Northcentral University

NCU Faculty Handbook | About NCU | 15 Northcentral Students NCU is proud of the diverse nature of our student community, and we embrace our Core Value of Diversity in all that we do. We serve adult learners and working professionals located around the world. As a University, we embrace the value of equity in education and aim to maintain varied, inclusive representation among our faculty, staff, and students. We support the diverse nature of our community by creating an environment in which the members of our global community experience educational growth and success. The Student Experience at Northcentral University At the point of enrollment, students are provided access to NCUOne, our customized installation of Desire2Learn's Brightspace Learning Management System. Upon a student's first course registration, NCU provides students an introduction to NCUOne, video tutorials, and a user guide that directs students through every aspect of the platform. New Student Advisors are assigned to enrolled students, ensuring students have the assistance they need to be successful as they start their first week of class. New Student Advisors also orient students to the variety of resources and services available that support student success. These resources include: • The Commons (a place for students to engage with the NCU community) • Academic Success Center (ASC) (Academic Coaching services, access to APA Style CENTRAL, Grammarly, and resources for writing and statistics) • Library (access to databases, research support) • Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) (training, resources, support) • Dissertation Center (resources for doctoral students, handbooks, rubrics) • Student Technology Resource Center (access to free software, technology discounts) Coursework Courses at NCU are typically 3 credit hours and are 8 or 12 weeks in length. Certain programs may include 1 credit-hour courses such as practicum/internship courses. Practicum/Internship courses may vary in length and may have in-person requirements that are to be completed in the student's local community. The University does not have residency requirements. Some programs may include an in-person session as noted in the course catalog. Please see the Catalog for specific requirements for each degree program. Culminating Experience Work Each program at NCU includes a culminating experience. The culminating experience for NCU undergraduate programs is a capstone course. Capstone courses may also serve as the culminating experience for master's programs, although some programs at the master's level may include a practicum, an internship, or a practicum experience as the culminating experience. Doctoral programs may contain a candidacy course that takes the form of a comprehensive examination, portfolio, or prospectus requirement. All doctoral programs contain a traditional five-chapter dissertation, dissertation in practice, portfolio, doctoral project, or an advanced clinical practice experience. A committee of faculty [suited to the purpose] mentors all doctoral students through their doctoral experience. More information about the various culminating experiences can be found in the Catalog. Graduation Ceremony A graduation ceremony is held annually for graduates, their families, and friends in Phoenix, Arizona. This event is truly the highlight of our year, as hundreds of students are honored for their hard-earned academic achievements. For additional information, please visit www.ncu.edu/graduation.

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