National University

I have very mixed feelings about this place.
First, let me say that I am not on financial aid, and so the many negative reviews, on this and other websites, about National’s poor-​handling of grants and loans, do not apply to me. Also, this is my 3^rd degree, so I am an adept student at this point.
Here’s why I’m conflicted about National University:
GREAT: One course per month = fantastic freedom, if you have a life already.
GREAT: Online format lets you work ahead or at least plan your time.
GOOD: Some of the teachers are engaged online in a meaningful way — giving feedback, participating in discussions, etc. In the Education program, some of the professors are experienced teachers who want to share their expertise in the classroom.
GOOD: The courses in the M.Ed. /​Credential program are really quite good, if you go all-​in. I find lots of clever learning opportunities hidden in the assignments, but they are not highlighted by the teachers or the courses.
MEH: Many of the teachers seem to be collecting a paycheck — simply grading papers and providing scripted feedback — while you do everything in a vacuum. For me, this was ok. I don’t need a lot of help, but many of my classmates do. I often find myself answering course structure-​type of questions from my peers. Also, there are lots of errors in the course materials that no one ever fixes, like due dates from 2014 or math errors in case studies.
MEH: I do my best and I get 100% on assignments. I do my next-​best and get 100%. What’s going on? Is it a bell-​curve problem? This really devalues my opinion of my own degree.
BAD: Many of the other students in this Masters program do not seem up to the challenge. This really takes away from the interactions, and further devalues my degree.
HORRIBLE: National’s Advisors, Credential Specialists, and other supporting personnel are frustratingly unhelpful. I have been given wrong information that cost me 2 months. I have had countless promises to «get back to me» that never happen. I have had direct conflicts in information given. They lost a $ 100 foreign transcript. They seem unable to answer my questions, yet when I inquire elsewhere I am told that the program Advisors are the ones to ask.
Overall, I would say that you should enroll in National University Online, only if you are a self-​disciplined and independent student who can learn the entire course on your own with just a syllabus, some books, and a few deadlines. It would be great for just adding a course or getting a certificate. The primary reason I chose this school was the flexibility of the courses, since I have two small children, and in that it remains fantastic. However, it is not a rigorous university experience unless you make it so, which I try to do by reading more and going above and beyond in my assignments.

Big mistake. I had a bad feeling about this place and I still decided to try to obtain an online degree from it. Anyways, I took only one class and I was not happy at all. The professor was not really helpful so I dropped the program. Here nobody cares about you, it‘s all about the money. At National University, you take one class at a time, which takes 1 month to complete each class. So each class roughly costs somewhere around $ 1,600 to $ 1,800 a month. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to continue on with the program I was taking at National due to the demands of my job. So, after only taking one class, (1 month) I had to drop out. I called to speak to a financial consultant at National to find out what my options were to pay back the $ 1,680 I owed. I spoke to Ingrid and she said, «I can call her at anytime I can to make partial payments to pay off the amount of money I owed from the one class I took. A few months later I received a call from another person who was a internal collections rep. He said that he looked at the notes from my conversation with Ingrid and said that he needs the full amount of money now or he will send me to collections!!! He put me in a corner and disregarded what Ingrid had told me. If I could give National University zero stars I would. Follow your gut instinct if you decide to go and meet with one of their recruiters. I wish I would have followed mine and not have enrolled with this uncaring place!!!

I currently enrolled in the MAT program with an emphasis on ABA. The on line program were good, the teachers were great and very helpful. My advisor is fantastic. She always answers all my questions within a few days, mostly on the same day. She guides me on where to get further information about the BCBA and requirements. I just started the on campus classes and the people at the information desk were very helpful explaining the parking, telling me about the wifi, and where my class was, an all that. Yes the classes are expensive but other online universities are about the same price. At least parking is free. At my last school I had to pay $ 100 for parking for a quarter.

