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I had a great experience at NAU. The cost was reasonable and they provide a high academic quality and demanding program. I always felt supported and had a great experience with the administration too. Overall I fell NAU is a very good option for education.
In the online Liberal Studies program, I had to write an academic paper per lesson, per module. SoI had to write an average of 7-10 papers per class. This allowed me to become very familiar with researching and getting deeper into subjects. I particularly... Read More enjoyed their Cinema courses (1960s American Cinema, Social representation in Film and Pre-war American Cinema).

I loved attending Northern Arizona University online. I had mostly great professors who ended up informing my own teaching practices/style now (actually READING and RESPONDING to student work, for example -- and our responsibility in shaping, not merely maintaining, the canon). I learned the fundamentals of English literature and then some. I do wish there had been a few more options of electives to take... feels like everyone in my cohort had essentially the same education and I wished I had the... Read More ability to specialize more. At the same time, I appreciate being exposed to ideas I wouldn't have been - like environmental literature. Too, going here worked BEAUTIFULLY with my work/family life. I had a toddler at the time and was working 40 hours a week...and was still able to take truly online, asynchronous classes. Go Jacks!!!

NAU is a second-rate university. If you are accustomed to a research university, it feels more like a community college. The professors are second-rate also. I had one who taught a class on a subject she had zero familiarity with, but made sure to make googly eyes at all the male grad students, and finally got kicked out for stalking one of them. Of course, being second-rate doesn't stop them from being super stuck up about their tiny careers at a small college in Podunk. The degree program I was... Read More in also required us to take at least one class each semester completely outside our major. That's fine for undergrads, but for graduate students? Already been there and done that. At a real university. And the only professor I had who showed any interest in what would become of us after graduation was one who was completely outside of my major department. The department itself could have cared less.

I am very satisfied with my experience at NAU. My advisor was always there to answer questions. I had the best professors. I like to learn on my own, so I think that is why I enjoyed the online learning environment. I did not mind the reading and writing. I enjoyed reading all of my books. I also love writing essays. I got A's mostly on all of my essays. I also loved doing the discussions. It did not matter to me that the professor was not involved in my learning or the discussions. I didn't want... Read More help. I just wanted to do it on my own. I didn't want someone to hold my hand. I like learning on my own and on my own time. I got accepted into grad school at NAU, but dropped, because I realized the program was not for me. It had nothing to do with NAU.

I enrolled in the Computer Information Technology graduate program. What drew me to the program was it was subscription-based where you take as many courses for 6 months. One pro is tuition is cheap & the program was flexible. You can take the courses & submit assignments whenever you want. The bad, it was mostly literature-based. The entire program is all writing papers. No lab or video lectures. How are you supposed to learn anything as technical as IT with no lab?? Each course required 12,000... Read More words!! I dropped the entire program & knew it was just a waste of time. Learned way more for my money's worth at a community college. If you enjoy writing papers or plan on getting a Ph.D., this program is for you. If you want hands-on learning with labs, better off also looking at another college. The professor has no clue about the subject matter. The course platform was frustrating to use & navigate. It did seem user-friendly at first, but the find the grade earned for each assignment took some searching.

Here's the thing, NAU at a glance is a fantastic school in a nice town with a great staff among bad ones. But Once you start attending and you face a crisis, such as the pandemic, the school will fail you more than any other school I have attended. Like I mentioned, I have met some amazing staff, and some really do try their best to help you the way they can. But this does not change the fact that the 'student support' NAU likes to brand itself with is false advertising. NAU supports it's students... Read More when their needs are as basic as changing your major and learning about trees, but when you need helping learning about the transfer system, rights as a student, fighting for mental health, and overall staying in school through a crisis this school does not fit the bill. I have reached out to my advisors and disability services literally begging for help in a mental health crisis and have been ignored and overlooked. I filed an official complained which only was a pat on the back and a comment of 'you'll be fine' There is no real student support, not if you don't fit their perfect shell of the basic student, if you need anything related to leaving the school staying on track or not falling into a mental or physical crisis, they will fail you. Legal action should be taken against this school for overlooking so many students screaming for their help.

As beautiful as Flagstaff is, the programs at NAU are probably worse that my high school education. The advisors have no idea what they are talking about and therefore are replaced almost every year. In most cases, the students are smarter than the teachers and have to correct their mistakes in class. Organization is almost nonexistent within the university. If you're looking for a school that will decrease your knowledge and leave you with less brain cells from the time you're a freshman to the... Read More time you graduate, this can definitely be the school for you.