Northern Arizona University received a major funding boost for its Personalized Learning initiative with a $1 million grant from Next Generation Learning Challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Personalized Learning, we are opening a new era in academic instruction at Northern Arizona University,\u201d said NAU President\u00a0John Haeger<\/strong>. \u201cThis program is a huge step toward transforming our institution through technology. We are grateful that Next Generation Learning Challenges has recognized our innovative approach with this award.\u201d<\/p>\n NAU\u2019s Extended Campuses will administer the initiative after its expected launch in January.<\/p>\n Next Generation Learning Challenges<\/a>\u00a0is a collaborative partnership led by EDUCAUSE, the leading organization for information technology in higher education, and funded primarily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To date, it has awarded nearly $23 million in grants to 65 organizations and institutions focused on piloting and scaling new school and degree models, compiling evidence of what works and accelerating adoption.<\/p>\n Personalized Learning at NAU will allow motivated students to jump-start certain\u00a0bachelor\u2019s degree programs by pre-testing to determine what they already know, allowing them to receive credits for prior learning and experience. The program then provides a variety of individualized academic resources to ensure steady progress,\u00a0including extensive mentoring.<\/p>\n Technology plays a central role as students work online at their own pace, receiving assistance\u00a0based on frequent assessments of their\u00a0needs and learning styles. They pay a flat annual tuition of $5,000 with no limits to the number of credits they can accumulate in a year.\u00a0There are no additional charges for books or fees.<\/p>\n Faculty\u00a0will actively participate, from designing the curriculum to advising and mentoring, using information gained from student tests and other inputs to offer\u00a0customized\u00a0strategies for success.<\/p>\n NAU is partnering with\u00a0Pearson<\/a>\u00a0to design more than 90 online competency-based courses. The courses will be offered through the Pearson LearningStudio online learning platform. Course modules will include readiness assessment and remediation, and align with degree program competencies.<\/p>\n “Northern Arizona University is taking a leadership role in creating innovative approaches to learning that help drive student success with its online competency-based program,\u201d said Don Kilburn, vice chairman of Pearson Higher Education and CEO of Pearson Learning Solutions.<\/p>\n On Monday, representatives from NAU joined other higher education administrators and officials from the\u00a0Lumina Foundation<\/a>\u00a0at a briefing in Washington, D.C., with Congressional staff. The briefing, titled \u201cBeyond Seat Time\u2014New Learning Models,\u201d focused on competency-based education and its implementation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"