Wow. I am so surprised on all the comments I finish reading some commets about National University. I am currently a student now. I have currently taken 13 classes at National University and I have had a positive experience. Unfortunately, my career advisor /​counselor, was relocated. Now I have a different advisor who is extremely helpful, responses immediately to my emails, and has excellent customer service. There is one thing that everyone should know, when attending National you have to have a self disciplined mindset. I do come accross teachers that have 10 to 20 years experience in the business management in law careers. Let’s be honest here, we all have had professors that do not meet our expectations. That’s in all faces of life. National University has taught me to hold myself accountable and not to make excuses. Education and a college degree are two different things and we are all responsible for the performance we deliver in life. I have come across a lot of my teachers from high school, junior college and Cal State California schools that have there credentials from National University. This was one of the reasons that convince me to consider National University, and NU is accredited. I’m reading the comments and I understand that people take it very personal when they pay a lot of money out of pocket for school. But we all know that the best investment in life is ourselves. So why are we going to continue to throw tantrums about how much we spend on education. We should stop doing this and instead incouage people to come back to education. I do understand that there are some schools out there that are extremely expensive and there simply all about making money. But that doesn’t mean that NU has the same desire, let’s not forget National University is a non-​profit school. NU has treated me well and I have a lot of respect for their staff, teachers and leaders. Thank you leave a comment.

One star for the fact that you do get a degree after completing a program at this school. Other then that? No stars. Terrible customer/​student service. You have to max out student loans to attend this school and they still don’t keep students first.
I have been through 3 counselors. First 2 abruptly left (fired I think) and all my stuff was left without being attended to. Ouch. I just left this school to finish at a different one.
I would NOT recommend this place for undergrad students.

I have not started classes yet but I just got off the phone with them and they are by far the rudest people I have ever spoke to. I called the first time and a women answered. She kept cutting me off and was acting very rude and snobby. When I called the second time a man answered, he spoke to me as if I was an idiot. He kept asking me if Id like to pay the application fee and the tuition fee at the same time I told him the women I spoke to previously before told me that I could pay only one right now and he got very angry with me simply because he confused me about the payments. When I told him my name he stayed quite as if I was joking and told me Id have to spell that. He was not helpful at all. Horrible horrible costumer services; it was by far the worst I have ever dealt with. I’m sure the school will be great, but the people behind the website are horrible. Never would have applied if I knew I would be treated like this, not by one but by both of the people who answered my call.

This place is a joke. My advisors paid no attention to my transcripts and scheduled me for classes I’ve already taken and told me I need to petition to get out of the obligation, my financial aid was not processed for 4 months after I submitted it due to «being very busy». I had a few professors that were knowledgeable and excited and helpful but others were uninformed and really useless to someone looking to gain knowledge. I have tried to withdraw 3 times and still occasionally have random advisors emailing me asking if I want to withdraw from the school.
I was finally told I was going to get grants when I called and complained but was told later that I would not be able to have grants. I would not have continued to go here had I known that and as a result put myself in debt more than I had expected to.
DO NOT GO HERE!
Don’t do that to yourself!

I’m currently enrolled in an MS degree in Special Education at NU in San Jose with a mild/​moderate credential option. The classes are very expensive and for that price, I’d expect some customer service… but no. My enrollment advisor seems fairly knowledgeable but my credential advisor not only gave me the wrong information about credentialing requirements (I found out the hard way on the CDE website) but seemed to have a poor attitude.
NU’s customer service philosophy seems to be «let the student beware» and this is vividly illustrated when you arrive at the front desk to ask for information. Rarely is anyone sitting at that desk and when I have to call someone from the back, the person usually looks up reluctantly from his conversation with a co-​worker, saunters up to me and says something like, «Yeah?» or «What do you need?»
The reason NU is getting two stars instead of one is that I’ve taken 10 or 12 classes to date and most of the teachers ranged from okay to superb. I’m now, however, dealing with one who is absolutely insufferable — condescending and unhelpful. As someone who has never taught and doesn’t have any contacts in the educational field, I am finding it impossible to secure the classroom observation slots required to complete the assignment by Saturday (yes, tomorrow). The instructor, when I asked him to allow me to approach the assignment a bit differently because of this, essentially told me that if I was dedicated enough, I could get these appointments… I’ve visited 6 local schools and at the busy beginning of the year, no teacher has the time to spend with me. I face flunking the class because of this, and I have been told to simply «focus my energies.» Not helpful. Not sure what to do at this point. I’m finding out that there is no recourse through NU; I’m on my own. To date, my grades have all been As with one B+ so I’m not a slacker.
In short… spend your well-​earned money on a school that will provide you with the support you need to be successful.

