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National University (NU) is a
private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...
with its headquarters in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. Founded in 1971, National University offers academic degree programs at campuses throughout
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, a satellite campus in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, and various programs
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" ...
. Programs at National University are designed for adult learners. On-campus classes are typically blended learning courses, concentrated to four weeks or on weeknights with occasional Saturday classes. The university uses
asynchronous learning Asynchronous learning is a general term used to describe forms of education, instruction, and learning that do not occur in the same place or at the same time. It uses resources that facilitate information sharing outside the constraints of time an ...
and real-time virtual classrooms for its online programs.


History

National University founder David Chigos, a former
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
captain and director of employee training for General Dynamics Corporation, established the school as a non-traditional university for working adults. In 1971, National University was organized as a private, non-profit institution with 27 students. The university's first commencement ceremony had 143 graduates. From 1971-1975, the university was based at 1050 Rosecrans St. in San Dieg

In 1975, National purchased two properties in Mission Valley as its headquarters. Two years later, National opened teaching facilities in
Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa is a community in the central part of San Diego, California. It is bounded by State Route 52 to the north, Interstate 805 to the west, Aero Drive to the south, and Interstate 15 to the east. Adjacent communities include Serra Mesa, C ...
and
San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...
. During that time, the school gained approximately 1000 alumni and received accreditation from the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...
. By 1979, National had purchased a campus with of classroom and library space and 3,500 alumni. National also acquired the Cabrillo Pacific College of Law in 1979, which closed in 1991. During the 1980s, National expanded by establishing several satellite campuses in California. The School of Education was established in 1980. In 1988, Chigos retired and
Jerry C. Lee Jerry C. Lee (born November 21, 1941) was the sixth president of Gallaudet University (Gallaudet College until 1986) from 1984 to 1988, later becoming the President of National University in La Jolla, California from 1989 to 2001 and Chancellor ...
became the university's second president from 1989 to 2007. During Lee's tenure, campuses were restructured, the university's finances stabilized, National's academics were formally reviewed by accrediting bodies, and affiliate institutions were added to the university. In 1996, the headquarters of the university was moved from Mission Valley to La Jolla and online degree programs were established. The Board of Trustees established the National University System in 2001 with Jerry Lee appointed as
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the system. The university was re-organized as a multi-tiered alliance of individual educational and research institutions with each of its respective leaders (including the National University president) reporting to the chancellor. In 2006, National University earned an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Pacific Southwest Chapter, for its "One University" commercial. In 2007, Dana Gibson was appointed as National's third president, and Lee became
President Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
. Two years later, Gibson left National and Patricia E. Potter served as Interim President. Michael R. Cunningham became President and Chancellor in 2013. As of 2010, National University was the second-largest private, non-profit institution of higher education in California and the 12th largest private, non-profit organization in the United States. At National University's 40th anniversary, the system had an endowment of over $400 million and real estate valued over $145 million. The university had over 24,000 enrollment with over 130 undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs and 23 teacher credential programs at 28 campuses in California, a satellite campus in
Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Val ...
, and over 100
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" ...
academic programs. In 2019, T. Denny Sanford donated $350 million to National University to rename the university's School of Education to the Sanford College of Education. In addition to the name change, a tuition decrease was announced, aided by Sanford's donation. In July 2022 National announced a merger with Northcentral University, an entirely online institution specializing in advanced degrees. The merger will bring the combined enrollment to more than 42,000 students.


Academics

National University confers associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, teaching credentials, and continuing education programs.


