Northern Arizona University Launches Competency-Based Online Degree Program

[Rebecca-NAU]

We are really pleased to see such interest in Northern Arizona University’s Personalized Learning program. Thank you for the great posts and questions and for this opportunity to post and clarify.

The current CLEP and DSST policies can be found on NAU’s website at Northern Arizona University | Home Page. These policies are university-wide. Since Extended Campuses and Personalized Learning have such a large transfer population, we are always looking at ways to help students make the most of what they already know, and we’ll continue to look at ways to maximize test credit.

Personalized Learning takes prior knowledge a step further in actually providing students the opportunity to use their knowledge and experience to test out of lessons. Please keep in mind that the tests are rigorous, they require demonstration of knowledge (meaning they are not just multiple choice), and they are graded by faculty.

While we have policies in place to ensure equity and consistency for students, every student is different. Additionally, this program is unique and it’s important to consider much more in your decision-making process than simply transfer credit. Personalized Learning is self-paced, interdisciplinary, integrated, and competency-based. The model is ideal for some students, but won’t work for others.

The best way to find out if Personalized Learning is right for you is to contact us directly. I recommend starting a student profile by going to nau.edu/personalized and downloading the information packet. You can also take a self-assessment to find out if your learning preferences, experience, and situation indicate potential for success in the program.

[Tayon]

Yay Rebecca! I thought this was really awesome that Rebecca from NAU cared enough about us to post on our topic about them !!

[Daithi]

A few questions for Rebecca if she is still reading this forum.

I am interested in the CIT degree from NAU. I do not currently have a degree, but I do have over 25 years experience as a software developer. One option would be for me to enroll in NAU and begin your program, but I already have a lot of non-traditional credits (CLEP, DSST, ACE, etc). So, my plan is to just finish the rest of the testing I need to get my BA in Liberal Studies from Thomas Edison State College (TESC). I should be done around Christmas or Q1 of 2014.

The NAU Personalized Learning Info Packet from your website says,

A previous bachelor’s degree fulfills all Liberal Studies, Diversity, and Minor requirements for a Personalized Learning degree.

However, the testing to earn the TESC degree would put me way over your Credit By Exams limits. Will this be a problem or would the degree from TESC be treated as a whole and not analyzed credit-by-credit? Also, if it isn't a problem, would this mean that I would only need to meet the language requirements and also the major requirements for the CIT degree? Lastly, in regards to the language requirement, which would be the best way to handle this requirement?

1) Take the Spanish CLEP as part of earning my TESC degree and try to get a 68 or more. This gives me 12 credits at TESC, but NAU counts 68+ as 16 credits and NAU requires 16 language credits. (Or, would NAU only see this as 12 credits because this was what TESC granted in the degree?)

2) Don't take the CLEP as part of earning my TESC degree. Instead, take the Spanish CLEP after I've earned my degree. This ensures that if I get 68+ then I get credit for 16 credits. (Or would this not work because my TESC degree already put me well over your Credit By Exams limits?)

[sanantone]

Did someone tell Rebecca that we were discussing their programs here?

[Daithi]

Not me, but I'm glad to see someone from NAU to take the time to address questions here.

[brajalle]

Did someone tell Rebecca that we were discussion their programs here?

That would be me! I sent in a list of questions twice, the second list I thought they might have ignored because it's been sent-in for over a week, but it turns out that they forwarded it to Rebecca (probably given the specific nature of the questions). The very first email I sent (and included in the 2nd) included information about our community. Rebecca responded today and offered to set up a phone appointment later this week - I intend to accept. I'm excited about NAU personally - I have approximately 5 months to register at TESC and go that route, or to take an NAU route. The TESC route has one big potential downside vs. NAU, and that is the lack of a significant GPA history. The NAU route has several potential downsides vs. TESC: I'm a little less excited about a SBA major versus a General Mgmt major, I'm VERY intimidated about the foreign language requirement, I'm cautious about the success rate students have going from a 86%/B to challenging for a 95%/A (I'm understanding of it not being easy, but I also don't want a 1-shot deal to leave me with a transcript of B's), and I need to know how it might compare in terms of time/effort to a mostly pure CBE route.

The NAU PL program is a pilot of sorts from what I can tell, not just within NAU, but within higher education at large. They did their homework on competition and the market in general. You can see some of this in a video presentation (its a vimeo video embedded in the first page or two of search results of articles on the NAU PL program) that is still available. They specifically mention the Big 3 and SUNY ESC, CBE, etc. If this is a specific niche they are trying to fill (and they do have a compelling product in terms of being competency based, price competitive, and awarding letter grades) then they need to be aware of our community and to be responsive to it. So I pointed them here. Not sure if it will result in a lasting dialogue (although I hope it does), but I felt that someone needed to know it was here. I'm hopeful that figuring out the mechanics of how NAU fits into the community's needs will serve both NAU and our goals. The alternatives are years of painful trial & error, or worse, that the program is virtually ignored and we instead continue down the well-trod paths of the Big 3.

