National University Online Degrees, Rankings, and Reviews

I was utterly surprised to see so many negative reviews for NU. This past week, I obtained my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology through NU. I graduated in the exact time frame that my academic advisor told me I would. The online structure of the class is... Read More truly what you make of it. You must be dilligent and able to manage your time accordingly. All of my instructors were more than knowledgable, and they posted several links/articles/videos to further their students' academic knowledge, however, it was up to the student to watch/read those assignments. One of my professors was even a published author, and had written 7 novels. Additionally, a handful of my instructors also had their PhD, I'm not sure what more you could ask for in an instructor. Furthermore, my experience with financial aid has been fine. But, as the student and as an adult, you need to do your due-dilligence. I called the financial aid department once a month just to check in and make sure I wasn't missing anything. Often times, they would fill me in on valuable information. It is not up to them to reach out to you as I'm sure they have hundreds of thousands of students filing for financial aid. Since my experience with Nu was so smooth, I decided to pursue my edcuation further and begin my Masters program in Educational Counseling. I can only hope this next journey is as smooth sailing as the previous. I would, and have already, recommended NU to several people.

I am currently enrolled in the Masters degree in Elementary education with a preliminary multiple subject teaching credential. When I was doing research, there were not a lot of good reviews about National, and I almost did not apply. I am SO glad that... Read More I did. For one thing, National has completely redesigned their curriculum for this program, and it was implemented this summer. Any reviews about their program prior to this have NO merit at this point, because of how it has been redesigned. All courses build off one another, and there are no textbooks! Instead, they have a program called NUNAV that assess your prior knowledge of the subjects you're learning, and based on that assessment, gives you journal articles, websites, and documents to enhance the learning of the material. Genius! I retain so much more information this way, instead of cramming 5 chapters a week into my brain. Discussion boards are done in a video format which makes it so much more personal, and you have a meeting via blackboard collaborate once a week with other students and your instructor which makes it feel like an actual college course, and not some diploma mill. They have SimSchool, which is an AI classroom with lessons and objectives for teaching three groups of students. All students have learner profiles, and you choose from menus of instruction, classroom management, and talking to the students. This is such a cool tool, especially given that we cannot observe in a classroom at this point in time. All of my professors have been AWESOME and I have learned so much. The four week classes work with my life as a mom, and a military spouse, and they have a HALF OFF military tuition rate, even for spouses. It is a fantastic school. If you are on the fence, DO IT! I am so happy I am a student here, and would 100% recommend it to everyone.

NU offers online courses and flexible class hours, which was what I needed as an older adult learner. I never had a bad experience with advisers, office staff, professors, or admin. If you ask for help, they follow-up and do try to provide you with support.... Read More That said, the coursework was not challenging enough and the resources and information on Blackboard were outdated. I didn't learned anything, I could have learned and taught myself. Professors did not offer much insight into the field. We had syllabus and materials that were 10+ years old. They provided very little support with practicum and internship placements. My friend went to another college that had a qualified adviser specifically for internship placement. I knew going in that it would be tough finding a job in this field, but NU does not provide enough support and preparation with this reality.