First Steps. We re glad you re here. First steps: The 2NAU partnership programs are:

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1 Welcome to Northern Arizona University and to a great college career. Wherever you live you are supported by the entire NAU community while pursuing your degree. There is no better time to learn about the great resources that are available to you as an NAU Lumberjack. NAU

2 We re glad you re here. First Steps NAU partners with many community colleges throughout the state in an effort to provide you with better and more affordable education. The 2NAU partnership programs are: - A path to earning a 4-year degree that will increase your lifetime earning potential and lay the foundation for a great career. - Designed to maximize your access to lower tuition rates at your local community college, significantly reducing the overall expense of a bachelor s degree. - A means to provide you with support in your community through local NAU staff and outstanding online resources. Now that you have been admitted to NAU there are only a few more things to do. First steps: - Create a password for your NAU account. Your 2NAU coordinator will use as a way to contact you on a regular basis. - is the University s official form of communication, so check your inbox often to keep on top of important information. - Log in to your My NAU portal page to access your and find out about other events and services. - Set up a regular time to meet with your 2NAU coordinator. 2 3

3 Your 2NAU Coordinator As part of the 2NAU program, you will have a local NAU representative to guide you, called the 2NAU Coordinator. Meet with your Coordinator to: - Be sure you have what you need each term. - Explore and consider your career options and what it will take to get there. - Explore NAU s programs and decide on a major. - Find the most direct path to earning your degree. - Prepare to transition to degree seeking status at NAU after you finish at the community college. - Obtain your NAU ID card and we ll waive the $25 fee. 4 5

4 Your Community College Advisor While you are attending your local community college, you will be advised by your community college advisor. He or she will guide your selection of classes to meet your associate degree requirements. Be sure to let your advisor know you are part of the 2NAU program. Ask your advisor to talk with your 2NAU coordinator if there are questions about how your associate s degree will work best with your chosen NAU major. 6 7

5 Your Bachelor s Degree Your bachelor s degree has lower division classes offered at the community college and upper division classes you ll take at NAU. Together, these classes make up your bachelor s degree. Check out the tools in this section to learn more. 64 lower division credits. Lower division courses are 100 and 200 level courses. 30 to 56 upper division credits. Upper division courses are 300 and 400 level courses. 8 9

6 AGEC & AZTransfer.com Credit Transfer Guidelines AGEC The AGEC (Arizona General Education Curriculum) consists of 35 to 38 credits of lower division courses that count toward your associate s degree and fulfill all the general education and diversity requirements at NAU. Ask your community college and NAU advisors if getting an AGEC is recommended for your program. The AZTransfer website will give you a full definition of the AGEC. What transfers? - Courses must be numbered 100 or higher and must have a grade of C or better to transfer. - The Course Equivalency Guide (CEG) will help you determine which courses will transfer. - The Exam Equivalency Guide (EEG) will help you determine the credit you will get for AP, CLEP, Dantes or IB Exams. - Grades do not transfer and are not part of your overall grade point average at NAU. However, they are used to determine if you re admissible to some programs. This fantastic website is designed for Arizona community college students who want to complete a bachelor s degree. It will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about how your community college studies will fit into your university degree and more! 10 11

7 Plan ahead. In college time spent studying, reading, completing assignments and doing research is usually even greater than time spent in class. How to manage your new schedule: - Develop a calendar that allows for plenty of study time and time to complete assignments. - Talk with your family about the commitment you are making to your education; help them understand why attending class is not an option but a top priority. - If you are working, talk with your employer about your educational goals. Your supervisor may be able to adjust your schedule to better accommodate your studies. You re here to complete a bachelor s degree. That was my goal too. To achieve that, I had to balance school, work, and my social life. It wasn t easy and I had to plan ahead to make the most of my education and still enjoy time with friends and family. In this section, there are tips to help you manage your schedule so you can graduate on time. - If you are a parent, develop a solid plan for child care with back up options if you need them

8 Get help when you need it. You will be doing a lot of work to get your degree, but you will need the help of others too. What help might you need? - Ask family and friends to help you juggle the many demands on your time. - Explore tutoring options at your local community college and at NAU. - Talk to your instructor right away if you are falling behind in class or find that you don t understand the material. - Good writing is essential to your success in college. Take advantage of any writing workshops available at your community college and look for online writing links listed in the Library section of this guide

9 Make steady progress. Dropping classes or staying out for a semester can slow your momentum and undermine your resolve. Some good reasons to stay in school: - You will remain under the same catalog you started with so your degree requirements won t change midway through your program. - If you are awarded financial aid you are required to show steady academic progress each semester. - It s actually less expensive in terms of cost per credit hour to go to college full-time than part-time. - Finishing your degree sooner gets you closer to earning a good salary. - Your whole family will be proud of you when you finish and you ll be proud of yourself! 16 17

