National University

So many things, so financial aid took like 6 months to process!!! So that dept. Should be 2 stars only bc the staff was friendly. The campus itself is clean and parking is okay. Professor Nima Salima is awesome! Best one I had there… then there were some okay ones and 1 who was the worst I’ve had my entire life. The one class/​month system is great especially for full time working mammas. If your Active Duty this is place to go. Most instructors are military friendly and understand the whole duty situation, as long as you work hard in class they’ll work with you.

I only give two stars out of respect for a few of the teachers. Other than a few good professors this college is a joke. I attended an engineering Masters program for three months to only find out my time was wasted because of an internal mistake. I spent the money on the classes, invested hours of time to only be told I would not be getting the credits or refunded the money because of a missing document on my records. I have tried asking financial aid for a refund and they denied me. Probably looking at taking legal action towards the school. Please consider another institution. I am in a different masters program now and have already seen a large handful of students drop out due to various issues. Probably going to drop soon as well once I find another institution to attend.

I had a bad experience with NU and their lack of professionalism. I was accepted into their new clear teaching credential program for education specialists. I work at a private school, which I had made clear from the start. Five days after the semester began, I was informed by the woman who made the program that my school site does not meet the «minimum requirements» for her program. When I asked for these «requirements» to be sent to me in writing, she said no, that they are not written down. After turning down a different university so that I could enroll in NU’s program, I was told that the end-​all-​tell-​all says no, so it’s a NO and there’s no way around that. It’s very upsetting to me that I was accepted, enrolled, and completed the first assignment, without anyone noticing that my school site does not meet their requirements. In addition, previously mentioned end-​all-​tell-​all had also told me that private school teachers CANNOT obtain their clear credentials, according to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. I told her that I was pretty certain their website says the program is for «public, non-​public school, and private school teachers» and that I have seen other programs offering the clear to private school teachers. This woman said, «Well, I’d like to know which other universities would say that,» with a nails-​down-​the-​blackboard attitude. I have since spoken with CTC and another university’s credential analyst and advisor. All three individuals said they have never heard of private school teachers not being allowed to obtain a clear credential. Just because HER program doesn’t allow private school teachers, does not mean that NO programs do, like she had said. That is false information. I would like other private school teachers to beware when applying to NU, as you will likely be provided with inaccurate information. Here’s a direct quote from their website, on requirements:
A minimum of two years of successful, full-​time teaching experience in public schools, or private schools of equivalent status. Candidates must work under contract while holding a valid Level I Education Specialist Teaching Credential for the entire two years.
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Will try to keep this as brief and to-​the-​point as possible – I have a feeling I will fail:
1. Class selection is difficult. Due to number of available classes being extremely limited, you may be forced to take a class you don’t want to take in order to maintain enrollment eligibility. This makes it very difficult to map out your educational goals, as there is no guarantee the class you want or need, will be available at the time you’d like to take it.
2. Financial Aid technical issues = no FA. Until June of this year, my FA was fairly smooth – no major complaints. However, I have been waiting 4 months to receive FA, now. Each time I contact them, I am told they expect my FA package to be available in 2 to 4 weeks. I eventually found out, after a couple of months, that I was up against 2 issues:
— – My FA loan period in their system was wrong – apparently showed a later date than what it should have;
— – FA recently switched from one software system to another, which has severely impacted their ability to grant awards at this time. Since June, I have basically been told my file will be complete in 2 to 4 weeks – every time I follow-​up on status, I am told the same thing… another 2 to 4 weeks.
3. Poor response time from Admissions Advisor. Response time as a new student is fantastic. Once you are enrolled, the service from your AA declines (at least it has with mine). There have been times I’ve had to send several follow-​up emails over the course of a few months to get a response. I pay $ 50 a year to shop at Costco and receive far better customer service than NU. I would expect paying over $ 1500 a class (which has increased $ 81 a class in the year and a half I’ve been at NU) to receive better support from a university while trying to reach your educational goals.
4. Inconsistencies from one class to the next. While NU has a standard that professors are expected to meet, they have a lot of flexibility regarding how they run their class.
— – Each Professor has their own grading criteria. I have had some professors calculate an A as 93% and above, 94% and above, 95% and above, etc. There is no set standard.
— – I’m accustomed to classes having a syllabus that covers all need-​to-​know info on the class. Discussing standard school policy, required texts, learning objectives, class outline with assignments and due dates, etc. It was a one-​stop-​shop for all important information relating to the class. This is not the case at NU. While this has improved greatly since they moved from ClassLive to Blackboard, you still have to go to multiple locations to get all of the information you need and each Professor organizes things differently.
— – Exam availability varies per class. Some professors open up an exam that can be taken anytime during the full length of a week. Others provide only a small window, such as 12pm Saturday until 12pm Sunday. Some professors will make exams due before the weekly assignments and reading are due.
— – Length of school week varies per class. Some professors maintain a Mon-​Sat school week; others are Mon-​Sun; a few are Mon-​Mon. NU classes typically end on the 4^th Saturday of the course – some professors strictly adhere to this deadline, while others extend their class a day or two.
— – Response time from professors. Most professors teach at multiple schools or have other jobs outside of teaching, so most do not have set «office» hours. Due to the short time-​frame of the classes, it is important to get answers to your questions fairly quickly to avoid falling behind.
One person stated that they have found that employers do not think highly of their degree. This is quite possible but could also be true of someone who graduated from a CSU vs UC school. If an employer has two or more desirable candidates, they have to weigh other factors to determine which person they want to ultimately employ. Where you went to college may be a factor as well as extracurricular activities, area of study, GPA, volunteer work, credit history, etc. Employers want highly motivated people, as they are generally more successful. Simply having a degree from an accredited college will put you a notch above those who have no degree at all and that is enough for some employers. If you are trying to get into a highly competitive field or work for well-​known companies (Google, for instance) you will likely need a degree from a more renowned university. So, I wouldn’t say a degree from NU is useless; however, it obviously won’t open as many doors as a degree from SDSU, a UC school, or any Ivy-​league schools.

