Defense Acquisition University The Defense Acquisition University ( DAU ) is a Department of Defense ( DoD ) training establishment authorized by Congress under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act of 1990 and established by DoD Directive 5000 . 57 on October 22 , 1991 , that trains the approximately 150 , 000 military and civilian DoD personnel in the fields of acquisition , technology , and logistics . In addition , DAU provides services to defense contractors . DAU is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education . DAU provides the following services : Locations . DAU serves members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce who are located around the country and world . Branch campuses are located in areas with a high concentration of Defense Acquisition Workforce members . Each branch campus focuses its training on the workforce members in its region . DAU ’ s branch campuses are found in the following locations : DAU headquarters is at Fort Belvoir , Virginia . History . DAU was created as a result of critical necessity , identified in high - level studies and legislation , for providing the Department of Defense Acquisition , Technology and Logistics workforce with a professional career path and consistency of training content and opportunity . The Department of Defense issued DoD Directive 5000 . 57 October 1991 , which served as the University ’ s charter . Originally a loose consortium of existing training commands , DAU worked to standardize the training courses and establish mechanisms that that allowed for centralized equitable management of training funds for the DoD ( AT & L ) workforce . During the late 1990s , the consortium arrangement was replaced with a centralized structure that operated more like a corporate university with a focus on case - based instruction and emphasizes the use of distance learning , mission assistance and knowledge sharing . The new structure also centralizes course development under DAU headquarters . On February 8 , 2006 , the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition , Technology and Logistics issued DoD Instruction 5000 . 57 , which supersedes DoD Directive 5000 . 57 . This new instruction describes the mission , responsibilities , functions and authorities of DAU . Learning assets . DAU has implemented the AT & L Performance Learning Model ( PLM ) . Training The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act ( DAWIA ) requires Defense Acquisition Workforce members to be certified for the position they hold . DAU offers training courses for all Defense Acquisition Workforce members in 14 career fields and at three certification levels . Through DAU ’ s Core Certification and Core Plus training courses , the workforce can fulfill the training requirements needed to achieve the certification required by DAWIA . Continuous Learning DAU ’ s Continuous Learning Center ( CLC ) DAU ’ s Continuous Learning Center ( CLC ) helps the Defense Acquisition Workforce acquire continuous learning points to remain current in their positions . Continuous learning modules cover specific acquisition topics . Mission Assistance DAU ’ s multidisciplinary faculty provides consulting services to variable - sized teams in acquisition organizations . Knowledge Sharing DAU provides the AT & L community extensive knowledge sharing assets available anytime and anywhere to promote career - long learning and workplace effectiveness . Learning products include knowledge repositories , communities of practice , performance learning tools , best practices , and search capabilities . DAU ' s publishing arm , DAU Press , provides a number of online publications , along with its flagship publications , Defense AT & L Magazine and the Acquisition Research Journal . Awards . In 2009 , DAU ’ s Defense AT & L magazine received the International Association of Business Communicators ( IABC ) Silver Inkwell Excellence in Communications Award . The magazine was judged by senior communicators in the Washington , D . C . , area and won in the category of Government / Military Communications . On September 29 , 2009 , DAU was presented with two awards during the Chief Learning Officer Symposium in Colorado Springs , Colorado . The Global Learning and Technology Center ( GLTC ) received the Learning Team Award for high performance teams that implemented learning best practices and programs on a global scale . The awards are peer - reviewed and judged by learning executives from the public and private sectors . On June 6 , 2013 , DAU received the 2012 regional DC - Metro area International Coach Federation ( ICF ) Prism Award recognizing excellence and achievement in organizational coaching . As the regional winner , DAU will compete for the ICF Global Prism Award . See the full list of awards » Strategic Partnerships . DAU maintains strategic partnerships with more than 160 colleges and universities that offer credit for DAU courses toward degrees and certificates . While each partnership is unique , the objective of the partnership program is to provide opportunities to maximize academic accomplishments by receiving credit for DAU courses toward an undergraduate , graduate , or certificate program offered by a strategic partner . See the full list of affiliations » Alumni association . The Defense Acquisition University is supported by an active alumni association that partners with the DAU and industry to provide additional learning opportunities for the Acquisition Workforce . Some examples of efforts supported by the DAUAA are the annual research paper competition , an annual symposium , periodic hot topic forums , through partnerships with industry , and more . Each of the DAU regional campus locations have DAUAA chapters . Controversy . On July 2011 a hacking incident occurred affecting DAU ’ s Web - based training site . This incident occurred on a vendor ’ s network that provides the underlying source code of the learning management system . This inhibited access to online courses for almost two months . While DAU was not hacked , U . S . Cyber Command ( U . S . CYBERCOM ) evaluated the risk level to DAU ’ s system based on the incident that occurred on the vendor ’ s network and temporarily suspended online training course operations to secure the system and protect the personal information of students . Accessibility issues . Students accessing DAU ' s training website DAU Online must use Microsoft ' s Internet Explorer versions 6 - 8 . No support is provided for IE9 or for other browsers such as Chrome , Firefox , or Opera though they have higher security protection . This restriction may violate the Competition in Contracting Act ( " CICA " ) , 10 U . S . C . § 2304 ( a ) ( 1 ) if goods or services leading to a " Microsoft Only " access requirement resulted from inappropriate procurement practices . See also . = References =