Does anyone have personal experience with National American University? Specifically the online courses.

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ShotoJuku +
Senior Moderator

Info at http://www.national.edu/

They are recognized on CHEA.

I attended National American University and earned about 50 quarter credits there. NAU has two good points: (1) they have a really snappy theme song “online, anytime, National, American, UNIVERSITY!” and (2) a fairly good WebCT environment.

NAU bad aspects are extremely high turnover among their Professors and Academic Deans; some weeks it was like musical chairs there; my last quarter we had 3 AD’s, and 2 Advisors, and a host of instructors ebb in and out the door (in a very small campus, maybe a couple hundred students.) Also they seem really poor at maintaining records, don’t maintain their facilities well, and charge a gianormus fee for their credits. In My Humble Opinion the staff and instructors are lazy and can be rude; probably due to high turnover and low wages (according to the complaints I heard while passing by the faculty lounge.) I would s***est you pass on NAU.

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ShotoJuku +
Senior Moderator

Me? I was thinking Capella. Or if I was really motivated the U of MN for a Ph.D., but I see myself as a more hands on type... so the Psy.D., although lacking some of the prestige of a Ph.D. is the way I want to go.

There is a reason why National American University runs through instructors like they were water--the place sucks to work at. NAU administration treats faculty poorly--micro-managing seasoned faculty like they were toddlers. Deans come and go and don't know who is on faculty and campus directors stay behind closed doors and refuse to take calls from faculty--faculty are just routinely referred to the Academic Deans who don't know what they are doing. Books and class requirements are fed down from the headquarters in Rapid City with no ability on the faculty member's part to add new or more interesting materials. Faculty is told to coddle poor performing students who hold up the class. Dumbing down is what it is all about at NAU-- rather than raise the bar they like to lower it at NAU so they can get more returning students and thus more money. Meanwhile faculty wait for better jobs at other institutions and then run like hell. I know I did!

Wow! Are you a current/former professor at National American University?

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Theodore Lamar Heiks
BA, History/Political Science, Western State College of Colorado, 1984
MBA, Entrepreneurship, City University of Seattle, 1992
MBA, Marketing, City University of Seattle, 1993

I agree 100%, I had several friends that taught at NAU, it is a stepping stone, teach a few classes their until a 2 year college or University offers you a better job. Still, it is hard on the students, online or campus. There are just too many other options that are more economical. I give NAU a 1 1/2 thumbs down.

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PsyD WannaBe, M.S., LPC, LADC, CADC II

NAU is a joke. Yes, its true they go through instructors like crazy. You pay 30,000 bucks for a nursing degree and alls you get in clinicals is how to be a caretaker. Im in school for RN, not caretaker. Staff don't listen, they don't, they just want your money and their accreditation from the NLN. I really hope they don't get it! They need to improve!!