Academic units
Innovative academic programs
Competency-Based online: Personalized Learning
Personalized Learning (PL) is a collection of Online and Competency-Based bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. PL incorporates innovative teaching and learning methods, and is geared toward the non-traditional adult learner who seeks flexibility and access to one-on-one support from faculty and staff. Tuition is paid through a six-month renewable subscription, which provides opportunity to access and complete a degree in a timely and accelerated manner.
Online and statewide programs
For more than 25 years, NAU has offered undergraduate and graduate programs at statewide locations across Arizona. Many students have successfully completed their program of study at various community colleges and continue to pursue their degrees with NAU. These programs provide access to higher education for many students in Arizona. The flexibility of the program enables traditional and non-traditional students the ability to pursue their educational endeavors while also fulfilling work obligations and family responsibilities. Studying at a statewide location staffed with full time NAU faculty and staff has an added benefit of leveraging the lowest tuition rate at NAU. The statewide programs are a hallmark of our commitment to offer flexible, affordable education.
Instructional design and support
Business and educational partnerships
The Office of Educational Partnerships is dedicated to establishing and strengthening partnerships with community colleges, other institutions, businesses, and organizations that support academic success, with the ultimate goal of college degree completion for today’s students. Our student-centered approach strives to ensure excellence in program development and delivery to all NAU students.
This team serves as a resource for community college employees as well as NAU faculty and staff, regarding student preparation for university success, transfer pathway programs, community college relations, organizational partnerships, and creative solutions for students to achieve their academic goals.
Continuing education
The Office of Continuing Education serves as a centralized unit to advance continuing education offerings at Northern Arizona University. It is an innovative service unit coordinating a wide range of high-quality learning opportunities for diverse audiences with a focus on adult learning, workforce development, and building community and educational partnerships. Continuing Education’s core operations and programming includes micro-credentials, digital badges, professional development programming, certificates of completion, custom training, personal enrichment programming, youth programming, and workforce and market analysis reports.
Workforce development and analyses
NAU Online and Innovative Educational Initiatives produces workforce and market analysis reports for academic units across the university. Workforce analysis involves identifying current and future anticipated supplies of labor and skills, identifying what will be needed in the future in terms of labor, skills, and competencies (demand analysis) and then identifying the gaps between the current and future supply and current and future demands (a gap analysis). Market analysis shows related programs in the region or nation, and the trends of related programs at NAU, including opportunities to develop and deliver micro-credentials.
Innovative operations
NAU Online Innovative Operations provides a variety of services to various university partners, including statewide course scheduling and analysis, unit course scheduling, instructional and other academic funding and reporting, project management, implementation and analysis for new initiatives, payroll and hiring for all unit positions, unit financial reporting and analysis, and collaboration across the organization to support continuous process improvement and recommendations to policy updates. This geographically dispersed team provides services across Arizona to faculty, staff, and students, and engages across the organization to support NAU Operations away from Flagstaff.