Find another place to blow your money! The teachers do not hold you accountable for your work and many times are unavailable to answer questions. The student accounts dept. is completely disjointed! Best advice for you is to keep really good records of how/​when you paid your bill because they have NO CLUE how to do this. If you’re looking for a place that cares about the quality of your work, look elsewhere. Some of the stuff that students turn in and get away with is absolutely ridiculous! Can’t believe they give out teaching credentials at this place. It is seriously overpriced, maybe that’s why students get away with turning in crappy work. Money WILL buy you a degree here, but doesn’t offer much of an enriched or pleasant learning environment.

I would never recommend this school. The people that work here are a joke! Student accounts and financial are completely ridiculous. They take months to finish your paperwork and make several mistakes along the way, in the mean time your bills are not paid, but they do not care. They do not care about their students or if they finish the program. They just want their money.
I decided to go to this school because I thought it would be an easy way to get my credential because I have kids, but I would rather have dealt with SJSU or CSEB. I regret going to this school.

Finished my Level II, Special Education credential on-​line. There were a couple (2) of helpful and knowledgeable instructors who seemed to really want to do a good job and be helpful and informative. Some of the others were awful. They had no idea what was supposed to happen in the class, were totally off-​base in answering questions, and seemed to be unaware of what we, as students, had been told about the classes. Books for the classes changed last minute costing hundreds of additional dollars. The 20-​somethings that were supposed to be credential analysts were horrible. They couldn’t answer questions, couldn’t make decisions, and seemed to be asleep most of the time. The «analyst» I had to deal with was a complete flunky that was really an embarrassment to an institution who charges quite a bit, to jump through hoops to get a teaching credential. I have two friends who were led down the wrong path toward their credentials costing them hundreds of additional dollars, with no apologies from NU. I am a High School teacher that watched a NU «mentor» fall asleep in a class with a teacher candidate and was totally useless. My opinion is this: If you have many years of classroom experience, NU and all of its awfulness, is ok. If you are new to the classroom, go someplace that actually gives you experience. NU gives you NO real experience as a teacher.

I totally agree. I have taken one class on ground in SJ and two online. The online classes are MUCH more challenging to keep up with. The 2 profs I met and heard lecture in SJ (Dr. Czech and Kimo) are a joke. Hard to follow their lectures b/​c they are so scattered and not like any of the profs I had in undergraduate or graduate school. I just want to get the teaching credential and am paying a fortune for it here… but I should finish 6 months earlier than if I had gone to CSUEB. I had debated on National or Chapman and think I would have gotten better teachers at Chapman… but the commute was too much to Walnut Creek.

I spent lots of long nights here getting my teaching credential and masters degree. OK here is the real scoop on this place… there are maybe 3 professors that are the real deal. Joe Tranchina is one of them! People are scared of him there because he actually holds you accountable and makes you work. God forbid you actually do work at a university, how dare he! The rest are retired educators trying to make an easy buck. The work was a joke, lectures were bland, and I really did not get much out this school as far as an enlightening educational experience. The plus side it that it is fast, convenient, and the EASIER way to get your credential. At the time they also offered scholarship opportunities for those who worked on the East Side of San Jose. Would I do it over again? YES! As a working teacher I wouldn’t have the time or patience to deal with SJSU’s parking and hoops. It does cost A LOT more so you are paying for the convenience of a private school. If you want to get a real education while getting your credential then go to USF with their nationally recognized programs and professors. This is for the person who just wants to get it over with and get in the classroom where the real learning begins!