 The
AGU Earnings Advantage
According
to a 2007 U.S. Census Bureau study, professionals
with an advanced degree earn an average median salary that's
$19,000 (34%) more per year than professionals with only a bachelor's
degree. Over a 25-year career, this earnings advantage
adds up to $475,000.
With
AGU's affordable tuition of just $750 per course, you can earn
your master's degree (36 credits) for $9,000 (or less if you
transfer course credits). Based on the Census Bureau's salary
study, this means many AGU graduates are able to recoup their
full investment — and more — within one year of completing their coursework. |
News That Impacts Your Career
LANDMARK ANTI-FRAUD BILL SIGNED BY PRESIDENT
On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fraud Enforcement
and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA). The new statute, which aims
to “improve enforcement” of laws prohibiting mortgage, financial
institution, securities and other frauds related to “federal
assistance and relief programs” and to facilitate the recovery
of federal funds lost to those frauds, barreled through Congress
with little dissent or debate.
Public attention to the bill has
focused on provisions that reclassify mortgage lenders as financial
institutions and expand federal criminal liability for mortgage
fraud, securities fraud, and major fraud against the United States
involving Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. Perhaps more significantly,
however, FERA amends the civil False Claims Act (FCA) to greatly
expand the statute’s reach while eliminating certain legal arguments
that companies and organizations accused of FCA violations have
used to defend against those claims.
FERA amends the federal criminal
code to include mortgage lending businesses in the definition
of “financial institutions” and thereby make
them subject to anti-fraud statutes. Even mortgage lending businesses
that are entirely privately funded are encompassed in the new
definition; as President Obama noted in his remarks upon signing
FERA, the bill “expands DOJ’s authority to prosecute fraud that
takes place in many of the private institutions not covered under
current federal bank fraud criminal statutes – institutions where
more than half of all subprime mortgages came from as recently
as four years ago.
FERA also expands criminal liability for major fraud against
the United States. It specifically prohibits participating in a
scheme with the intention of obtaining money through false or fraudulent
representations or promises made “in any grant, contract, subcontract, subsidy,
loan, guarantee, insurance, or other form of Federal assistance,
including through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, an economic
stimulus, recovery or rescue plan provided by the Government,
or the Government’s purchase of any troubled asset as defined
in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
Other amendments to the criminal code add to the securities
fraud statute and close certain loopholes in the forfeiture provisions
of the anti-money laundering statute.
FERA amends and expands the civil FCA in various ways that
increase the risk of investigation and civil enforcement actions
for recipients of federal funds, although it does not go so far
as some of the proposed amendments to the FCA that were considered
by Congress last year. Among other things, FERA makes the following
changes to the FCA:
- It extends liability to persons who “shortchange” the government,
i.e. who possess or control money or property used, or to be
used, by the government and knowingly deliver less than the full
amount, or who falsely certify receipt of property used, or to
be used by the government.
- It eliminates the requirement that the false claim be presented
to a representative of the United States government. It provides
that false “claims” can include
requests for payment or property that are made either to the federal government
or to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient of federal funds. Subcontractors,
subgrantees, and vendors are now explicitly covered by the Act. This revision
allows for the “tracing” of federal funds through state and local government
agency grants, as well as other public or even private entities, as long as the
funding or some portion of it comes from the federal government and “is to be
spent or used on the Government’s behalf or to advance a
Government program or interest.” (emphasis added). The amendment also eliminates the former requirement
that the false record or statement must have been used “to get” a false or fraudulent
claim paid. Instead of such a direct connection between the false statement and
payment of the claim, it requires only a looser connection, i.e. that the false
record or statement was “material to” a false or fraudulent claim.
- It expands the definition of a prohibited “reverse false claim” to
include all efforts to knowingly and improperly avoid or decrease
the repayment of money or property to the government, with or
without the use of a false record or statement.
- It permits the government to add claims to a whistleblower
action that would otherwise be barred by the applicable statute
of limitations by providing that these additional claims shall
be considered to have been filed as of the date of the initial
qui tam lawsuit.
- It extends anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers
to include contractors and agents.
Contractors and grantees, or subcontractors and subgrantees,
who receive, use, or administer federal dollars, have increased
risk under FCA, particularly as it has been amended by FERA.
Contractors can protect themselves by implementing pro-active,
effective compliance policies and procedures to ensure that federal
funds are appropriately used and distributed in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the contracts, grants, and programs
in which they participate. This is the best insurance against
a FCA suit alleging that it “knowingly” or “recklessly” mishandled
or misused federal funds.
