News That Impacts Your Career
OFPP REVISES CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CORs
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) has revised the requirements for Federal Acquisition Certification for COTRs (FAC-COTR) to establish a risk-based, three-tiered certification program for the civilian agencies that reflects the important role of the COR. The term “COTR” is being changed to “COR” to align with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which now incorporates a definition for “Contracting Officer’s Representative” and includes designation of a COR as part of a Contracting Officer’s responsibilities. The new FAC-COR requirements will be effective January 1, 2012.
Where the previous FAC-COTR had just one level of certification for all CORs, the new FAC-COR has three levels of certification with varying requirements for training, experience, and continuous learning, depending on the types of contracts being managed.
- Level I — 8 hours of training and no experience required. This level of COR is generally appropriate for low-risk contract vehicles, such as supply contracts and orders.
- Level II — 40 hours of training and one (1) year of previous COR experience required. These CORs may be called upon to perform general project management activities and should be trained accordingly. This level of COR is generally appropriate for contract vehicles of moderate to high complexity, including both supply and service contracts.
- Level III — 60 hours of training and two (2) years of previous COR experience required on contracts of moderate to high complexity that require significant acquisition investment. Level III CORs are the most experienced CORs within an agency and should be assigned to the most complex and mission critical contracts within the agency. These CORs are often called upon to perform significant program management activities and should be trained accordingly. At a minimum, those CORs for major investments, as defined by OMB Circular A-11, shall generally be designated as Level III CORs.
CORs certified under the previous program are considered to have certain equivalencies under the new program.
IACCM TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
The International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) is a worldwide organization of senior contracts, sourcing, legal, and commercial management executives and managers. The mission of IACCM is to help its members develop innovations, best practices, and operational excellence. IACCM has over 22,000 members and an extended network of 9,445 corporations in 136 countries.
As part of its mission, IACCM has developed managed learning programs for both procurement and sell-side commercial and contract managers. These programs address:
- Skills Assessment — Assess your individual or team’s skills against commercial competencies, identifying development needs against external benchmarks.
- Managed Learning — A flexible but structured web-based learning program, designed to educate practitioners in contract management throughout the contract lifecycle.
- Certification — An internationally recognized certification in contract and commercial management.
More information is available at www.iaccm.com.
PMI GLOBAL CONGRESS 2011 — NORTH AMERICA
The Project Management Institute (PMI) will hold its PMI® Global Congress 2011 – North America on October 22-25, 2011 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. There are numerous seminar and educational sessions in the following areas of focus: Consulting and Sales Skills – General Business Skills – Government – Industry Specific Issues – Project Management Issues – Professional Development – Project Management Tools– Project Management Skills – Research Track – Soft Skills – New Project Management Trends.
Further information may be found at www.pmi.org. Visit AGU at Booth 1004.
30TH ANNUAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
The National Contract Management Association (NCMA) will sponsor the 30th Annual Government Contract Management Conference on November 14-15, 2011 in Bethesda, Maryland. The conference is expected to attract more than 1,000 attendees from industry and government.
Sessions at this year’s conference include: Debt-Ceiling Update & What It Means – Green Procurement Solutions – FAR Policy & Legislative Updates – Demystifying the Compliance & Ethics Requirements of FAR: Setting Your Company Up for Success – CloudIT Solutions – OFPP Myth-busting Initiative – Best Practices for the 21st Century Business Advisor – Key Enabling Decisions for ADR Success– University Engagement: Talent Within Your Reach – Veteran Hiring Initiatives – The New Sheriff: COR/COTR Rules of Engagement – FAI Strategic Partnership Initiatives – Small Business Initiatives & Strategies.
The conference will be held at the Bethesda North Marriott, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, Maryland 20852, (800) 859-8003. More information may be found under “Events” at www.ncmahq.org. Visit AGU at Booth 206.
AGU Update
AGU AGAIN DESIGNATED AS “MILITARY FRIENDLY SCHOOL”
G.I. Jobs, the premier magazine for military personnel transitioning into civilian life, has awarded American Graduate University the designation of Military Friendly School. The 2012 Military Friendly School list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members and veterans as students.
