This was my home campus for graduate school, so I'm posting the review here.
IN A NUTSHELL: National-Louis will give you the degree you need with a lot of busy work and leave you feeling still unprepared upon graduation. At least, it will with a Master's degree in Education.
For people who are lazy or busy with other things, and just want the degree with minimal work, this is for you. For people who want to graduate feeling fully prepared and loaded with information and techniques, you might want to go to school elsewhere.
When I made the decision in December of 2008 that I wanted to attend graduate school to earn a Master's in the Art of Teaching (MAT) and my teaching certificate at the same time (my undergrad degree was not in education), this school was recommended to me by several educators. I applied and was enrolled in my first classes by spring of 2009.
At that point, I was projected to graduate in December 2011 by taking about two-three night classes per quarter (including summer). Perfect. I managed to take on a extra class some quarters and ended up graduating in June 2011, before the next school year began (after all, I was seeking employment as a teacher). The university was flexible -- I was able to attend classes at different campuses (Skokie, Lisle, Wheeling) to meet my requirements so I could graduate early. Only two years to earn a master's degree? Sweet!!
My classes were hit or miss. I had a couple really good and fascinating professors that really cared about each of us and put us to work on valuable projects and papers. Then I had a few professors that didn't care at all, gave us busy work, and gave us all A's just for turning them in. At least, I got the impression more than once that they didn't bother reading our papers. The program also focused too much on certain things (that I don't see being used/applied much in schools) and not enough on other things. National-Louis was good about finding me a student teaching placement but my requirements within that were minimal.
I graduated feeling generally confident, but as I started applying for teaching jobs and working in schools, I realized how unprepared I really felt! I'm not the only one that feels this way -- most of my cohort had similiar feelings.
I learned more within two years of working in schools than I did as a student here. Oh well.
Also, I have requested academic transcripts after graduation TWICE because they were incomplete. And I was charged for them. AND they're still incomplete!! It's really annoying that I need to keep requesting them for my employers.
I don't mind recommending NLU to people seeking a graduate degree through night classes, but I urge you to consider what you want from graduate school before going here or checking out a different school. read more