Northern Arizona University NAU

Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 36 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

As of fall 2012, 26,002 students were enrolled, 18,292 at the Flagstaff campus. The average cost of tuition and fees for a full-time, Arizona resident undergraduate student for two semesters is $9,271. For the Fall 2013 school year, out-of-state undergraduates will pay an estimated $30,947 for tuition, fees, and housing. Since 2007, tuition and fees have increased 92 percent for new undergraduate students.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classifies NAU as a research university with high research activity. NAU is governed by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Website: http://www.nau.edu/

Initially named the Northern Arizona Normal School, the institution was established on September 11, 1899. The first graduating class, in 1901, consisted of four women who received credentials to teach in the Arizona Territory. In 1925, the Arizona State Legislature allowed the school, which was now called the Northern Arizona State Teacher's College, to grant Bachelor of Education degrees. In 1929 the school became Arizona State Teacher's College.

Enrollment dropped sharply, however, as World War II dawned. ASTC became a Navy V-12 program training site.

Campuses: 

Flagstaff campus

Perched at 6,950 feet (2,120 m) above sea level, the main campus is surrounded by the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest on the North American continent and enjoys a four-season climate. Snow is common in winter, with accumulations most prevalent in December and January. Winter skiing is accessible at Arizona Snowbowl, an alpine ski resort located on the San Francisco Peaks, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Flagstaff.

Extended Campuses program

Northern Arizona University maintains campuses throughout Arizona with its Extended Campuses program. The program offers alternatives to the traditional learning experience, including evening, weekend, and accelerated classes, and offers more than 100 degree, certificate, and endorsement programs in person and/or on the web. Extended Campus students may take in-person courses in classrooms across the state at 36 different locations. Northern Arizona University served 7,710 students through the Extended Campuses program.

Academics: NAU is ranked 78th on Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Public Colleges" list and is ranked 460th overall on Forbes "America's Best Colleges 2010" list. It has 93 academic programs; and consists of six colleges.
In the fall of 2010, the top undergraduate degrees by enrollment were elementary education, biology, hotel and restaurant management, nursing, and criminology and criminal justice.

Arizona State University ASU

Arizona State University (commonly referred to as ASU or Arizona State) is a national space-grant institution and public metropolitan research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest public university in the United States by enrollment. Founded in 1885 as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory, the school came under control of the Arizona Board of Regents in 1945 and was renamed Arizona State College. A 1958 statewide ballot measure gave the university its present name. In 1994 ASU was classified as a Research I institute; thus, making Arizona State one of the newest major research universities (public or private) in the nation. Arizona State's mission is to create a model of the “New American University” whose efficacy is measured “by those it includes and how they succeed, not by those it excludes”.

ASU awards bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees, and is broadly organized into 16 colleges and schools spread across four campuses: the original Tempe campus, the West campus in northwest Phoenix, the Polytechnic campus in eastern Mesa, and the Downtown Phoenix campus. All four campuses are accredited as a single institution by the Higher Learning Commission. The University is categorized as a Research University with very high research activity (RU/VH) as reported by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, with a research expenditure of $385 million in 2012. Arizona State is one of the appointed members of the Universities Research Association, a consortium of 86 leading research-oriented universities.

Website: http://www.asu.edu/

Originally named the Tempe Normal School, the institution was founded on March 12, 1885, after John Samuel Armstrong first introduced House Bill 164, "An Act to Establish a Normal school in the Territory of Arizona to the 13th Legislative Assembly of the Arizona Territory. Instruction was instituted on February 8, 1886 under the supervision of Principal Hiram Bradford Farmer. Land for the school was donated by Tempe residents George and Martha Wilson, allowing 33 students to meet in a single room.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the school's name was changed from Tempe Normal School to the Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe. Before becoming a college, the Normal School enrolled high school students with no other secondary education facilities. Under the 30-year tenure of president Arthur John Matthews the school was given all-college student status. The first dormitories built in the state were constructed under his supervision. Of the 18 buildings constructed while Matthews was president, six are still currently in use. Matthews envisioned an "evergreen campus," with many shrubbery brought to the campus. He also implemented the planting of Palm Walk, now one of the feature landmarks of the Tempe campus. His legacy is being continued to this day with the main campus having the honor of being declared a nationally recognized arboretum.

