

Springs, CO (ANYA).

Other Instructional Sites: None

ACCREDITATION INFORMATION

Status: Member since 1997

Last Reaffirmed: November 21, 2013

Most Recent Commission Action:

January 4,2016: To acknowledge receipt of the substantive change request. To include

the additional location at the Joint Forces Staff College. 1141 Stewart

Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80914 provisionally within the scope of

the institution’s accreditation pending a site visit within six months of the
commencement of operations at this location. The Commission requires

written notification within thirty days of the commencement of

operations at this additional location. In the event that operations at the

additional location do not commence within one calendar year from the

approval of this action, approval will lapse. The Periodic Review Report

is due June 1,2018.

Brief History Since Last Comprehensive Evaluation:

November 21, 2013: To accept the monitoring repon and lo note the visit by the

Commission’s representatives. To remove the warning and reaffirm

accreditation because the institution is now in compliance with Standard

3 (Institutional Resources) and Standard 5 (Administration). To request a

progress report, due April 1,2015, providing further evidence that (1)

due consideration is granted to the role of the chief information officer in

making decisions about the allocation of institutional resources

(Standard 3); (2) administrative leaders in the area of information

technology are selected with appropriate consideration to continuity of

service, and have the skills, degrees and training to carry out their

responsibilities and functions (Standard 5); (3) adequate resources are

allocated to the institutional research office so that data are collected.

managed, archived and used to ensure effective decision-making

(Standard 7); and (4) institutional assessment results are used to renew

strategic planning, to support resource allocation, and to achieve

documented improvements in programs, sen’ices. and processes

(Standard 7). The Periodic Review Report is now due June 1,2018.

June 25. 2015: To accept the progress report. The Periodic Review Report is due June 1.

2018.

Next Self-Study Evaluation: 2022 -2023

Next Periodic Review Report: 2018

Date Printed: January 5, 2016

DEFINITIONS

Branch Campus - A location ofan institution that is geographically apart and independent of the main campus of

the institution. The location is independent if the location: offers courses in educational programs leading to a

degree! certificate, or other recognized educational credential: has its own faculty and administrative or supervisory

organization: and has its own budgetary’ and hiring authority.

Additional Location - A location, other than a branch campus, that is geographically apart from the main campus

and at which the institution offers at least 50 percent ofan educational program. ANYA (“Approved but Not Yet

Active”) indicates that the location is included within the scope of accreditation but has not yet begun to offer

courses, This designation is removed after the Commission receives notification that courses have begun at this

location.
Other Instructional Sites - A location, other than a branch campus or additional location, at which the institution

offers one or more courses for credit.

Distance Education Programs - Fully Approved, Approved (one program approved) or Not Approved indicates

whether or not the institution has been approved to offer diplom’cenicieidegree programs via distance education

(programs for which students could meet 50% or more of the requirements of the program by taking distance

education courses). Per the Commission’s Substantive Change policy, Commission approval of the first two

Distance Education programs is required to be ‘Fully Approved.” Ifonly one program is approved by the

Commission, the specific name of the program will be listed in parentheses after “Approved.”

Commission actions are explained in the policy Accrechiauon Actions.