NAU's mission grows

Northern Arizona University may have started in Flagstaff but its satellite facility system now sprawls to all corners of the state, with roughly one-third of its students now attending classes somewhere outside the main campus.

NAU marked its 37th extended campus this month with the grand opening of the 40,000-square-foot NAU North Valley campus Oct. 4 in Phoenix. It opened with 750 students enrolled, according to Doug Small, assistant dean for distance learning in Phoenix and Tucson.

With this new office, NAU enrollment figures show 5,135 students now attending the university somewhere other than Flagstaff - including the 643 enrolled at NAU-Yuma.

"It's part of our mission," Small said. "The Board of Regents has identified NAU to provide greater access to students. It's our mission to help serve the rural communities. That's why so many across the state, because we're trying to reach out to all these communities."

Yuma has a unique place in NAU's expanded system. It was given full-branch campus status by the Board of Regents in September 2006.

This gives Yuma more independence to expand and create its own programs and more standing as an university in its own right.

Development of engineering and business programs that would be unique in structure to Yuma is under way. Some degrees such as biology and criminal justice are identical to those found in Flagstaff, but Yuma officials are making efforts to build and grow on their own wherever possible.

"It's a balancing act between community needs and those of the academics," said Krista Rodin, associate vice president and campus executive officer for NAU-Yuma. "You really do need to be very responsive to the community and yet, the academic community has its own structure and way of doing things and one has to be very sensitive to that as well.

"We are the first branch campus of the institution, here in Yuma. ... We're still working for what all this means," she added.

Most of NAU's 37 satellites serve rural Arizona, in towns such as Globe, Thatcher, Kingman, Nogales and several locations on the Navajo Nation.

Those extensions seek to bring education closer to home for students who might not be able to travel to Flagstaff, Tucson or Phoenix, said Small.

In urban areas, the extensions have a slightly different goal. Small said they are trying to offer an alternative model of education than students can find at Arizona State University of the University of Arizona.

"More night classes, more flexible schedules," Small said.

He added that NAU tries to develop programs that meet specific needs such as occupational therapy, physician assistance and dental hygiene in Phoenix. He did not elaborate on where NAU's next location might be but North Valley is probably not the last extended campus.

"We're trying to reach out and meet the needs of the community. More is going to come," Small said.