Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 36 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

As of fall 2014, 27,715 students were enrolled, 20,134 at the Flagstaff campus. The average cost of tuition and fees for a full-time, Arizona resident undergraduate student for two semesters is $9,692. NAU offers Flagstaff undergraduate students the Pledge Program that guarantees the same tuition rate for four years. For the Fall 2013 school year, out-of-state undergraduates will pay an estimated $22,094 for tuition and fees. NAU also participates in the Western Undergraduate Exchange Program, which offers lower tuition rates for students from the Western United States. WUE tuition rates for fall 2013 are $12,680.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classifies NAU as a research university with high research activity. NAU is governed by the Arizona Board of Regents.

History

Initially named the Northern Arizona Normal School, the institution was established on September 11, 1899. The first graduating class, in 1901, consisted of four women who received credentials to teach in the Arizona Territory. In 1925, the Arizona State Legislature allowed the school, which was now called the Northern Arizona State Teacher's College, to grant Bachelor of Education degrees. In 1929 the school became Arizona State Teacher's College.

Enrollment dropped sharply, however, at the beginning of World War II. ASTC became a Navy V-12 program training site.

Campuses

Flagstaff Campus

Perched at 6,950 feet (2,120 m) above sea level, the third highest four-year college campus in the country, the main campus is surrounded by the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest on the North American continent and enjoys a four-season climate. Snow is common in winter, with accumulations most prevalent in January, February and March. Winter skiing is accessible at Arizona Snowbowl, an alpine ski resort located on the San Francisco Peaks, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Flagstaff.

NAU offers 87 bachelor degree programs, 48 master's degree programs and 10 doctoral degree programs, along with 38 undergraduate and 26 graduate certificates. The university was charged by the Arizona Board of Regents in 2006 to develop innovative ways to provide access and affordability to all Arizona residents. NAU developed the Pledge Program,2NAU partnerships with community colleges and NAU-Yavapai, a collaboration with Yavapai College in Prescott Valley, Ariz. NAU-Yuma just celebrated its 25th anniversary of the partnership with Arizona Western College.

Extended campuses

Northern Arizona University is a public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission North Central Association. In addition to 19,000 students on the Flagstaff campus, NAU currently serves more than 7,000 students statewide.

NAU's Extended Campuses offer more than 50 online accredited degree programs on more than 30 campuses throughout the state. NAU is the first public university to offer a competency-based online degree program that allows students to earn credit for experience. Personalized Learning was launched in May 2013, and federal financial aid is available for the program, which has a flat fee of $5,000 per year.

NAU is the first university in Arizona to attain program accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Educators (NCATE). Additional accreditations include Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and Hotel and Restaurant Management has earned accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration, an honor earned by fewer than 20% of the nation's baccalaureate degree-granting programs in the field.

NAU's Extended Campuses students pay the lowest per-credit-hour tuition and Flagstaff offers an affordable locked-in tuition.

Academics

In the fall of 2010, the top undergraduate degrees by enrollment were elementary education, biology, hotel and restaurant management, nursing, and criminology and criminal justice.

College of Arts and Letters

The College of Arts and Letters (CAL) houses the Asian Studies Program, Cinema Studies, Comparative Cultural Studies (formerly Humanities, Arts, and Religion), English, History, Latin American Studies, Modern Languages, Museum Studies, Philosophy, School of Art, School of Music, and Theatre. The college also oversees the NAU Art Museum, Martin-Springer Institute (promoting lessons of the Holocaust), Northern Arizona Writing Project, Ardrey Memorial Auditorium, and Ashurst Hall. The College of Arts and Letters Film Series has been providing quality classic films to the NAU and Flagstaff community for more than nine years, and the NAU International Film Series has recently been established. Department faculty and students share their scholarly work and artistic achievement through more than 300 performances, lectures, films, and exhibitions a year.

College of Education

The College of Education prepares educators, counselors, school psychologists, and school administrators. Fields of study include teaching and learning (e.g., early childhood, elementary, and secondary), educational leadership, educational psychology, and educational specialties (e.g., bilingual and multicultural education, career and technical education, educational technology, and special education).

College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

The College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Sciences has eleven departments and a Quaternary Program, thirteen centers, and two institutes.

College of Health and Human Services

NAU's College of Health and Human Services consists of the School of Nursing, Health Sciences, Dental Hygiene, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Physical Therapy, and a newly formed (as of Fall 2012) Physician Assistant school based out of Phoenix, Arizona.

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences undergraduate programs include anthropology, applied indigenous studies, criminology and criminal justice, ethnic studies, geography, planning and recreation, political science, psychology, communication, sociology/social work, and women's and gender studies.