I attended National University for 9 months. When I stopped taking classes, I had a balance on my account. I contacted the financial aid department, the lady I spoke with told me I had a grant that would cover my entire balance of $ 500. I then try to get a copy of my transcripts only to find out I still have the balance, I call financial aid again, to hear that my balance will not be covered. In the span of 4 months I talked to about 15 different advisers, who all told me different answers. Here I am 4 months later, with a balance of $ 499, and I am receiving emails saying that if I don’t pay my balance in whole right now it will effect my credit. If I received the correct answer when I first asked 4 months ago, I could have paid this.
The financial aid lacks communication and has absolutely failed to answer any of my questions in a timely matter, or at all for that.
Very disappointing.

Unfortunately, I am currently attending this place. The counselors and professors have all been very condescending when they speak with you and I really would not recommend this place. I was so excited to get out of the community college scene and get started on my nursing degree, and here I am, even more behind. On my initial visit with the counselor I gave her my classes that were done, as well as sent in not one, but two, transcripts, and I was still put in the wrong class. After my third email to my counselor, I received a snotty response basically telling me too bad and that I can take the correct class in NOVEMBER. Lovely 2 months wasted. I was also told I had two months to get my financial aid taken care of, but a month and a half in I received two late notices. I have tried getting ahold of the financial aid department and so far that has proven unsuccessful. If you’re thinking of attending here, really rethink your options!

I am finishing up my master’s there and have had countless problems based from the schools errors. However, it was not until my most current problem that I would have written a review this negative. I am months past receiving my financial aid because National told me they had a «computer glitch» I have called and emailed Mr. Lopez the financial aid supervisor countless times and he can’t even take the time out to call me back. They don’t care that now I will lose my apartment in 3 days and become homeless with my two children amongst countless other financial issues resulting by their error once again. I have asked where I can lodge an official complaint and they will not even provide that information.

Overall 3.5 stars. I only come here every 2 years for recertification requirements. The facility itself is decent– clean bathrooms and classrooms, has free parking, lobby area.
The lobby area is always kind of warm, but the classrooms are cool & clean.
It’s kind of a pain to get to from North County during traffic times (why oh why must all companies make their classes 8/8:30 start times? Ugh!), but since I only have to come here every couple of years, it’s A-​OK with me!

I havent had a great experience with this school. The instructors are pretty mediocre. I just finished the program and feel I didn’t learn what i was supposed to learm. I feel like I went into the internship blind. Ive had some prettty bad teachers who dont return calls, emails, very slow to return work or dont return work at all! They are all ajunt and have careers and other priorities and noone to keep them accountable! There are some pluses like starting class year round and online classes. I wouldnt recommend it however

I have had a great experience with the online Bachelors of Arts in Management program this far. My first professor did not communicate well via email but since then it has gone well. Another complaint I have is that the online platform isn’t consistent. I had to drop a class recently because I was in the wrong online section waiting for my class to start. I was able to drop it in time, but that just pushes the process back a month for me. I do appreciate the fact I can do school online while working 50+ hours a week and being a full time parent.