Accreditation and approvals

National University is accredited by the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...
(WASC). In addition to being accredited by WASC, National University also is: * Accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) *Accredited by the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was a professional accreditor focused on accrediting teacher education programs in U.S. colleges and universities. It was founded in 1954 and was recognized as an accreditor by ...
(NCATE), California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), and the Nevada State Board of Education *Accredited by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) Approved by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the offering of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program *Accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) *Accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) National University is organized as four professional schools and two colleges: *College of Letters and Sciences *Sanford College of Education *School of Business and Management *School of Engineering and Computing *School of Health and Human Services *School of Professional Studies The university also has a Division of Extended Learning, which houses continuing education, professional development programs, and 23 teacher credential/certificate programs. Since 1996, National University offers more than 100 degree programs through over 1,500 courses online. National University received sanctions in 2021, threatening its regional accreditation, when a scathing report from the American Association of University Professors revealed the institution made a series of sweeping changes that included firing 50 full-time professors, six associate vice presidents, unilateral changes to the school's governance structure, consolidation of its libraries into a central library without any meaningful consultation with the faculty or library staff, closing several campuses across California, and bypassing the faculty when making decisions regarding the discontinuation of several academic programs.


Graduation rate

National's graduation rate for the 2014 academic year is 71% at undergraduate level and 65% at the graduate level.


College of Letters and Sciences

National University's College of Letters and Sciences provides undergraduate, general education courses to students enrolled in all other schools of the university. The college itself has four departments and offers an Associate of Arts degree, liberal arts bachelor's degrees in biological science,
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, and
psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...
. It also offers master's degrees in creative writing,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
, film studies, gerontology, and strategic communications.


School of Business and Management

The School of Business and Management offers business degree programs on campus and online. The school is composed of three departments and also offers various master's degrees. The school offers a Bachelors in
Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Accountancy, and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership.


Sanford College of Education

The College of Education offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, certificates, and education credentials in areas including teaching, school counseling, school psychology,
special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
, early childhood education, and school administration. National holds teaching contracts with 643 California school districts and approximately 70% of the 26,000 teachers in San Diego County earned teaching credentials from National University. At the University's
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People * Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * ...
campus, the College of Education offers Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts teacher licensure programs in elementary education, secondary math, and secondary English. In 2015, National University renamed the School of Education to the Sanford College of Education in honor of philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. The college also houses the Sanford Education Center and two of its programs: the Sanford Harmony Program which promotes respect and understanding of differences among children by expanding understanding and acceptance of gender differences at an early age to positively affect adult relationships and the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy which offers a certificate in Cause Sales and hosts various professional development workships in nonprofit management.


School of Engineering and Computing

The School of Engineering and Computing offers degree programs in
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
,
technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...
,
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
, and other related fields. The school focuses curriculum on management
information systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...
, construction engineering,
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
, and
information technology management Information technology management or IT management is the discipline whereby all of the information technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities. Managing the responsibility within a company entails many ...
.


School of Health and Human Services

The School of Health and Human Services offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in clinical health sciences, healthcare administration,
nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
,
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
, allied health, clinical laboratory science,
radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Rad ...
, and clinical regulatory affairs.


School of Professional Studies

The School of Professional Studies offers academic degree programs in
digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ...
, paralegal, pre-law, criminal justice, and several others.


Campus locations

National University is geographically dispersed, with its academic and administrative centers located in La Jolla, California. These centers include administrative offices of the president, vice presidents, school deans and department chairs, financial aid, registrar, and admissions. From its administrative center, the university maintains its academic campuses throughout urban areas in California and Nevada. The university's satellite campuses are located in: *
San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...
* Fresno *
Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Val ...
* West Los Angeles (LAX area) * Oxnard * Rancho Cordova (Sacramento) * San Jose


Organization

The NU System is governed by a
board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...
and is headquartered in La Jolla, California. The board meets three times a year, consisting of 25 voting members with two ex-officio members (the president of the university and the chancellor of the system) also holding voting privileges.