Campuses and locations: ASU's academic programs are spread across campuses in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area; however, unlike most multi-campus institutions, ASU describes itself as "one university in many places," explaining that it is "not a system with separate campuses, and not one main campus with branch campuses." The university considers each campus "distinctive" and academically focused on certain aspects of the overall university mission. The Tempe Campus is the university's research and graduate school center. Undergraduate studies on the Tempe campus are research-based programs designed to prepare students for graduate school, professional school, or employment. The Polytechnic campus is designed with an emphasis on professional and technological programs for direct workforce preparation. The Polytechnic campus is the location of many of the university's simulators and laboratories dedicated for project-based learning. The West campus is focused on interdisciplinary degrees and the liberal arts, while maintaining professional programs with a direct impact on the community and society.  The Downtown Campus focuses on direct urban and public programs such as nursing, public policy, mass communication, and journalism. ASU recently relocated some nursing and health related programs to its new ASU-Mayo Medical School Campus. Inter-campus shuttles and light rail allow students and faculty to easily travel between the campuses. In addition to the physical campuses, ASU's "virtual campus", housed at the university's SkySong Innovation Center, provides online and extended education.

Admission to any of the public universities in Arizona is ensured to residents in the top 25% of their high-school class with a GPA of 3.0 in core competencies. In 2012-2013, ASU admitted 87% of all applicants and is considered a "selective" university by U.S. News & World Report. Average GPA of high school graduates enrolling full-time is 3.42. All freshman are required to live on campus.

Barrett, The Honors College is ranked 1st in the nation among peer institutions (1300-1400 minimum SAT), 4th in Honors Factors, and 5th in Overall Excellence among all universities. Like most of ASU's colleges and schools (e.g. Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, W.P. Carey School of Business, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, etc.), Barrett College maintains much more strict admissions standards. Furthermore, Barrett College provides a more rigorous curriculum with smaller classes and increased faculty interaction. Although there are no set minimum admissions criteria for Barrett College, the average GPA of incoming freshmen was 3.84, with average SAT scores of 1314/1600 and ACT scores of 29. The Honors college enrolls 3523 undergraduate students, 613 of whom are National Merit Scholars.

ASU currently enrolls 5,137 international students, 6.1% of the total student population. The international student body represents 118 nations and more than 60 student clubs and organizations exist at ASU to serve the growing number of students from abroad. The growth in the number of international students in 2012 at ASU is a 16% increase over the 2011 figure.

University of Alaska Southeast UAS

The University of Alaska Southeast is a public, four year university that is part of the University of Alaska System. The main campus is located in Juneau, Alaska and the university has extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan. The University of Alaska Southeast is abbreviated as UA Southeast, Alaska Southeast, or UAS.

UAS was established on July 1, 1987 with the restructuring and consolidation of the former University of Alaska Juneau, Ketchikan Community College, and Islands Community College (Sitka).

UAS is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Website: http://www.uas.alaska.edu/

To provide further direction for plans and actions, the University of Alaska Southeast dedicates itself to the following core values:

• Achieving distinction as a learning community.
• Developing programs and services rooted in its unique natural setting.
• Developing educated citizens with a sense of personal ethics.
• Serving as a center for culture and arts with a focus on Alaska Native traditions.
• Contributing to the economic development of the region and the state through basic and applied research and public service.
• Using technology effectively in all programs and services.
• Forging dynamic partnerships with other academic institutions, governmental agencies and private industry.

