The National Ed.D. Program for Educational Leaders at Nova University is a targeted, multi-state, quality-controlled, time and study-intensive, three-year doctoral program. The program is operated both at the university and externally. It has been in operation for five years and has awarded 261 degrees. The program projects its goal as the improvement of the elementary and secondary schools in the United States by focusing on the managers of the schools (the principals) as opposed to the projected incoming leadership. Central to the program's goals are requirements which demand that candidates carry out school improvement projects which involve a process of task definition, resource allocation, and product (the product being evidence of change in the school system the person is working within). Two of these practicums of a year's length are required, one involving a working group and one the individual. This basic design allows students to work alone and with colleagues in small clusters. Outstanding scholars and practitioners drawn from universities and educational systems all over the country provide a national point of view through systematic interaction with participants, colleagues, and lecturers from other areas and backgrounds. Annual summer institutes bring participants together for exchanges with each other and leaders in the political world. (DMT)