National Louis University (NLU) is a privatenonprofit university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area as well as a regional campus in Tampa, Florida, where it serves students from 13 counties in that state’s central region.
Since its founding in 1886, NLU has played a historic role in the education sector. Its founders helped start the National Kindergarten Movement, helped inaugurate the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and promoted the importance of academic and professional training in early childhood education theory and practice.
NLU has received more than $65 million in funding for applied research projects in urban development, childhood development, school improvement and teacher preparation. Its alumni have served in Illinois state government and received multiple James Beard awards; 76 alumni from its National College of Education have received honorary recognition by the Golden Apple Foundations of Chicago and Rockford.
History
National Louis University (NLU) began in 1886, when Elizabeth Harrison[4] founded the school to train "Kindergarteners", young women teachers who began the early childhood education movement.[5] The school's requirements became a model for education colleges nationwide.[6] In 1893, the university published Harrison's book, The Kindergarten as an Influence in Modern Civilization, in which she explained, "how to teach the child from the beginning of his existence that all things are connected [and] how to lead him to this vital truth from his own observation".[7]
1917
As it evolved and grew over time, eventually the university's name was changed to the Chicago Kindergarten Training School (1887), Chicago Kindergarten College (1893),[8] the National Kindergarten and Elementary College (1912) and then the National College of Education (1930). The "National" part of the university's name came about when the school became the professional school of the National Kindergarten Association. The university championed the concept of kindergarten and early education teaching in America and was one of the first teachers' colleges in the country to offer a four-year program culminating in the bachelor of education degree.[9][10]
Over the first quarter of the twentieth century, as it continued to grow and a new generation of leadership emerged, the college would relocate a number of times: in 1913 the National Kindergarten and Elementary College campus moved to 2944 South Michigan Avenue; in 1918 Edna Dean Baker succeeded Harrison to become the second president of the college; and the college moved to Evanston, Illinois, in 1926.
In the 1920s, the university partnered with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jane Addams to provide educational opportunities to the largely poor, immigrant population served by Hull House.[5][11] In 1954, the university's graduate school was accredited to offer masters and doctorate level degrees. The university organized its general liberal arts offerings into the College of Arts and Sciences in 1982, and began its business and management school in 1989, offering both bachelors and master of business administration degrees.
In 1990, National Louis united the name of National College of Education with that of trustee and benefactor Michael W. Louis, the son of Henrietta Johnson Louis. Louis’ significant gift spearheaded the transition from college to university and enabled the university to greatly expand its programs. NLU encompassed three colleges — National College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business. It offered 60 academic programs, with degrees extending to the doctoral level. In 1999, the historic 22-story Peoples Gas Building at 122 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Downtown, built in 1910, became the flagship location of NLU. Designed by Daniel Burnham, the university's new home housed faculty and administrative offices, a library, classrooms and computer labs.
In 2006, the university closed its former main site, which had 6.5 acres (2.6ha) of land, with about 66% in the City of Wilmette and the remainder in Evanston.[12] This site was replaced by its current location in Skokie. In 2011, the university became the first in the United States to participate in a Groupon discount on course registration fees when a three-credit graduate-level course was offered for a 60-percent discount on the usual $2,232 fee.[13]
The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business were combined in 2014 into the College of Professional Studies and Advancement, with the programs organized in the School of Health and Human Services, the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the School of Business and Management.[14] In 2018, National Louis University acquired the assets of Kendall College, transferring its programs in general education, early childhood education, business, hospitality management, culinary arts, and baking & pastry, and building out entirely new facilities for the school in a newly acquired space at 18 S. Michigan Ave.[15][16] In the summer of 2019, NLU took on the former students and hired former professors from now-defunct Argosy University, a for-profit institution that was abruptly forced to close due to the discontinuation of federal financial aid.[17] The Argosy students were left without a way to continue their education until the possibility arose for them to transfer to NLU, which allowed them to pick up where they left off with the same classmates and professors. This also included the Illinois School of Professional Psychology's doctoral students in Clinical Psychology, who were able to complete their graduate degrees at NLU.[18]
In 2015, NLU founded its Harrison Professional Pathways Program, an entirely new undergraduate degree program aimed at serving under-resourced but college-qualified youth in the Chicago area, specifically students graduating high school with a GPA between 2.0 and 3.0. To help students who may not be fully prepared for college, Pathways implements adaptive learning technology, Student Success Coaches, and flipped classroom environments to personalize instruction for each student. Since its founding, the Pathways program has grown in enrollment from an inaugural class of 85 students to over 1,500 in five years.
Academics
The university consists of five distinct colleges: The College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (CPBS), Kendall College of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, The National College of Education (NCE), the School of Business, and The Undergraduate College (UGC).[19]
The Undergraduate College at National Louis University is dedicated to supporting underserved but college-qualified high school graduates in receiving an education at a reduced tuition rate. These students are able to choose between any of the university’s undergraduate degree options. In order to make classes accessible, classes are taught in many modes including face-to-face, hybrid, and online.[20][21]
NLU’s National College of Education (NCE) is the oldest school in the University and is where students can study in its distinguished undergraduate and graduate programs in the three broad areas of Teacher Preparation, Educational Leadership, and Educator Advancement and Specialization.
