Northern Arizona University Launches Competency-Based Online Degree Program

[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.