James Lepse

The National Defense University's Joint Education Transformation Initiative aims to enhance the student educational experience, advance Joint Education, Leader Development, scholarship, and resource utilization through university-wide collaboration. The initiative addresses the need for change due to independent curriculum development across NDU colleges and the requirement to incorporate Desired Leader Attributes and lessons from the Decade of War Study. It focuses on developing effective leaders for a complex national security environment with decreasing resources.

The strategic plan for the National Defense University (NDU) focuses on better equipping future leaders for an increasingly complex and dynamic security environment with severely reduced resources. The plan includes student assessments, tailored programs, learning contracts, foundational expertise, specialized expertise and personalized strategic leader development. The goal is to emphasize elements from several common adult learning theories. It emphasizes the importance of the Chairman's Desired Leader Attributes, which include "the ability to anticipate and recognize change and lead transitions."

The National Defense University Board of Visitors meeting included discussions on the State of the University, covering topics such as budget cuts, hiring freezes, and leadership transitions. The MSCHE Monitoring Report was reviewed, focusing on standards and strategic planning. Budget, sequestration, and academic impacts of limited resources were discussed, including financial history and challenges ahead. Strategic goals were addressed, including education and leader development, institutional enablers, and university improvement. The Joint Staff's perspective was shared, covering the relationship between NDU and J-7, JPME review, and ethics. The meeting also included updates from the College of International Security Affairs and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.

This document outlines the Fiscal Year 18-22 Planning and Programming Guidance for the National Defense University (NDU). It focuses on achieving sub-goal 4.1 of the strategic plan: NDU leads in the transformation/evolution of joint professional military education for 2020 and beyond. Key areas of focus include: capitalizing on NDU's unique capabilities using a "Whole of Government" perspective; increasing stakeholder value and improving the student, faculty, and staff experience; optimizing academic program development and delivery through innovative models; embracing and fostering adoption of innovative academic technologies; implementing an Integrated Lifecycle Management strategy; improving University-wide awareness of existing programs; developing a University-wide strategic focus for managing resources; and ensuring NDU's relevance as a premier national security institution focused on advanced education, leader development, and scholarship.

The National Defense University Board of Visitors meeting covered various key areas, including curriculum assessment and adjustments, a climate survey with positive trends in morale and leadership, implementation of new Middle States Commission standards, talent management processes, and program review and assessment. Discussions included optimizing the Joint Combined Warfighting School curriculum, addressing uneven cyber education across colleges, improving international fellows' experiences, enhancing writing instruction and faculty development, and improving resource allocation and budget management. Significant attention was given to improving transparency and collaboration across the university and aligning resources with priorities.