I'm willing to be a sort of guinea pig in some ways, and if I feel that the program is compelling & a good fit personally, then I will take the plunge, attend NAU, and provide more detail about my experience finishing a NAU degree (perhaps a blog or such). I feel that a school like NAU that is willing to take a step forward in the online education world deserves positive exposure, constructive feedback, and some marketing to prospective students. I strongly considered WGU for years, but it never felt right primarily because it had no GPA and was not interested in our niche. That left the Big 3 - and I was about to pull the trigger on TESC when along came NAU. The availability of a GPA and their market research identifying our exact community as a target suggested they might be a good fit. I remain hopeful, I'll report back after the conversation if I find out anything that is helpful.

[Yanji]

Not sure if anyone else commented on it already, but NAU's business school appears to be AACSB accredited, which is often a checkbox to get into some of the more prestigious graduate programs.

Untrue. AACSB is often a prereq to get into less prestigious MBA/MAcc programmes but nobody cares about or shows off their AACSB accreditation in the top 30. I was invited to interview for the MBA programs at Indiana, UCLA, Georgetown, UT Austin, Emory and Yale without an AACSB degree and I got into three of them. I know that my academic pedigree isn't good enough to get into Northwestern (my dream school), but that would be true even if I attended CSU East Bay or another anonymous AACSB school. Hopkins and McGill have unaccredited business schools and nobody who attends those schools care, and nobody attending Frostburg State is under the impression that their AACSB degree is worth more than a business degree from Hopkins. Unlike regional accreditation which is a de facto legal requirement, AACSB accreditation doesn't actually mean very much other than some companies' tuition reimbursement policies and a seal of approval for admission into certain MBA/MIM/MAcc (mainly MAcc) programs outside the top 30-40. AACSB accreditation is still a nice thing to have in some situations (especially for accounting), but it's far from necessary to pursue graduate business studies, especially because most people in MBA programs are not even business majors and 1/4 - 1/2 of students at pretty much every good business school are international students.

As for accreditation, it would be best to make sure that NAU's SBA degree is offered through their business school rather than the faculty of social sciences/extended education/etc. AACSB accreditation only applies to constituent colleges/schools of a university and is not a blanket accreditation. For example, a MS in HR Management from NYU SCPS would not be AACSB, because only the Stern holds that accreditation and likewise an ALM in Management from Harvard Extension would not be AACSB because only HBS is accredited.

Back on topic, this seems like a great program from NAU. With the rise of ASU's research profile, ASU Colleges and now this from NAU, it looks like Arizona's universities are really trying to raise their profile to reflect the growing population of their state.

I am interested in the CIT degree from NAU. I do not currently have a degree, but I do have over 25 years experience as a software developer. One option would be for me to enroll in NAU and begin your program, but I already have a lot of non-traditional credits (CLEP, DSST, ACE, etc). So, my plan is to just finish the rest of the testing I need to get my BA in Liberal Studies from Thomas Edison State College (TESC). I should be done around Christmas or Q1 of 2014.

Why not just do UMass Lowell's 30 credit post-bacc BS in IT? It's almost criminally flexible (almost entirely electives) and UML is considered a respectable state school in the Northeast and has name recognition in many Northern states and Canada because of their fantastic ice hockey program. They recently moved into Div I in a relatively brainy conference too, which should only boost their national stature. It does cost more than 1 year at NAU but it's still only about $11000, which isn't bad all things considered.

[sanantone]

When I looked at AACSB-accredited, online, MBA programs, most of them did not require an AACSB undergraduate degree. As you said, you can enter an MBA program with any degree. The important thing is to have the prerequisites. APUS requires an AACSB or ACBSP business degree or 3 prerequisite courses if your business degree lacks programmatic accreditation. AACSB and ACBSP just make it easier to become a CPA in some states. If your degree lacks those accreditations, then you just have to go course by course to see if you've met all of the requirements. AACSB accreditation is especially good to have if you're looking to teach so that you won't be limited to non-AACSB schools.

[backpacker]

Thanks for the info about UMass ,that actually sealed the deal for me.Do you thing they would take a BALS from TESC?

[taylor]

Hopkins, McGill and UCSD all have unaccredited business schools

Yanji, you obviously know what you're talking about. Just wanted to make a minor correction to your post. UCSD got AACSB accreditation in 2011. University of California, San Diego Earns AACSB International Accreditation