User:Hecman111/Reach University

Reach University is a non-profit, private university with its headquarters in Oakland, California. Founded in 2006, Reach University offers distance academic degree programs and teacher certification in California, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Programs at Reach University are job-embedded and designed for adult learners. The university uses synchronous virtual learning for its online programs in addition to candidates earning nearly half of their credit while working with a partner school district.

History
National University founder David Chigos, a former United States Navy captain and director of employee training for General Dynamics Corporation, established the school as a non-traditional university for working adults. In 1971, National University was organized as a private, non-profit institution with 27 students. The university's first commencement ceremony had 143 graduates. From 1971-1975, the university was based at 1050 Rosecrans St. in San Diego. In 1975, National purchased two properties in Mission Valley as its headquarters. Two years later, National opened teaching facilities in Kearny Mesa and San Diego County. During that time, the school gained approximately 1000 alumni and received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. By 1979, National had purchased a 15 acre campus with 110000 ft2 of classroom and library space and 3,500 alumni. National also acquired the Cabrillo Pacific College of Law in 1979, which closed in 1991.

In 2019, T. Denny Sanford donated $350 million to National University to rename the university's School of Education to the Sanford College of Education. In addition to the name change, a tuition decrease was announced, aided by Sanford's donation.

In July 2022 National announced a merger with Northcentral University, an entirely online institution specializing in advanced degrees. The merger will bring the combined enrollment to more than 42,000 students.

Academics
National University confers associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, teaching credentials, and continuing education programs.

Accreditation and approvals
Reach University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). In addition to being accredited by WASC, National University also is:


 * Accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE)
 * Accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), and the Nevada State Board of Education
 * Accredited by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) Approved by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the offering of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program
 * Accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
 * Accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH)

National University is organized as four professional schools and two colleges:
 * College of Letters and Sciences
 * Sanford College of Education
 * School of Business and Management
 * School of Engineering and Computing
 * School of Health and Human Services
 * School of Professional Studies

The university also has a Division of Extended Learning, which houses continuing education, professional development programs, and 23 teacher credential/certificate programs. Since 1996, National University offers more than 100 degree programs through over 1,500 courses online.

National University received sanctions in 2021, threatening its regional accreditation, when a scathing report from the American Association of University Professors revealed the institution made a series of sweeping changes that included firing 50 full-time professors, six associate vice presidents, unilateral changes to the school's governance structure, consolidation of its libraries into a central library without any meaningful consultation with the faculty or library staff, closing several campuses across California, and bypassing the faculty when making decisions regarding the discontinuation of several academic programs.

Graduation rate
National's graduation rate for the 2014 academic year is 71% at undergraduate level and 65% at the graduate level.

College of Letters and Sciences
National University's College of Letters and Sciences provides undergraduate, general education courses to students enrolled in all other schools of the university. The college itself has four departments and offers an Associate of Arts degree, liberal arts bachelor's degrees in biological science, history, and psychology. It also offers master's degrees in creative writing, English, film studies, gerontology, and strategic communications.

School of Business and Management
The School of Business and Management offers business degree programs on campus and online. The school is composed of three departments and also offers various master's degrees. The school offers a Bachelors in Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Accountancy, and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership.

Sanford College of Education
The College of Education offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, certificates, and education credentials in areas including teaching, school counseling, school psychology, special education, early childhood education, and school administration. National holds teaching contracts with 643 California school districts and approximately 70% of the 26,000 teachers in San Diego County earned teaching credentials from National University. At the University's Henderson campus, the College of Education offers Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts teacher licensure programs in elementary education, secondary math, and secondary English. In 2015, National University renamed the School of Education to the Sanford College of Education in honor of philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. The college also houses the Sanford Education Center and two of its programs: the Sanford Harmony Program which promotes respect and understanding of differences among children by expanding understanding and acceptance of gender differences at an early age to positively affect adult relationships and the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy which offers a certificate in Cause Sales and hosts various professional development workships in nonprofit management.

School of Engineering and Computing
The School of Engineering and Computing offers degree programs in engineering, technology, computer science, and other related fields. The school focuses curriculum on management information systems, construction engineering, electrical engineering, and information technology management.

School of Health and Human Services
The School of Health and Human Services offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in clinical health sciences, healthcare administration, nursing, public health, allied health, clinical laboratory science, radiation therapy, and clinical regulatory affairs.

School of Professional Studies
The School of Professional Studies offers academic degree programs in digital media, paralegal, pre-law, criminal justice, and several others.

National University System
National University is the flagship institution of the National University System. In addition to National University, there are four academic affiliates and two research institutes of the National University System:


 * City University of Seattle, Seattle, Washington (affiliated since 2013)
 * National University Academy, Vista, California (established 2008)
 * National University Virtual High School, Chula Vista, California (established 2003)
 * Northcentral University, San Diego, California (affiliated since 2019)
 * The Center for Performance Psychology
 * The National University System Institute for Policy Research

John F. Kennedy University was an affiliate of the National University System from 2009 until JFKU was closed in 2020, at which time JFKU's programs were continued by other universities in the National University System.

Student body
National University is the second-largest private, non-profit institution of higher education in California by total enrollment. The average age of an NU student is 32. Roughly 23,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are currently enrolled with nine percent of the student body also in active military service. National University is also one of the largest graduate student institutions of higher education in the United States with 23,909 students enrolled. The university has approximately150,000 alumni from all 50 states and internationally.