INTERIM FAR RULES ON RECOVERY ACT IMPLEMENTATION
Interim Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules were issued March 31 implementing certain contracting-related provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The rules address:
- Publicizing Contract Actions – Contracting officers must use
the government-wide point of entry, Federal Business Opportunities,
and the Federal Procurement Data System – Next
Generation to provide for consistency and transparency in the
reporting of Recovery Act actions.
- Reporting Requirements – Contractors must report quarterly
on their use of funds received under ARRA, including contract
or other award number, the dollar amount of invoices, the supplies
or services delivered, and a broad assessment of progress toward
completion. The report also must include specific information
about first-tier subcontract awards.
- Whistleblower Protections – Nonfederal employers are prohibited
from discharging, demoting, or discriminating against an employee
as a reprisal for disclosing information regarding waste, fraud,
and abuse of ARRA funds.
- Buy American Requirements – Prohibits the use of ARRA funds
for any construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair project
for a public building or public work unless all the iron, steel,
and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the
United States. The law requires that this prohibition be applied
in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international
agreements, and provides for a waiver under three circumstances:
(1) iron, steel, or manufactured goods are not produced in the
United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities
and of a satisfactory quality; (2) inclusion of iron, steel,
or manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase
the cost of the contract by more than 25 percent; and (3) applying
the domestic preference would be inconsistent with the public
interest.
- GAO and IG Access – Provides for the audit and review by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) and inspectors general
(IGs) of both contracts and subcontracts containing ARRA funds.
For GAO, three alternate clauses provide specific authority for
the comptroller general to audit contracts and subcontracts and
to interview contractor and subcontractor employees under contracts
using Recovery Act funds. Agency IGs receive the same authorities,
with the exception of interviewing subcontractor employees.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT BOOKS AND TEMPLATES
Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning,
Scheduling, and Controlling, 10th Edition, Harold Kerzner, Ph.D., ISBN: 978-0-470-27870-3, Hardcover, 1120 pages, March 2009.
The 10th edition of this text aligns to the latest edition
of the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMI’s PMBOK® Guide). This edition gives students and professionals an understanding of project management with insights from one of the best-known authorities on the subject.
From the intricate framework of organizational behavior and
structure that can determine project success to the planning, scheduling,
and controlling processes vital to effective project management,
the new edition covers every key component of the subject. This
10th edition features:
- New sections on scope changes,
exiting a project, collective belief,
and managing virtual teams
- More than twenty-five case studies,
including a new case on the
Iridium Project covering all aspects
of project management
- 400 discussion questions
- More than 125 multiple choice questions
The Lazy Project Manager; Hardcover; 160 pages; Publisher:
Infinite Ideas Limited UK (August 31, 2009); Language: English;
ISBN-10: 1906821135; ISBN-13: 978-1906821135, info at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com
In “The Lazy Project Manager” Peter Taylor illustrates
how to achieve more without expending more time and energy. Welcome
to the home of “productive laziness.” Here there is a more focused approach to project management and our efforts are exercised where it really matters – there’s no rushing around involving ourselves in unimportant, non-critical activities that others can better address, or indeed that do not need addressing at all in some cases. It’s all about working smarter and Peter Taylor, head of a PMO at Siemens, gives away his trade secrets. This is not a training manual. You won’t turn into a project manager by reading this book. But Peter, acting as virtual coach, will help you to identify and focus on the activities in your projects, do them well and enjoy the world of productive laziness.
Project Management Templates – The
Project Management Templates Kit from Method 123 ($295) includes
more than 50 templates, plans and forms covering the entire project
life cycle. It helps a project team to start up, plan and execute
projects. The kit can be downloaded immediately. Each template
opens in Microsoft Word with fill-in gaps to create project-unique
documents (www.method123.com).
NIGP FORUM IN ST. LOUIS
The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (NIGP) will hold its 64th Annual Forum and Products Exposition in St. Louis on August 22-26, 2009. NIGP is a national, membership based, non-profit organization which develops, supports and promotes the public sector purchasing profession.
Over 1,200 procurement professionals from the U.S. and Canada
attend NIGP’s annual conference. This year’s five-day event will offer over 50 workshops on the most current topics in public procurement.
The cost is $675 for NIGP members and $775 for non-members.