DO NOT ATTEND THIS UNIVERSITY.
The faculty is great, don’t get me wrong. The program itself is fast-​paced and conveniently online. But financial aid will promise you the world, take a giant black dildo and then shove it up your arse and tell you you’re not getting the aid you were originally promised with a sweet little kiss on the cheek called a collections hold.
Guess what? I was told I was completely covered! Now I CANNOT GRADUATE unless I take out personal loans through some high-​APR bank! Surely they can just give me more loans through my already-​established loan provider and add it to my growing sinkhole they call my debt? NO! They cannot! Nay, they WILL not!

I am Currently enrolled at the MBA Program at National University after recently having graduated from SDSU just a few years prior. My Graduate school choices along with National were ASU, UCSD and SDSU but the reason I chose National is because it aligns with my more than full-​time work schedule, as you have have heard classes are held at night twice a week and one Saturday each month.
The majority of the Professors i’ve had so far at National are Doctorates with extensive knowledge and work experience in the field that they are teaching in. The adjunct staff are all MBA’s also with extensive knowledge in the field that they teach in as well.
The workload is similar to a class at the Semester level, which is what I was used to at SDSU but compressed into one month. For example my last class consisted of 2 quizzes, 2 tests, 3 case studies, an in depth research term paper, a presentation on the paper, 16 chapters of reading (4 chapters per week).
I Approximately clock in around 25 – 30 hours of self study per week for 4 weeks per class, this is not counting class hours. Typically each class in this program expects you to study around 20 hours per week minimum. After all it is an accelerated program and highly worth it.
At first I saw it as a challenge but it surely have gotten used to it as it made my time management skills much better than I could have ever expected. It is far from impossible and it is very doable with proper time management refinement, since you are only focused on one class at a time.
Although the class is only one month long there is no compromise in knowledge attained throughout each course. In my opinion I feel like I retain more information this way compared to the semester system I was used to as there is no slack time.
Class sizes are small, aprx 17 – 25 people and so far all the professors I’ve met truly love to teach. There was not a single class I’ve had so far where a Professor has not known my name. This makes for a very dynamic and personal learning experience.
The make up of the classrooms are cleaner, newer, and more comfortable (nice new padded chairs). All the classes are equipped with new projectors and white boards, campuses have break rooms, not to mention café at the main Spectrum Campus.
The computer lab is complete with newer computers and free printing. The parking situation is easy, no need to stalk anyone for a parking spot for 15 minutes like at SDSU.
As for social setting, since the community is small compared to a large university everyone is more friendly and sociable with each other. You will make a lot of friends here and get a great education. National offers a fully credentialed education fit to match the lifestyle of working professionals or anyone in general. I am thoroughly impressed with National University and recommend it for everyone.
oh and did I mention, counselors are always available and are always very helpful and want to see you succeed!

Quite possibly the most embarrassing aspect I have found post graduation is that most employers don’t think too highly of my Bachelors Degree.
I also felt that you don’t get what you pay for. Every class ran about $ 1700 and that is paid monthly. The advisors are quick to point out what you don’t have or their rules but will never be proactive in assisting you. This lack of advising cost me 2 more months of classes and roughly $ 3400. I would have gladly fixed it but they set my classes and didn’t let me see what was available on their screens.
So after all is said and done, I’m sitting on a huge student loan and a worthless degree.

*** Update: 2 stars because FINANCIAL AID IS A NIGHTMARE!!!
I am giving only 3 stars because of the FINANCIAL AID. If it wasn’t for that, I would give 5 stars!!!
This is my 6^th month and it has been a tough road mainly because of the Financial Aid process. The process took 6 months! Overall, I am loving my education at NU. The Professors are great and so far have been very flexible, especially with the fact I have children. A few times, I was excused from getting points deducted from my work because I couldn’t get my work completed because of my sick child. I, of course, had doctor’s appointments to prove my child/​children were sick.
I wanted to thank those Professor for being so understanding. After all, most people who attend NU work full time and have families. It’s hard for us to balance it all but somehow we manage. In addition, the work is VERY demanding so be ready to work VERY hard. You are required to do discussions, quizzes, papers, etc. It is important to read and print whatever you can for good notes.
Do not depend on a classmate. Some can be helpful but at the end of the day, you are on your own. From my experience, I spend at least 3 – 4 hours doing homework each night. It is exhausting and I don’t get much sleep. I also try to use Google books to find information on my books. It’s just easier to navigate. Google won’t allow you to see all pages but it gives you an idea of where a definition or person may be located on the book. It has saved me a lot of times, especially when taking notes for quiz reviews and papers.
Nevertheless, I work full time and have three kids and I am doing this because it is my dream. If you really want your degree, you will do whatever it takes. I have two years to go. Time is really flying and every month that passes by, I get more and more excited!
Meg Felix is my adviser and she is really nice and has helped a lot. The financial aid people are a nightmare at Carlsbad, CA. Again, overall, I am happy and it has been the best decision in my life. I know it will be worth it. In 2 years, I will have my teaching credentials and do what I absolutely have dreamed of… Educating our children :)
I wanted to thank all my Professors for really being passionate about what they teach. All of them have been very organized, flexible, and very friendly.
My favorite Professors so far are Andrea Renea Oyarzabal and Teresa Neal :) :) :)
I can’t wait to graduate and make a difference. It is never too late to dream and make it come true!
Stay strong. Stay Focused. Live your dream! We only have this ONE life to live so make it your best life.
I hope this helps and feel free to contact me with questions.