Campuses:  
Juneau
The University of Alaska Southeast’s main campus is located in Juneau. The majority of the campus lies between Auke Bay and Auke Lake. The campus consists of classrooms, studios, teaching and research labs, the Anderson Science building (North Pacific Marine Lab), the William A. Egan Library, housing, the Student Recreation Center (Charles Gamble Jr.-Donald Sperl Joint Use Facility), a bookstore, and office and administrative spaces. UAS also has a Technical Education Center, located in downtown Juneau, which consists of technical, construction and mechanical labs, a mine simulator, and classroom and office space. The Juneau campus offers Occupational Endorsements, Certificates, Associate, Baccalaureate, and Graduate degrees.
Sitka
The Sitka campus was founded as Sitka Community College in 1962. The campus awards Occupational Endorsements in administrative office support, network support technician, web development, network administration, healthcare information technology, residential and light construction, law enforcement, and welding; Certificates in computer information and office systems, accounting technician, healthcare privacy and security, small business management, fisheries technology, pre-nursing and pre-radiologic technician qualifications, and health information management coding specialist; and Associate degrees in health information management, general education, nursing (in partnership with the University of Alaska Anchorage), fisheries technology, apprenticeship technology, and health sciences.
Ketchikan
The Ketchikan campus is the oldest campus in Southeast Alaska, and was originally established as Ketchikan Community College in 1954. The campus awards Occupational Endorsements in administrative office support, network support technician, web development, network administration, marine transportation, residential and light construction, and welding; Certificates in computer information and office systems, accounting technician, small business management, fisheries technology, pre-nursing and pre-radiologic technician qualifications; and Associate degrees in general education, nursing (in partnership with the University of Alaska Anchorage), fisheries technology, apprenticeship technology and health sciences.

University of Alaska Anchorage UAA

The University of Alaska Anchorage (commonly referred to as UAA) is a public research university and currently enrolls the most students within the University of Alaska System. With over 17,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, it is also the largest institution of higher learning in Alaska. UAA's main campus is located in Anchorage, approximately four miles southeast of its downtown area in the University-Medical District, adjacent to the Alaska Native Medical Center, Alaska Pacific University and Providence Alaska Medical Center. Nestled among an extensive green belt, close to scenic Goose Lake Park, UAA has been recognized each of the past three years as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. The campus is connected by a network of paved, outdoor trails, as well as an elevated, indoor "spine" that extends east to west from Rasmuson Hall, continuing through the student union and terminating inside the Consortium Library. UAA is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. U.S. News and World Report has ranked UAA in the top 20 public regional universities in the West and 58th overall.
UAA is divided into six teaching units at the Anchorage campus: the colleges of Education, Health and Social Welfare, Arts and Sciences, Business and Public Policy, the Community and Technical College, and the School of Engineering. Included with UAA for administrative purposes are four satellite campuses: Matanuska-Susitna College, Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, and Prince William Sound Community College. UAA offers Master's Degrees and Graduate Certificates in select programs, and the ability to complete certain PhD programs through cooperating universities through its Graduate Division. As of May 2012, the university is accredited to confer doctoral degrees.
The university's history in Anchorage began in 1954, when the Anchorage Community College opened, using the West Anchorage High School building during evenings. Anchorage Senior College began teaching upper-division classes in 1969, and then it became the four-year University of Alaska Anchorage in 1976. UAA, the community college, and the rural extension units were merged in 1987 to form the present institution.

Website: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/

The UAA sports teams are known as the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and the school colors are green and gold. UAA, which sponsors 11 sports programs, is a NCAA Division I school for gymnastics and hockey, and a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. UAA is a Division II member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in men's and women's basketball, volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's outdoor track and field. Other conference affiliations are the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (gymnastics) and the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. UAA also hosts the nationally known Great Alaska Shootout college basketball tournament every Thanksgiving, and the Kendall Hockey Classic in October.

The Union of Students of the University of Alaska Anchorage or USUAA is the student governing body for University of Alaska Anchorage. Each student pays $1 per credit hour for students registered in 3 or more credits. Maximum charge $12 and maximum credit hour is 12.

The President, Vice President and 23 Senators are elected at-large to serve on the Assembly. Four representatives (Residence Hall Association, Club Council, Greek Council and Graduate Student Association) complete the rest of the board. The President and Vice President are elected in the spring for one year terms.

The union has co-sponsored political debates in Anchorage, including a 2004 debate held at the university between Senatorial candidates Tony Knowles and Lisa Murkowski.