More information may be found at www.nigp.org.
WEAPON SYSTEMS ACQUISITION ACT OF 2009 BECOMES LAW
President Obama signed the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act (S. 454) on May 22. The new law requires the Department of Defense to form a new Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, requires competitive prototyping, and gives the combat commanders more say in what systems to acquire.
The new CAPE office would have, along with its directors,
two deputy directors – one for cost assessment and another for program evaluation.
Among other provisions, the new Act will:
- Create two director-level positions under the Pentagon’s acquisition chief: one to oversee and issue guidance on developmental test and evaluation, and another to manage the Pentagon’s
systems engineering efforts. The two directors must deliver to Congress
an annual report on these matters.
- Direct the Joint Requirements Oversight Council
(JROC) to “seek input” from the military’s
combatant commanders when making decisions on weapon requirements.
- Require the JROC to establish “a schedule objective for each requirement.”
- Ensure that “officials outside the JROC who are responsible for acquisition,
budget, and cost estimation are given a chance to develop estimates of cost
and schedule before the JROC approves a requirement, and that requirements
are structured in a way that will allow for incremental, evolutionary, or
spiral development.”
- Assign the deputy defense secretary to send
Congress a yearly report on program cost estimates.
- Require more prototypes. The defense secretary
must “modify acquisition guidance to require competitive prototyping prior to a Milestone B decision.” But there is a loophole: “waivers
in the event prototyping is not affordable or in the interest of national
security.”
- Mandate Pentagon officials to examine the
tradeoffs among cost, schedule and performance objectives when crafting
and approving new weapon programs.
- Put one defense official in charge of “issuing guidance related to performance
assessment for acquisition programs and for analyzing the root causes of
poor performance, including reviews conducted after Nunn-McCurdy breaches.”
A number of requirements put into law what DOD offices have
already been doing. Some critics question whether the new law’s provisions are strong enough to solve the major problems in acquiring new systems – changing requirements, under estimating, not understanding the complexity of major programs, and using immature technologies.
AGU Update
AGU STUDENT SUPPORT
If you are an AGU degree or certificate student and circumstances are keeping you from making the progress we know you want to make, the AGU staff wants to help. Please contact our Student Support Specialist Rachel Lopez at studentservices@patten.edu or 877-351-6090, ext. 1005 to explain your situation. She will help you with a complementary extension in your current coursework so you can be back on the path to completion of your Master’s degree or Master’s certificate – an important milestone in your career.
 NEW AGU REGISTRAR
We would like to extend a big welcome to Debbie McDonald, AGU's new Registrar. Debbie comes to AGU from K&A Associates, an outsourcing intellectual property management and paralegal services firm. You can contact her at studentservices@patten.edu, or by phone at 877-351-6090, ext. 1001.
FOCUS ON THE FACULTY
Jim Southerland — Defense Industry Contracts Specialist
 For those of you in Acquisition Management or Contract Management, you are certain to have Jim Southerland for one or more courses. Jim teaches the basic course 601, Federal Government Contracting and its equivalent 632, Contracting and Procurement for Project Managers.
Jim has worked with the University since 1985 and has been
a distance education instructor for the past six years.
He worked in the defense industry prior to that as a
manager of contracts in both domestic and international
programs. He is the owner of Contracts Advisory Services,
Inc., a small consulting firm which specializes in advice
on the federal government acquisition chain. Jim is a
graduate of Purdue University, BS Air Transportation,
and the University of Southern California, MS Systems
Management. His years of experience enable him to provide
guidance to students in the application of the process
to the acquisition system. He very much enjoys questions
from students and phone calls when the subject is really
complicated.
Jim also instructs course 613, Business Development and
Proposal Preparation, and course 635, Negotiations-Principles
and Practices.
He and his wife, Sylvia, have three children. They include
an architect, an artistic director of live theater, and
a marriage and family counselor. The Southerlands enjoy
travel, both domestic and international, but have to
plan ahead since they rescued a two year old black and
tan Dachshund they have named Gretel. |
New Catalog on AGU Website
Check out our new 2009 Degree & Certificate Catalog. AGU has also recently added several new programs in the area of supply chain management and general management. To register for your next course (or courses), go to the online AGU
Student Center. If you have questions about what course you should take next based on your particular program course of study, please email to studentservices@patten.edu or call an AGU Academic Advisor at 1-877-351-9060,
ext. 1003.
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
- Contract Closeout
|
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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