I loved my first class, but I am highly disappointed in both the financial aid office and the registrar’s office. I applied for financial aid back in October. It is now January and they still have not processed my file. I have had promises broken and heard many excuses. Despite several attempts to contact them, I am left only with bills and late fees. The registrar’s office will not confirm to my lender that I am currently enrolled. The paperwork is brief and would take anyone less than 5 minutes to complete, but it has been quite a struggle to get help from them. The lack of follow-​though has caused me personal losses. I am now thinking of switching schools. Although the classes are great, I cannot recommend this school to anyone.

I just want to point out that I have not actually attended NU quite yet, I just wanted to express my concerns with other individuals about my so far experience with them.
It is very frustrating that this schools motto is «apply this month, start next month» I have been battling with these people for two months now with financial aid. This school is on such a slow pace and it is making me very nervous to attend here. My academic adviser doesn’t really seem knowledgeable and more often than not refers my questions to others.
I am starting school in January and have been told repetitively that my financial aid will be available by then. Let’s hope so because these classes are not cheap. So far I am not impressed with the communication of this school.

At times, this library looks and sounds like its hosting a world of warcraft tournament. As I write this review, now is one of those times.
Almost all the carrells on the men’s bathroom side are full of «students» mouse clicking at a feverish pitch. Very intense… oh yeah and $!#_&&#=!!@$ annoying.

I have been attending some career type classes there (the tuition was not offered by NU, but from another company, so NU was just the center) during last week and still have some more to attend. My review then is just for the facilities. I have had a great pleasant experience, and actually was surprised that NU has real campuses as I had the wrong impression that was a pure online university.
The parking lot is huge and the location in Kearny Mesa area makes it very accessible. I particularly like the library which is located in an adjacent building. Very peaceful, clean, quiet and fresh. In the main building, everything is noted clearly for the different events held there, as it seems that they host a lot of career fairs and other non relevant to the curriculum of the university type of studies or events.
Atmosphere is chill and good, with students of all ages minding their business and you get a professionally managed picture in there. Classes are spacious, good AC, clean bathrooms and overall very nice place. Only cafeteria seems lacking to me, but with so many options very close by, I won’t suggest to use it other than to get some snacks.

I joined Unilocal specifically so I could write this review and warn other people away from attending this joke of a college. I’m a current student working to get into the accelerated nursing program as I already received my first bachelors from Cal State San Marcos a few years ago so I know what it’s like to be a student and the expectations regarding classwork.
I thought it would be nice to take some online courses while working, but the online classes that National University offers are a joke at best. They use this program called ClassLive which is buggy at the best of times and their IT Department is dodgy at best. Half the time I get routed to some foreign IT Dept. where you can barely understand what they’re saying and they’re hopelessly incompetent. When I do get through to the local IT Dept. they solve my issues fairly quickly, but the problem is getting through to them. The online student forums are outdated and pretty much only compatable with Internet Explorer otherwise you have to set it to compatability mode if you run it in Chrome.
Of the three online classes I’ve taken so far only one professor was decent and answered questions in a timely manner and had a syllabus with due dates. My other two professors posted a vague syllabus with no due dates so you had no idea when stuff was due. Grading criteria and feedback weren’t given to us in the two classes until well over half way through the course so you had no idea how you were doing. When I had a question about a statistics program I was using I emailed a print screen of the image to my professor and he said the issue was that I was using a Mac… when it clearly showed a Windows icon on the Start Tab in the image…
This is just ONE example of the incompetence that I’ve seen with this online program so far. I haven’t taken any actual live classes so I can’t say what it’s like on that front. For as much money as you pay for these classes I expected a LOT more than what I received.

I earned my Masters here. The education was good, but the cost was way too much.
I recently came back to attend a seminar. They offer a small little cafeteria which I purchased some food from. The food was standard, nothing to write home about. The classroom my seminar was held in was ok. Tempurature was ok. The walls/​door protected from outside noise, which was helpful. The lobby was nice and spacious, had plenty of seating to relax at.