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Distance Education

It’s part of our mission to provide convenient ways for students across the nation and all over the globe to earn a degree from Nova Southeastern University.  That’s why we offer many of our degree programs through distance education, with classes delivered outside the Fort Lauderdale area either online, or at one of our Regional Campuses.

Regional Campuses

Students don’t have to be on our Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus to have a traditional college experience. Our Regional Campuses allow those who live far from Fort Lauderdale to experience an on-campus atmosphere. Our campuses provide opportunities to develop friendships, form study groups and use videoconferencing equipment to connect with the main campus.

NSU Regional Campuses offer:

  • Convenient evening and weekend classes
  • Full-degree online programs
  • Outstanding on-site faculty members who are professionals participating in their fields
  • Full-time staff to assist with financial aid, registration, applications and program questions
  • Wireless connectivity
  • Videoconferencing and audiovisual tools
  • Convenient parking
  • Student government associations

Online Courses

In 1972, NSU pioneered distance education by offering the first doctoral distance education program in the country. Recognizing a need for programs that are accessible to working professionals, NSU quickly expanded its online course offerings. Today, NSU remains a leader in online education. Online courses offer NSU students the ability to access all course content and complete a wide range of activities, including frequent student-teacher and student-student communication. 

NSU’s online education features:

  • Faculty and student discussion forums with threaded bulletin boards
  • Real-time electronic classrooms with graphical presentations and audio
  • Online submission of assignments in multimedia formats
  • NSU email address
  • Directory for publishing assignments and resources to the Web
  • Access to the Electronic Library and online databases

State Authorization

Federal and state regulations require that institutions of higher education comply with state laws regarding distance learning. Distance learning programs may utilize a number of different instructional methodologies including online courses or video technology. Degree programs may also integrate some form of supervised field experience such as an internship, externship, student teaching or practica that takes place outside of the institution’s home state. State regulations related to distance learning activities are continuously changing and evolving. NSU makes every effort to monitor these changes, maintain appropriate state approvals, and make the most informed decisions about state authorization compliance for its students. The University works with various regulatory agencies in each state and U.S. Territories to seek authorizations, registrations, exemptions and/or permissions to offer distance education programs to out-of-state residents who wish to enroll in these programs. Students that have any questions related to state authorization should contact their College advisor or NSU’s Office of Licensure and State Relations.

NC-SARA logoThe State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories in the United States, which establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education activities. These distance education activities may include, but not be limited to, online courses and certain types of supervised field experiences. SARA is intended to simplify the process of state authorization related to the aforementioned distance education activities by establishing a standard approval process through which institutions may participate in the reciprocity agreement with other member states. At present, all states except for California are members of SARA. Although SARA facilitates state authorization for certain types of distance education activities, the reciprocity agreement has no effect on state professional licensure requirements. To learn more about SARA, please visit: nc-sara.org.

In August of 2017, the state of Florida was approved by the Southern Regional Education Board to join SARA. On December 11, 2017 Florida’s Postsecondary Reciprocal Distance Education Coordinating Council (PRDECC) approved NSU to register with NC-SARA. On January 23, 2018 NC-SARA approved institutional participation for NSU.

Nova Southeastern University provides several means through which a student may address complaints and grievances. In order to resolve academic grievances, complaints, and concerns in an expeditious, fair, and amicable manner, students are asked to consult their respective college catalog or student handbook for information on the appropriate grievance procedures. The link above provides academic catalogs for each Nova Southeastern University College. Students are urged to exhaust all possible internal avenues for resolution before filing complaints with external agencies.

In the unlikely event that an issue cannot be resolved internally, students may file a complaint with the following external agencies:

  1. Regional Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 Telephone: (404) 679-4500. The link above provides information on the SACSCOC complaint policies and procedures.
  2. State Agency: Florida Department of Education, Office of Articulation; email: articulation@fldoe.org Telephone: (850) 245-0427.
  3. State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA): SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education. Institutions that participate in SARA are authorized to provide online and other distance education activities to students from all SARA member states. Institutions that choose to participate in SARA operate under a set of policies and standards overseen by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and administered by four regional higher education compacts. Nova Southeastern University has been approved by NC-SARA to participate in this reciprocity agreement.

Distance education students that are enrolled in a Florida institution that operates under SARA, who have completed the internal institutional grievance process and applicable state grievance process, may appeal non-instructional complaints to the Florida State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (FL-SARA) Postsecondary Reciprocal Distance Education Coordinating Council (PRDEC). For additional information on the complaint process, please visit FL-SARA Complaint Process page.

 

NSU Colleges that offer programs leading to professional licensure or certification regularly assess, or are in the process of assessing, licensure requirements in Florida and any state where a student or applicant is located.  All students and applicants to programs leading to professional licensure receive information on licensure requirements in an email, letter, or other communication directly from the NSU College to which they are applying.  If the College is unable to determine whether a program will meet state professional licensure requirements, applicants will be provided current contact information for any applicable licensing boards.  It is advised that students and applicants seek guidance from the appropriate licensing agency in your home state before beginning any academic program leading to licensure.  If you are unable to locate information about professional licensure, or have difficulty obtaining the information you need, please contact the academic advisor for your program.

Each NSU program that leads to professional licensure or certification has posted specific information about licensure requirements on the degree program’s webpage under the heading “Professional Licensure Disclosure.”  The following link provides a listing of NSU programs that lead to professional licensure or certification and the URL to the Professional Licensure Disclosure.  Please review all the information on the program webpage and contact an academic advisor for further information about professional licensure requirements.

Nova Southeastern University is authorized by the Washington Student Achievement Council and meets the requirements and minimum educational standards established for degree-granting institutions under the Degree-Granting Institutions Act.  This authorization is subject to periodic review and authorizes Nova Southeastern University to offer specific degree programs.  The Council may be contacted for a list of currently authorized programs.  Authorization by the Council does not carry with it an endorsement by the Council of the institution or its programs.  Any person desiring information about the requirements of the act or the applicability of those requirements to the institution may contact the Council at P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430 or by email at degreeauthorization@wsac.wa.gov

Statement Regarding Transfer of Credit

The transferability of credits earned at Nova Southeastern University is at the discretion of the receiving college, university, or other educational institution. Students considering transferring to any institution should not assume that credits earned in any program of study at Nova Southeastern University will be accepted by the receiving institution. Similarly, the ability of a degree, certificate, diploma, or other academic credential earned at Nova Southeastern University to satisfy an admission requirement of another institution is at the discretion of the receiving institution. Accreditation does not guarantee credentials or credits earned at Nova Southeastern University will be accepted by or transferred to another institution. To minimize the risk of having to repeat coursework, students should contact the receiving institution in advance for evaluation and determination of transferability of credits and/or acceptability of degrees, diplomas, or certificates earned.

Statement Regarding Course Cancellation

Nova Southeastern University reserves the right to cancel any class. If a class is canceled and a replacement is not offered, then students will receive a full refund of tuition paid for the canceled class. If the student registered for only one class, then the registration fee would be refunded as well.

Student Loan Repayment

For information and resources about student loan repayment, or to submit a complaint relating to your student loans or student loan servicer, please visit www.wsac.wa.gov/loan-advocacy or contact the Student Loan Advocate at loanadvocate@wsac.wa.gov.

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