National University System

National University is the flagship institution of the National University System. In addition to National University, there are four academic affiliates and two research institutes of the National University System: * City University of Seattle,
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
(affiliated since 2013) * National University Academy, Vista, California (established 2008) * National University Virtual High School, Chula Vista, California (established 2003) *
Northcentral University Northcentral University is a private online university with its headquarters in San Diego, California. It was established in 1996 and is classified among "D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities"; it offers bachelor's, master's, specialist ...
,
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
(affiliated since 2019) * The Center for Performance Psychology * The National University System Institute for Policy Research
John F. Kennedy University John F. Kennedy University was a private university based in California with offices in Pleasant Hill, San Jose in California; Natick, Massachusetts; and Willemstad, Curaçao. The university was founded in 1965 to offer degrees and certifica ...
was an affiliate of the National University System from 2009 until JFKU was closed in 2020, at which time JFKU's programs were continued by other universities in the National University System.


Student body

National University is the second-largest private, non-profit institution of higher education in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
by total enrollment. The average age of an NU student is 32. Roughly 23,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are currently enrolled with nine percent of the student body also in active military service. National University is also one of the largest graduate student institutions of higher education in the United States with 23,909 students enrolled. The university has approximately150,000 alumni from all 50 states and internationally.


Notable alumni

* Lloyd Bryan Molander Adams, co-founder of
Extreme Sports Channel The Extreme Sports Channel is a pay television channel that was launched from Amsterdam on 1 May 1999. The channel broadcasts in over 60 countries and 12 languages, and covers extreme sport and adventure sports which include surfing, skateboar ...
*
Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...
, Mayor of Hawthorne, California *
Ocky Clark Octavius ("Ocky") Rene Clark is an American competitive runner who won the gold medal in the 800 meter event at the 1991 Pan American Games. Early life Clark was born November 14, 1960 in Sanford, Florida. He grew up on his grandparents' farm ...
, runner * Thomas S. Crow, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy from 1979–1982 * Duke Cunningham, US Navy fighter pilot ace, 7 term US Congressman, and convicted felon * Gerry Czarnecki, business executive and author of books on leadership principles * Marti Emerald, local television journalist and city council member from
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
* Brian Graham, major league baseball coach * Isadore Hall III, California state senator *
Waad Hirmez Waad Hirmez is a retired Iraqi-American football (soccer) player who spent most of his professional career in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Early life In 1979, Hirmez, an Assyrian Catholic native of Iraq, moved ...
, US professional soccer player * Lin Junq-tzer, Governor of Taiwan Province * Chief Phil Lane, Jr., a leader of American indigenous peoples *
Steven Paul Logan Steven Paul Logan (born December 23, 1965) is an American lawyer and judge serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. He is a former United States magistrate judge of the same court. ...
, United States district judge, who being a Marine Corps
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
(now reserve) concurrently serves on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals * Weston Ochse, author *
Frank Pastore Frank Enrico Pastore (; August 21, 1957 – December 17, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball player and radio host. He pitched for the Cincinnati Reds from 1979 until 1985 and for the Minnesota Twins in 1986, and was in the Texas R ...
, major league pitcher and radio host * Jerry Sanders, former mayor and earlier chief of police of San Diego, California * Erick Thohir, majority owner of two professional soccer teams * Billy Pat Wright, multi-term member of the Missouri House of Representatives * Ryan Zinke,
U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...
, Navy SEAL, U.S. Navy commander, special operations commander during
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, later elected the U.S. representative from
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
* Jaime Bonilla, Governor of the State of Baja California in Mexico


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Business schools in California Private universities and colleges in California Distance education institutions based in the United States Universities and colleges in Fresno County, California Universities and colleges in Los Angeles Universities and colleges in Los Angeles County, California Universities and colleges in San Diego Universities and colleges in Sacramento County, California Universities and colleges in San Joaquin County, California Universities and colleges in Shasta County, California Universities and colleges in Ventura County, California Universities and colleges in Clark County, Nevada Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Educational institutions established in 1971 Education in Henderson, Nevada Education in Fresno, California Redding, California Education in Sacramento, California Education in San Diego Universities and colleges in San Jose Oxnard, California 1971 establishments in California Private universities and colleges in Nevada