National University Board Approves New National Unversity System
November 6, 2001
La Jolla, CA - The Board of Trustees for National University has approved the formation of a newly organized National University System, an envisioned community of allied institutions that will share National University's core values of meeting the ever-changing educational needs of diverse learners in the 21st Century.
Under the new System, National University will become one of several independent but affiliated institutions. The System will grow through the acquisition of colleges and the establishment of new educational entities. The leadership of System affiliates, including the President of National University, will report to a System Chancellor.
In the rapidly-changing world of Higher Education, the National University System seeks to meet a growing mandate for educational institutions that are more flexible, more responsive, and more dynamic than traditional colleges and universities of the past. The new entity will embrace an allied, integrated approach to lifelong learning that will broaden access to exemplary educational opportunities for a diverse population of students and organizations.
The National University System aspires to link educational experiences within one framework, increasing access to learning opportunities by facilitating smoother transition from one level of education to another. At maturation, the System aims to serve a broad spectrum of learners, including high school students, college students, corporate employees, business owners and professionals under circumstances may include pursuit of dual credit or advanced placement courses, mid-life career change, continuing education credits or return to the workforce after extended absence.
What are the advantages of establishing a System? To create new, integrated pathways to success through lifelong learning. With a growing volume of students enrolling in educational institutions at varying paces and with varying backgrounds, many traditional educational options simply don't work anymore for thousands of students. Impacted programs, overcrowded classrooms and rising tuition unnecessarily restrict or hinder access to those who might otherwise flourish and advance.
The National University System was created to provide innovative new educational opportunities; to group together institutions with a common purpose and vision in order to pool resources and strengthen each other. It is a practical way to manage tuition costs while offering multiple entry points into an integrated, multi-tiered alliance of educational institutions.
The System's leadership has pondered the future and calculated numerous likely changes in the educational landscape. They visualized a growing need for cohesive networks of educational and supporting institutions that are more integrated, more flexible and more accessible than those of the past.
The System is basically a 21st Century approach to fulfilling The Jeffersonian Vision for Educational Opportunities. It is an inclusive and democratic approach to learning, born of the notion that new challenges require new ways of thinking and out-of-the-box solutions to one of the most vital services society can provide.
Each affiliate institution is dedicated to serving a particular population through specific structures and curricula, while sharing state-of-the-art resources in the pursuit of common goals. From this unified, integrated vision, the System will grow to offer a variety of curricula and programs that are truly centered on the learner while recognizing and maximizing the value of faculty, staff and partners. As it expands over the coming years, the National University System will embrace an increasingly diverse set of educational entities, serving the needs of a varied clientele as an all-encompassing institution dedicated to access and quality.
For more information regarding the National University System and its vision, please conatact Hoyt Smith at (858) 642-8111.