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.
The 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 National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). On January 23, 2018, NC-SARA approved institutional participation for NSU. The university remains an institutional participant in SARA and is in good standing.
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:
- 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.
- State Agency: Florida Department of Education, Office of Articulation; email: articulation@fldoe.org Telephone: (850) 245-0427.
- 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 state requirements for licensure. All NSU students and applicants to programs leading to professional licensure receive a notification pertaining to the educational requirements for licensure in the state where they are located. This notification also includes information related to state licensing boards. It is advised that all applicants seek guidance from the appropriate licensing agency in your home state before beginning any academic program leading to professional licensure. If you are unable to locate information about professional licensure in your state, or have difficulty obtaining the information you need, please contact the academic advisor for your program.