http://www.nu.edu I know overly broad names like "national", "international", "intercontinental" bother folks here. Question is, though, anyone heard anything good or bad about this school? They seem to have a significant footprint here in California and are supposedly non-profit. I couldn't find anything on the Online Degree Reviews website about them. When I get a few minutes I might Google them a bit.
I have no direct experience with them but I do know that they are RA (WASC), non-profit, been around since the 1970's and have a decent amount of distance learning programs. Not too expensive (~$1300 per course) and they use the quarter-unit system instead of the semester-hour system. I have a friend who is attending an MS program and is quite happy with the courses and school.
Is the "$1300 per course" graduate or undergrad? $1300 is ridiculous for an undergrad course. Even AMU is only $750 (although I think they had a cost increase recently). There are a LOT of good B&M schools out there where you can take courses for less than $500 per course. There are even schools out there where you can do undergrad (mostly 100/200 level) classes for less than $300. Shop around. Don't go with a school like NU, AMU, or UOP just because of the advertisements.
I believe the quality is good. It is a for-profit school ,regionally accredited. I am unfamilar with the costs. LarryF
I took my MBA from National in the early 1980's. Very high-paced, so watch it there. National had some financial difficulties in the mid-1980's--they were way over-stretched from purchasing so much of the land on which they operated. WASC put them on probation, they ousted the founder and others, and a new team came in and tightened things up quite a bit. Probation removed, no problems since. (And never any problems academically). National had, at one time, planned to offer doctoral programs, but their financial situation caused it to drop them. A National MBA is as good as one from any other accredited school no one ever heard of. It won't knock down doors, but it might keep a few open that would have otherwise been shut.
NU's MS program in Environmental Engineering is interesting. It is a rare case where an RA university is not ABET accredited at any level, but nonetheless offers a degree in a regulated branch of engineering. The NU MS would not be accepted as a "real" engineering degree in some situations, even though it is RA, because NU lacks the expected professional accreditation. This degree would be best suited for someone who had previously earned an ABET BS degree. If your BS degree was ABET, then there would probably be little concern about your MS degree.
My brother went there and it worked out fine for him. RA accredited, acceptable reputation, decent education, his only complaint was that they changed the graduation requirements on him a couple times which meant he had to attend longer than planned. Hopefully that is not a common occurrence.
National University is a non-profit organization but it's operated much like a for-profit. They're very big in teacher training and generally have a good reputation.
I lke Rich was a grad in the early 80's. It was a good experiance and has not been an issue all these years. I've been adjuncting with it for over 20 years with no questions. Also, used it to go on to doctorate. My daughter went through the teacher ed a few years ago and got a masters. And again, it has been easily accepted in the school system. It appears still a solid choice. BH
The National University is very popular for the SoCal region, especially in the San Diego county. Many servicemembers in these areas attend National University; one of my previous boss (Warrant Officer-4) earned his MBA in Management within a year, and he loved the courses. Their business degrees are accredited by IACBE; which is not recognized under the Department of Education nor CHEA. One time I thought to earn my undergraduate degree from them, but I realize it is too expensive; especially only $4,500.00 from TA is not enough for the whole year. Over all, most people had good experience with the school.
I plan to begin studies for my MA in Management this July with National. One factor that influenced my choice was several people in my organization who attend or have attended National say they "just love it". Especially those who have left UOP.
National University has a Masters degree program in English Literature that is attractive. There are so few of these around that one must consider them all, even if the price seems high. http://www.nu.edu/Academics/Schools/COLS/ArtHum/degrees/710-504.html