CPSA consists of the school of health and human services, school of social and behavioral sciences, and school of business and management. Students may pursue a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, study in NLU's Community Psychology program, or enter the field of Health and Human Services at the Bachelor's, Master's, or Ed.D. levels.
The School of Business was designed to help students launch their business career or take it to the next level at the Master's or Doctoral levels.
Kendall College at National Louis University offers preparation for careers in Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry, and Hospitality management. Kendall College combines a blend of traditional academic instruction with on-site, practical experience that aims to maximally prepare its students to transition smoothly into their chosen careers. Kendall College at NLU moved into brand new facilities on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago in the summer of 2020.[22]
National Louis University offers the Professional Assistance Center for Education (P.A.C.E.) program which is three-year, post-secondary program designed to meet the transitional needs for young adults with multiple intellectual, learning, and developmental disabilities. Some of the services they provide are employment preparation, independent living skills, and social development.[23][24]
In October 2014, National Louis University signed a 3+1 bachelor’s degree program in the field of Human Services with College of DuPage. The program allows students to complete their four-year program at the College of DuPage campus with NLU faculty. Students can work on an Associates of Applied Science Human Services Generalist or an Associates of Applied Science in Addictions Counseling during their four-year plan.[25]
In December 2018 National Louis University purchased another building known as The Gage Building, at 18 S. Michigan Ave. Construction began in 2019 to create the new home of Kendall College's culinary arts and hospitality management programs.
Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock with additional locations in Southwestern Ontario. Fanshawe has approximately 43,000 students and provides over 200 higher education programs.
DePaul University is a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Catholic university in terms of enrollment in North America. Following in the footsteps of its founders, DePaul places special emphasis on recruiting first-generation students and others from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Monroe College is a private for-profit college in New York City. It was founded in 1933 and has campuses in the Bronx, New Rochelle and Saint Lucia, with degree programs also available through Monroe Online. The college is named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
The Art Institutes (AI) were a private for-profit system of art schools in the United States.
College of DuPage is a public community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates satellite campuses in Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont. With more than 20,000 students, the College of DuPage is the second largest provider of undergraduate education in Illinois, after University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The college serves students residing in Illinois' Community College District 502.
Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago was a for-profit art and culinary school in Chicago, Illinois. It briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges with many branches in North America, owned and operated by Education Management Corporation. EDMC owned the college from 1975 until 2017, when, facing significant financial problems and declining enrollment, the company sold the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, along with 30 other Art Institute schools, to Dream Center Education, a Los Angeles–based Pentecostal organization.
Governors State University is a public university in University Park, Illinois. The 750 acres (3.0 km2) campus is located 30 miles (48 km) south of Chicago, Illinois. GSU was founded in 1969. It is a public university offering degree programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. GSU has four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Health and Human Services.
The Eli Broad College of Business is the business college at Michigan State University. The college has programs in accounting, finance, human resource management, management, marketing, supply chain management, and hospitality business, which is an independent, industry-specific school within the Broad College. This independent, industry-specific school has 800 admitted undergraduate students and 36 graduate students not included in the college's totals.
Argosy University was a system of for-profit colleges owned by Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), LLC and Education Management Corporation.
Kennedy–King College (KKC) part of City Colleges of Chicago, is a public two-year community college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Kennedy–King is a part of the City Colleges of Chicago, a system of two-year education that has existed in Chicago since 1911. Kennedy–King was founded as Woodrow Wilson Junior College in 1935, named in honor of U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. The school was renamed to honor Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. in July 1969, a year after they were both assassinated.
La Consolacion College Bacolod, also referred to by its acronym LCCB or simply LCC, is a private, Catholic, co-educational basic and higher education institution administered by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (ASOLC) in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Philippines.
Kendall College at National Louis University is a culinary arts and hospitality management college of National Louis University, a private university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1934 as an independent college and later became a subsidiary of Laureate Education, Inc. On August 6, 2018, National Louis University received approval from the Higher Learning Commission and the U.S. Department of Education to transfer Kendall College's programs and other assets from Laureate Education to the university.
Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu – National-Louis University (WSB-NLU) — non-public university, one of the first non-public higher education schools in Poland. The university offers bachelor's, engineer's and master's degree in the following fields: computer science, management, psychology, law and postgraduate studies including MBA program.WSB-NLU was the first university in Poland to offer an American diploma of Bachelor of Arts in addition to the Polish diploma and the first to offer its students a virtual dean's office and an electronic student record book. Currently, the university operates on the basis of the Cloud Academy™ management system, awarded during the 11th edition of the Highest Quality QI 2017 competition as the largest pro-quality program in Poland.The competition is organized under the patronage of the Department of Quality Management at the Cracow University of Economics, the Polish Committee for Standardization and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. The university has a good rating awarded by the Polish Accreditation Committee.
Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland is a culinary school located in Switzerland and a sister school of César Ritz Colleges Switzerland.
Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States. Its namesake is Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola's professional schools include programs in medicine, nursing, and health sciences anchored by the Loyola University Medical Center. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Eta Sigma Delta International Hospitality Management Society is an international honor society for hospitality students. The organization has about 90 chapters. The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education administers the organization.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
