Student Achievement

NDU Graduation Rates by College and Program

 College  Program AY2015-16 AY2016-17 AY2017-18 AY2018-19 AY2019-20 AY2020-21 AY2021-22 AY2022-23
 Master's Degrees                  
    College of Information and Cyberspace  M.S. in Government Information Leadership 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 95.92% 100.00%
    College of International Security Affairs  M.A. in Strategic Security Studies 96.67% 97.98% 97.67% 100.00% 98.48% 100.00% 100.00% 98.53%
    Eisenhower School  M.S. in National Resource Strategy 99.68% 99.00% 99.33% 100.00% 99.66% 99.64% 99.98% 99.65%
    Joint Forces Staff College  M.S. in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy 94.74% 97.22% 92.31% 97.37% 100.00% 95.55% 95.56% 100.00%
    National War College  M.S. in National Security Strategy 99.52% 99.03% 99.51% 99.02% 100.00% 99.04% 98.57% 100.00%
 Graduate Certificates                  
    Joint Forces Staff College  Joint and Combined Warfighting 100.00% 100.00% 99.52% 99.52% 99.46% 99.59% 100.00% 99.48%
    Joint Forces Staff College  Joint and Combined Warfighting (Hybrid) 100.00% 99.60% 97.75% 94.31% 85.37% 89.67% 87.43% --

 

NDU Institutional Learning Outcomes

Table 1 shows the new NDU Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) and a sample of how those are aligned with and supported by Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). The ILOs represent institutional planning to meet goals of institutional effectiveness and improvement as well as student achievement of a common set of university-wide outcomes/competencies.

Table 1. NDU Institutional Learning Outcomes Aligned to Program Learning Outcomes

NDU ILOs

Alignment with ES PLOs

Alignment with JAWS PLOs

Alignment with NWC PLOs

1. Foster collaborative relationships across joint, interagency, international, and cultural boundaries.

ES PLO 2

JAWS PLO 5

NWC PLO 4

2. Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in support of national security decision-making.

ES PLOs 1 & 2

JAWS PLOs 1 & 5

NWC PLO 4

3. Create strategy and policy options in support of national security interests.

ES PLOs 4, 5, 6 & 7

JAWS PLOs 2, 3, & 5

NWC PLO 5

4. Communicate effectively to provide clear and concise military and policy recommendations.

ES PLO 1

JAWS PLOs 2 & 3

NWC PLO 4

 

Table 2 contains a sample of assessment results from AY22. All targets were met, as measured by performance on key assessments for PLOs as described in Table 1. 

Table 2. Targets and Levels of Achievement of ILOs for ES, JAWS, and NWC

NDU ILO

ES Target

ES Achievement

JAWS Target

JAWS Achievement

NWC Target

NWC Achievement

1

85%

100%

85%

94.8%

90% earn 85%+

98.8% earned 85%+

2

85%

99.65%

85%

95.0%

90% earn 85%+

98.8% earned 85%+

3

85%

98.60%

85%

95.1%

100% pass

100% passed

4

85%

99.30%

85%

95.3%

90% earn 85%+

89.7% earned 85%+

 

Joint Acculturation Outcomes

One of NDU’s educational standards, as prescribed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Officer Professional Military Education Policy, is to “develop joint awareness, perspective, and attitudes” (CJCSI 1800.01E). Specifically, NDU curricula prepare graduates to operate in a joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational environment, reflected in the mix of students and faculty, the critical analyses of current and emerging national strategies from a joint perspective, and a commitment to joint and interagency cooperation.

The Joint Acculturation Survey is designed to measure the development of joint attitudes and perspectives, common beliefs, and trust, which occurs when diverse groups such as our student body come into continuous, direct contact. Beginning in AY 2017-2018, all NDU master’s students complete the instrument at the beginning of the academic year and again near graduation.

In AY 2022-2023, students reported a higher “ability to effectively contribute to a joint team” at the end of the program (Mean = 6.34, SD = 0.86) as compared to their ability at the beginning (Mean = 6.11, SD = 0.94). In addition, the following charts show that perceptions of the various US Service cultures changed over time. The charts represent scores on a nine-item semantic differential scale. Overall, at the post-test occasion, services patterns are more similar, indicating a trend towards perceiving fewer differences or more “jointness.”

Perceptions of US Service Cultures: Pre-test

                                        

Perceptions of US Service Cultures: Post-test