In its effort to help student veterans find the right school, G.I. Jobs incorporated a survey of student veterans for the first time. This feedback provides prospective military students with insight into the student veteran experience at a particular institution based on peer reviews from current students. Student veteran survey feedback can be viewed at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/2012list. Michael Dakduk, Executive Director for the Student Veterans of America agrees. “The Military Friendly Schools list is the go-to resource for prospective student veterans searching for schools that provide the right overall experience. Nothing is more compelling than actual feedback from current student veterans.” Service members and veterans can also meet individual student veterans from the various schools virtually on the site to learn more about personal school decisions and the transition from the military to an academic environment.
The 1,518 colleges, universities and trade schools on this year’s list prioritize the recruitment of students with military experience. These schools are making the grade by offering scholarships and discounts, veterans’ clubs, full-time staff, military credit and other services to those who served. The 2012 list of Military Friendly Schools® was compiled through extensive research and a data driven survey of more than 8,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board (AAB) consisting of educators from schools across the country. A full list of board members can be found at http://militaryfriendlyschools.com/Article/advisory-board/.
A full story and detailed list of Military Friendly Schools® will be highlighted in the annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools and on a poster, both of which will be distributed to hundreds of thousands of active and former military personnel in early October. The newly redesigned website, found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com, features the list, interactive tools and search functionality to assist military veterans with their school decisions. The site will be updated with the 2012 list on Monday, September 12th.
TIPS FOR STUDENTS
Tips for students on acceptance packages, change of name, and the student handbook.
Acceptance Packages — When a new student receives his or her acceptance package, it is important that it be opened and read. It contains important information and documents that need to be signed and returned to AGU. The package contains the student’s degree plan, AGU’s Student Handbook, and the AGU Catalog. These documents need to be read thoroughly. Too often, the AGU staff receives questions from students that would have been answered if the student had read the handbook, catalog, and their degree plan.
Also contained in the acceptance package is the University’s Code of Conduct and Student Performance Fact Sheet that need to be read, signed and returned to AGU.
Change of Name or Address — We understand that students may change their physical address, their e-mail address, and even their name. AGU’s staff tries to be as responsive and efficient as possible but they do not read minds. Please let the staff know when you have made any of the above changes. You can e-mail us at studentservices@patten.edu or use the Contact Us function on our website (www.agu.edu).
Student Handbook — Students receive a physical copy of the AGU Student Handbook in their acceptance package. However, we publish a revised Student Handbook at the beginning of each calendar year. The current version is always available at the Student Center on the AGU website (www.agu.edu).
Advance Your Career With AGU
AGU COURSE 603 EQUIVALENT TO DAU’S CON 216
AGU’s Course 603 “Government Contract Law” has received
equivalency to
the Defense Acquisition University course CON 216 “Legal Considerations
in Contracting”. AGU students completing Course 603 can now
receive
credit from DAU for their course CON 216.
AGU COURSE 601 EQUIVALENT TO THREE DAU COURSES
American Graduate University has achieved equivalency for
its Course 601, “Federal Government Contracting,” for several Defense Acquisition University courses. The DAU courses are CON 110, “Mission Support Planning,” CON 111, “Mission Planning Execution,” and CON 112, “Mission Performance Assessment.”
AGU students completing the 30 module distance education course will receive
credit for the three DAU courses. AGU Course 601 includes coverage on:
- Contract Procedures
- Laws and Regulations Governing Procurement
- Government Contract Law
- Methods of Procurement
- Types of Contracts
- Developing the Requirement
- Developing the Solicitation
- Statements of Objectives/ Statements of Work
- Source Selection Procedures
- Government Marketing/Business Development
- Proposal Preparation
- Pricing
- Estimating
|
- Profit and Fee
- Cost or Pricing Data
- Price and Cost Analysis
- Cost Principles and Cost Accounting
Standards
- Negotiation Techniques
- Contract Terms and Conditions
- Contract Financing
- Contract Management and Administration
- Contract Changes
and Modifications
- Remedies, Disputes and Claims
- Terminations for Default
- Terminations for Convenience
|
In addition, AGU faculty and staff will be working on developing several new distance courses to apply for equivalency to other DAU courses.
AGU
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