The Secretary of the Navy may permit eligible defense industry employees to receive instruction at the Naval Postgraduate School in accordance with this section. Any such defense industry employee may only be enrolled in, and may only be provided instruction in, a program leading to a master’s degree or professional continuing education certificate in a curriculum related to defense product development and systems engineering. No more than 125 such defense industry employees may be enrolled at any one time. Upon successful completion of the course of instruction in which enrolled, any such defense industry employee may be awarded an appropriate degree under section 8548 of this title or an appropriate professional continuing education certificate, as applicable.

For purposes of this section, an eligible defense industry employee is an individual employed by a private firm that is engaged in providing to the Department of Defense significant and substantial defense-related systems, products, or services. A defense industry employee admitted for instruction at the school remains eligible for such instruction only so long as that person remains employed by the same firm.

Defense industry employees may receive instruction at the school during any academic year only if, before the start of that academic year, the Secretary of the Navy determines that providing instruction to defense industry employees under this section during that year—

(1) will further the military mission of the school;

(2) will enhance the ability of the Department of Defense and defense-oriented private sector contractors engaged in the design and development of defense systems to reduce the product and project lead times required to bring such systems to initial operational capability; and

(3) will be done on a space-available basis and not require an increase in the size of the faculty of the school, an increase in the course offerings of the school, or an increase in the laboratory facilities or other infrastructure of the school.

The Secretary of the Navy shall ensure that—

(1) the curriculum for the defense product development program in which defense industry employees may be enrolled under this section is not readily available through other schools and concentrates on defense product development functions that are conducted by military organizations and defense contractors working in close cooperation; and

(2) the course offerings at the school continue to be determined solely by the needs of the Department of Defense.

The President of the school shall charge tuition for students enrolled under this section at a rate not less than the rate charged for employees of the United States outside the Department of the Navy.

While receiving instruction at the school, students enrolled under this section, to the extent practicable, are subject to the same regulations governing academic performance, attendance, norms of behavior, and enrollment as apply to Government civilian employees receiving instruction at the school.

Amounts received by the school for instruction of students enrolled under this section shall be retained by the school to defray the costs of such instruction. The source, and the disposition, of such funds shall be specifically identified in records of the school.

(Added Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title V, § 535(a)(1)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–112, § 7049; amended Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title X, § 1031(a)(57), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1603; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 557(a)(4)(B), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1915; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 525, Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3245; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title V, § 542, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4456; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title V, § 589(a), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1769; renumbered § 8549 and amended Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §§ 807(c)(1), 809(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1836, 1840.)