Instructional Leadership, emphasis: K-12 School Leadership (MEd)
Students chatting outside of a building on the N A U–Yuma campus.
  1. NAU
  2. NAU–Yuma
  3. About
  4. Mission, values, goals

NAU–Yuma mission, values, and goals

NAU–Yuma provides the same high-quality education you’ve come to expect

Although located several hours south of the main Northern Arizona University campus, our standards are exactly the same. Our purpose within the NAU community is to provide an outstanding undergraduate education strengthened by scholarship, graduate and professional programs, and innovative methods of delivery in Yuma and the surrounding region.

Mission statement

To provide outstanding education strengthened by scholarship, public service, and community engagement to enrich lives and create opportunities in Yuma and the surrounding border region.

Values

  • Student success: Place learner needs at the center of our academic and service planning, policies, and programs
  • Integrity: Operate with fairness, honesty, and the highest ethical standards to sustain a community of trust
  • Diversity: Achieve multicultural and global understanding as a priority of educational and civic life
  • Educational access: Provide all qualified students with access to higher education
  • Community engagement: Assist the community in its efforts to improve quality of life
  • Civility: Support a safe, engaging, and respectful campus climate and a commitment to the community
  • Excellence in education: We commit to the highest quality in all endeavors

Goals and strategies

Student success

Promote access to quality and affordable education, and encourage high levels of student engagement and achievement.

Strategies
  • Increase student admissions, enrollment, retention and graduation
  • Develop degree programs and support services that are responsive to the needs of place-bound students
  • Improve student learning and attainment of student learning outcomes
  • Strengthen teaching, mentoring, and curricular design across departments and faculty ranks
  • Build a strong foundation of student support and guidance for achievement
  • Enhance student learning through research, evidence-based practice, internships, community engagement, and service-learning opportunities
  • Employ methods of program and course delivery including inter-professional education that best meet the educational needs of students and communities in the region

Commitment to Hispanic, Native American and first-generation students

Respond to the educational needs of historically underserved populations in the region including Hispanic, Native American, and first-generation students.

Strategies
  • Increase the admission, enrollment, retention, and graduation of Hispanic, Native American and first-generation students by nurturing a campus climate and culture that enhances the students’ academic experience
  • Build on the Federally Recognized Status of the NAU–Yuma Branch Campus as a Hispanic-Serving Institution
  • Develop collaborative service and outreach programs with Hispanic, Native American, and other historically underserved communities
  • Promote engagement, appreciation, and understanding of Hispanic, Native American, and other cultures within the campus and broader community

Global engagement

Promote global awareness among students and prepare them for global citizenship.

Strategies
  • Prepare students to be globally aware and inter-culturally competent
  • Expand teaching, scholarship and student exchange relationships with international institutions, particularly institutions in the US–Mexico border region

Community engagement to advance educational attainment

Develop relationships among educational, civic and other institutions to improve educational attainment in the region.

Strategies
  • Create a K-12 pipeline with Yuma County School Districts
  • Partner with high schools in promoting post-secondary opportunities
  • Enhance partnerships with Arizona Western College and Imperial Valley College
  • Create relationships with tribal governments and communities
  • Enhance partnerships and collaborations with government, industry, social service agencies, and educational institutions

Commitment to economic and social development in the region

Support regional economic and social development that contributes to improved quality of life.

Strategies
  • Promote stronger collaborations and partnerships between the NAU–Yuma Campus and the Yuma community, including public and private agencies
  • Establish innovative programs based on community needs and issues affecting the border region
  • Develop degree programs that provide the most value to the communities and employers of NAU graduates
  • Support efforts to address problems and issues affecting the quality of life in the southwestern Arizona border region
  • Promote the campus as a residential branch campus serving the needs of the region
  • Expand campus facilities to meet the growing needs of Yuma County and the surrounding region
  • Promote values of civic responsibility and commitment to the community among students

Stewardship and sustainability

Promote values of sustainability among students, the university, and regional communities.

Strategies
  • Promote values of sustainability through teaching, scholarship and community engagement
  • Develop resources to meet strategic goals and contribute to the long-term viability of the campus and university