2018 NSU Fact Book

16 Shepard Broad College of Law • Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic • Career Development Programs • Children and Families Clinic • Civil Field Placement Clinics • Criminal Field Placement Clinics • Environmental and Land Use Law Clinic • Pro Bono Honor Program • Service-Learning Classes • Student organization-led initiatives • Veterans Law Clinic LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION The university meets regulations that govern the delivery of distance education in Florida and the other states where it offers programs. Although states differ in regulations, the process through which the university obtains state licensure and certification typically involves review at three levels. At the state government level, Nova Southeastern University must qualify as a foreign corporation in order to do business in a specific state. At the higher-education authority level, NSU must complete an extensive application process and a rigorous review by each state. At the accrediting body level, the university must comply with specific requirements concerning distance education programs and general areas such as fiscal stability and student support services for each off-campus program offering. The purposes of this process are the safeguarding of consumer interests and the assurance of quality control. NSU currently has active distance education programs in 4 countries; in Puerto Rico; and in 13 states, including Florida, in full accordance with the regulations of each of those jurisdictions. NSU offers a wide range of online undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and graduate certificate programs. To support the enrollment of out-of-state students, the university has obtained approval by Florida to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). NC-SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education. It is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories in the United States that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education activities. DISTANCE EDUCATION AT NSU Nova Southeastern University is a pioneer in the area of distance education, having initiated distance education programs in 1972. It was the first university in the United States to offer graduate programs in an online format, with the creation of the electronic classroom. NSU has been offering online programs and programs with an online component since 1983. NSU was also the first to use the Unix system to host online courses, and one of the first to use the Internet to support instruction. At NSU, distance education is delivered using a variety of instructional delivery systems. Modes of delivery to students away from the Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus include online course delivery systems, synchronous meetings inanelectronicclassroom, traditional classroom instruction with a live instructor on-site, compressed interactive video, and audio teleconferencing. Some programs use a blended instructional approach with face-to-face instruction coupled with online resources and video components. Others use an online course area exclusively. Some graduate programs require students to attend short intensive instructional units on campus (doctoral studies orientation, summer “institutes,” or a summer conference) as a part of their required program of study. Distance education students have access to educational support services, including the NSU libraries at nova.edu/library , technology support via a help desk, educational resources via electronic classrooms and the Internet, and computing resources on our Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus and at regional campuses located in Florida and Puerto Rico. NSU students can participate in online courses from any location in the world with an Internet connection. Online courses use a Web-based instructional platform as a centralized location for educational materials, course content, and communication—both synchronous and asynchronous. The online course platform enables a wide range of online activities that facilitate frequent student-teacher and student-student interaction. Faculty members and students interact in discussion forums via threaded bulletin boards, via real- time electronic classrooms that support graphical presentations and audio, and through online submission of assignments in multimedia formats. NSU provides an email address and a directory for publishing