University of Alaska Fairbanks UAF

The University of Alaska Fairbanks, is a public research university located in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It serves as the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF.

UAF is a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant institution, as well as participating in the sun-grant program through Oregon State University. It is also the site where the Alaska Constitution was drafted and signed in 1955 and 1956. UAF was established in 1917 as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, first opening for classes in 1922.

UAF is home to seven major research units: the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station; the Geophysical Institute, which operates the Poker Flat Research Range; the International Arctic Research Center; the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center; the Institute of Arctic Biology; the Institute of Marine Science; and the Institute of Northern Engineering. Located just 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the Fairbanks campus's unique location is situated favorably for Arctic and northern research. The campus's several lines of research are renowned worldwide, most notably in Arctic biology, Arctic engineering, geophysics, supercomputing, and aboriginal studies. The University of Alaska Museum of the North is also on the Fairbanks campus.

Website: http://www.uaf.edu/

The University of Alaska was established in 1917 as a college, but its origins lie in the creation in 1906 of a federal agricultural experiment station in Fairbanks, the sixth in Alaska. The station set the tone for the university that developed later, which is strongly research-oriented. In 1915, the U.S. Congress approved funds to establish a school of higher education and transferred land from the station for the purpose. The federal land grant was accepted by Territorial Governor John Strong in 1917. That year, on a bluff above the Chena River, a cornerstone for the college was laid by Territorial Delegate James Wickersham. The site became known as College Hill. Charles E. Bunnell was appointed the university's first president, serving for 27 years. The new institution was established as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines in 1922, offering 16 classes to a student body of six (at a ratio of one faculty member per student). In 1923 the first commencement produced one graduate, John Sexton Shanly.

In 1931, the rest of the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station was transferred to the college, and the Alaska Territorial Legislature changed the name in 1935 to the University of Alaska. As the university began to expand throughout the state, the Fairbanks campus became known as the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1975; the two other primary UA institutions are the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau.

University of Alaska Fairbanks sports teams are the Alaska Nanooks, with the word Nanook derived from the Inupiaq "nanuq." Though often known as UAF within the state, the university prefers to be called simply "Alaska" for athletics purposes. The school colors are blue and gold. The Alaska Nanooks compete at the NCAA Division I level for hockey as a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Nanooks play their home games at the 4,500 seat Carlson Center located in downtown Fairbanks. The Alaska Nanooks also have a Division I rifle team which has won ten NCAA National Rifle Championships (1994, 1999–2004, 2006–2008). The men's and women's basketball, cross country running, and women's volleyball teams are Division II members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while the women's swim team is a member of the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference (PCSC) and the men's and women's Nordic skiing teams are members of the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA). Partly due to its isolation from the lower 48 and lack of a dome to protect against the harsh elements, Alaska does not currently have a football program, as is true for all three branches of the University of Alaska.

The Alaska Constitutional Convention was held on the university campus from November 1955 to February 1956. The student union building, which was completed the same day the convention opened, was used for the convention's sessions. The University's Board of Regents named the building Constitution Hall the same month as the convention's opening. The campus library and gymnasium building, where the constitution was signed, was named Signers' Hall in the 1980s. Today, Signers' Hall houses the Office of Admissions and the Registrar, the Business Office, the Provost's Office and the Office of the Chancellor.

University of West Alabama UWA

The University of West Alabama (abbreviated as UWA) is a public university located in Livingston, Alabama, United States.

Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called Livingston Female Academy. The original Board of Trustees of Livingston Female Academy was selected in 1836, and four of the seven board members were Presbyterians.

The university serves students in several academic colleges and divisions on a 600-acre (2.4 km2) campus in west-central Alabama. UWA offers a wide arrangement of degree programs including associate, bachelor's, master's, and educational specialist degrees. The university hosts concerts, lectures, fall and spring theatrical productions, fall and spring commencement exercises, and intercollegiate athletic events.

Its athletics teams – known as the UWA Tigers — are members of the Gulf South Conference and compete in the NCAA's Division II in all sports except two. The men's and women's rodeo teams compete in the Ozark Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.