The W.A. Franke College of Business

The W.A. Franke College of Business's primary focus is undergraduate education, but it also offers a master’s level education and research opportunities. Businessman Bill Franke's commitment of $25 million resulted in the renaming of the college in his honor. The W.A. Franke College of Business was fully re-accredited in fall 2008 by the national accrediting body AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The NAU program is one of about 400 accredited programs among the more than 1,000 throughout the nation. In 2006, the college moved into a new 111,000-square-foot (10,300 m²), LEED-certified building.

Residence halls

Northern Arizona University has 21 residence halls on its Flagstaff campus.

Freshman residence halls

• Allen Hall
• Cowden Learning Community
• McConnell Hall
• Reilly Hall
• Sechrist Hall (an eight-story residence hall, making it the tallest building in Northern Arizona)
• Tinsley Hall
• Wilson Hall

Upper division housing

Traditional halls

• Campbell
• Morton

Suites

• Ernest Calderón Learning Community
• Gabaldon
• Mountain View

Apartments

Campus apartments consist of:

• Campus Heights
• Gillenwater
• McDonald
• McKay Village
• Pine Ridge Village
• Raymond
• Roseberry
• South Village (As of Fall 2013, South Village will become a blended hall housing both upper division students and families.)

Residents of family units are within the Flagstaff Unified School District. Residents are zoned to Kinsey Elementary School, Mount Elden Middle School, and Flagstaff High School.

NAU Partner Housing by American Campus Communities

These halls are located on the NAU campus but are operated by American Campus Communities.

• The Suites
• Hilltop Townhomes

Athletics

Student athletes compete at national, international, and professional levels in football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, track and field, tennis, and swimming and diving. The university participates in fifteen intercollegiate sports programs. NAU teams compete at the Walkup Skydome, a multipurpose building providing facilities for football, basketball, indoor track and field, soccer, weight lifting, lacrosse, student recreation, major concert events, commencements, intramurals, and a variety of other university and community activities.

The Lumberjacks compete at the NCAA Division I level in all sports. In football, the Lumberjacks compete at the Football Championship Subdivision level (formerly known as Division I-AA). NAU competes in the Big Sky Conference in all sports except swimming and diving, which is part of the Western Athletic Conference.

Because of its altitude, the facilities are sometimes used for training by Olympic athletes (who will then go on to compete at sea level).

On campus activities

NAU has more than 200 recognized professional, academic, service and social organizations, an intramural sports program, The Lumberjack student newspaper, and active residence hall organizations.

The Lumberjack

The university's award-winning, weekly newspaper is an independent, student-run publication called The Lumberjack." In May 2007, the newspaper won a Society of Professional Journalists national award in the editorial writing category for articles printed during 2006.

KJACK, NAZ Today, and UTV62

KJACK is available in Flagstaff on 1680 AM or online. KJACK reports to the College Music Journal and specializes in new and local music. NAU's televised news program, NAZ Today, airs Monday through Thursday in Flagstaff on NPG cable channels 4, 59 and UTV 62 on campus at 6pm MST; formerly, it also aired on UniversityHouse (Dish Network channel 9411) until it folded. Since the shutdown of Channel 2 news in August 2008, NAZ Today is now the only TV news source for the Flagstaff area. UTV62 is NAU's student run and produced television station. UTV62 runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week on channel 62 on campus.

Recreation services

The NAU Recreation Center was remodeled in the fall of 2011, creating the NAU Health and Learning Center in its place. Features include an indoor jogging track, 38 foot climbing wall, larger weight room, multipurpose gym, and a cardio theatre. The Health and Learning Center also includes all of the on-campus medical services that were previously housed in the Fronske Health Center, a pharmacy, and the offices for Disability Resources on campus.

Intramural sports

Intramural sports are organized for teams and individuals and include flag football, soccer, volleyball, softball, racquetball, and backgammon. Sports clubs include baseball, rugby, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, Wushu, kendo and judo (martial arts), and water polo.

Movies and other events

Unions and Student Activities offers many services and events for the campus community, such as movies and the popular Friday night AfterHours program produced by SUN Entertainment. SUN also presents several concerts and special events each year and coordinates Welcome Week concerts. The College of Arts and Letters presents classic films every Tuesday night during the school year, and also presents more than 300 music and theatrical performances, lectures, films and art exhibitions yearly.

Alumni

The NAU Alumni Association represents more than 125,809 alumni from the U.S.

Professional sports

The Arizona Cardinals of the NFL conducted their summer training camp at Northern Arizona University's Flagstaff campus for many years until 2013. The Cardinals left Flagstaff to conduct their camp in Glendale in 2013. Beginning in 2014, NAU entered into partnerships the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury of the NBA and WNBA respectively.

See also

• List of forestry universities and colleges

References

External links

• Official website
• Nothern Arizona Univeristy athletics website