10 Know your library. The Cline Library is located on the NAU campus, but you will have access to it no matter where you are. It s easy to contact a Cline librarian. You can do it through , chat, instant messaging, texting, or the old fashioned way by phone! Cline Library s many resources allow you to: - Find online articles, electronic books and other research resources in your subject area. - Find and manage references and create bibliographies. - Find articles, books, or media and have them mailed free of charge. - Connect to library-licensed resources. As an NAU student, you have access to the award-winning resources of Cline Library. Once I learned how to use the library, it became a critical tool for completing my assignments. Take some time to look through the Cline website and discover the many resources there. If you have a question, just ask a librarian. Help s a click away. - Get help with resources and services from Ask a Librarian

11 Writing Skills To be successful in college, it will be important for you to develop good writing and research skills. Cline Library offers you links to many writing resources to help you strengthen your organization and grammar, develop research ideas, and use APA or other research writing styles that will likely be required by your professors. Many of the resources at Cline Library require you to log in with your username and password, so keep them close at hand

12 Financial Aid It s really important for you to think ahead about how you will pay for you education, and to know that help is available. 85% of NAU students receive some form of financial aid. Here is some information you can use to: apply for scholarships, calculate the cost of attendance, learn about tuition payment plans and much more! First stop: Your community college financial aid office As you start college you may decide to apply for aid. You ll work with your community college financial aid office until you transition to full-time status at NAU. If you take classes at both schools be sure to ask about a consortium agreement. At NAU, read the excellent information on financing your education on our website

13 FAFSA Student Loans FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You can learn more about FAFSA at the financial office of your community college. FAFSA Basics - FAFSA is the basis for awarding federal grants and loans and for many university and private scholarships as well. - There is no charge for filling out the FAFSA form. - Before you start, you should review important deadlines and gather together all the documents you ll need to complete the form. - You can fill out the form online. - The IRS/FAFSA Map will show you which lines of your income tax returns will correspond to each line of the FAFSA. If you are financing all or part of your education through student loans, you will need to understand all the implications of repayment. Questions about Student Loans - What will be the total debt you will have after college? - What is your plan to repay the loans? - Complete student loan counseling beforehand so you fully understand the obligation that you are undertaking. - Take advantage of lower community college tuition rates to complete as much work as you can. - Ask your 2NAU Coordinator about the cost savings of attending full-time versus part-time

14 It s worth it! Completing a four year degree is no easy task. But there are almost a million reasons to do it. Doctorate $106,188 Why is it worth it? - With a bachelor s degree you will rank in the top 28% of educated Americans. - Your lifetime earnings will be almost one million dollars higher than if you had stopped your education after high school. - You will have the satisfaction of reaching a remarkable milestone. - You will have gained knowlege and experience with teachers who have been in the field. Master s $79,867 Bachelor s $68,176 Associate s $48,083 High School / GED $39,038 Average Earnings by Educational Attainment Source: U.S.Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,

15 Degree Requirements To earn your bachelor s degree from NAU you must complete at least 120 units of credit, which will include: - All of NAU s liberal studies requirements (consider getting an AGEC at your community college to meet this requirement) - All requirements for your specific degree - At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work - At least 30 units taken through NAU, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300 level or above) - A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on work attempted at NAU 28 29

16 Catalog Syllabus The catalog provides the basic information you need to enroll in and pursue a degree at Northern Arizona University. In addition to information about majors, minors, and certificates, the Academic Catalog also lets you know the requirements you must meet and the many services offered to support you as a student at Northern Arizona University. A catalog is defined by the year that you enroll. Once enrolled your catalog will not change through your graduation. This means that you won t have to take extra classes if the requirements for a certain plan change while you are half way through your student career. A syllabus is given at the start of each class. The syllabus explains what the course is about, requirements, and schedule among other things. It typically includes: - Structure and requirements - Topics to be covered - Learning outcomes - Prerequisites - Grading methods - Attendance policy - Meeting dates and times The syllabus also includes due dates for readings, assignments, exams, and any required materials including textbooks, software, study guides and other materials needed for a course

17 Online Classes Blended Program Online classes come in different shapes and sizes Synchronous: You, the instructor and the other students are all participating at the same time. Asynchronous: You can access your course at whatever time is convenient for you! A blended program is a degree program that combines both online and face-to-face classes as part of the delivery format. Hyrbrid classes: Part of the course will be in a face-to-face format and part will be online

18 Thank you for spending time with us to learn more about the 2NAU program. We hope these keys to success and the services we offer have been helpful. Please, don t hesitate to contact your 2NAU coordinator if you still have any questions and good luck with all your classes. NAU