Website: http://www.uwa.edu/

The University of West Alabama began as Livingston Female Academy in 1835. As a church-related female academy, it admitted its first students in 1839. The school was established by ethnic Scots-Irish Presbyterians, who controlled the majority of seats on the first board of trustees selected in 1836. The purpose of the school was to educate future teachers, while also offering course work in art, music, languages, and home economics. Tuition at this time was $20 annually with an additional $25 charged for piano lessons and $10 for French language and embroidery.[8] Jones Hall was the first building constructed on the campus in 1837, and was located near what is now Brock Hall. (The building was lost to fire in the 1890s). On January 15, 1840, state lawmakers incorporated Livingston Female Academy, granted it tax-exempt status, and gave the board the authority to establish rules and regulations.

Academics: The mission of the University of West Alabama is "to provide opportunities for students to pursue a quality education and assist in developing the important qualities of independent thinking, respect for the ideas of others, personal integrity and character in order to realize their quests for a philosophy of life and self-fulfillment."

UWA offers more than 60 undergraduate programs and 10 graduate programs through its academic colleges and divisions at the bachelor's, master's, and educational specialist levels.

Degrees in each academic college and division are awarded at the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Business Administration, Master's degree and Educational specialist levels. Students are awarded an Associate's degree from the Ira D. Pruitt School of Nursing. Upon graduation from the University of West Alabama, students may choose to earn a Bachelor's degree in nursing through a partnership with the University of Alabama.

Campus: The University of West Alabama is a single-campus university located in the heart of downtown Livingston on U.S. Highway 11. The campus is on the western border of Alabama. Larger cities close by include Meridian (30 minutes), Tuscaloosa (50 minutes), and Birmingham. The small population in the city of Livingston and Southern hospitality give UWA its small-town atmosphere that many students come to appreciate. The 600-acre (2.4 km2) UWA campus includes nature trails, a 54-acre (220,000 m2) lake, and sculptures. Recent campus beautification projects have enhanced the natural beauty that can be found on campus.

Troy University

Troy University is a comprehensive public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It is founded on February 26, 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System by an Act of the Alabama Legislature. It is the flagship university of the Troy University System with its main campus enrollment of 9,000 students and the total enrollment of all Troy University campuses is 31,000. Troy University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees.

In August 2005, Troy State University, Montgomery; Troy State University, Phenix City; Troy State University, Dothan; and Troy State University (Main Campus) all merged under one accreditation to become Troy University to better reflect the institution's worldwide mission. Prior to the merger, each campus was independently accredited and merging of these campuses helped to create a stronger institution by eliminating overlapping services and barriers to students. The merger combined talents and resources of staff, faculty, and administrators into a single highly effective and competitive university.

Troy University is a public university with its main campus located in Troy, Alabama. It was founded as a normal school in 1887 with a mission to educate and train new teachers. The school has since evolved into a state university, located in four sites across the State of Alabama: Troy, Montgomery, Phenix City and Dothan. The university also has various sites located throughout the United States and in international locations. Troy University is known for its innovation in offering in-class and online academic programs in servicing traditional, nontraditional, and military students. The main campus enrollment as of the fall of 2010 is 9,000 students. The campus itself consists of 36 major buildings on 650 acres (1.9 km²) plus the adjacent Troy University Arboretum. 

At least three prominent political figures have been associated with Troy University. George Wallace, Jr., son of the late Governor George C. Wallace, is a former administrator at the university. Max Rafferty, the California Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1963 to 1971, was dean of the education department from 1971 until his death in 1982. Former Governor John Malcolm Patterson, an intra-party rival of George Wallace, taught U.S. history at the institution during the 1980s.

Campus: Troy University's campus is located near downtown Troy. The campus sits along rolling hills with many old oak trees present along the streets and throughout campus. A very small lake named Lake Lagoona sits in front of university's Sorrell Chapel.
The university closed the Trojan Oaks Golf Course in order to build a new basketball arena, but remnants of the course are still present and are utilized freely for practice.