About NSU

Accreditation

Northeastern State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org) located at 230 North LaSalle Street. Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1411.  The HLC can be contacted at:  800-621-7440 or by email at info@hlcommission.org.   All programs offered by the University are approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (655 Research Parkway, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, 405-225-9100) and by the Board of Regents of the Regional University System of Oklahoma (3555 N.W. 58th Street, Suite 320, Oklahoma City, OK 73112, 405-942-8817).

NSU has been accredited since January 1, 1922 with its most recent affirmation in 2021-22. NSU’s next comprehensive visit is scheduled for 2031-32.

Specialty Accreditations

Business Programs (ACBSP). The Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration programs offered through the College of Business and Technology are fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (11520 West 119th Street, Overland Park, KS 66213, 913-339-9356). http://www.acbsp.org. The last accreditation visit was fall 2018, and NSU’s accreditation status was continued for 10 years. Its next visit will be in fall 2028.

Chemistry (ACS). NSU’s Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (Chemistry, B.S.) is approved by the American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 1-800-333-9511 (US and Canada) 614-447-3776 (outside North America), www.acs.org. NSU has maintained its ACS approval since 2013 with its most recent report in 2020. Approval was continued to 2026.

Counseling (CACREP). The Master of Science in Counseling (Counseling, M.S.) program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 1001 North Fairfax Street, Suite 510, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703-535-5990; www.cacrep.org. NSU was initially accredited in 2015 and hosted a site visit in June 2023. With the team recommending all standards met, NSU should receive a final decision on continuing accreditation during the board’s meeting in January 2024.

Dietetics (ACEND). The Northeastern State University Didactic Program in Dietetics (Nutritional Science: Dietetics, B.S.) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the American Dietetic Association (120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, 800-877-1600 ext. 5400);  www.eatright.org/acend. NSU received continuing accreditation through January 2024.

Educator Preparation Programs (CAEP & OEQA). NSU’s educator preparation programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), www.caepnet.org, (1140 19th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC  20036, 202-233-0077), and the Oklahoma Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (840 Research Parkway, Suite 455, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, (405) 522-5399), http://www.ok.gov/oeqa/. CAEP continued NSU’s accreditation for initial and advanced levels through June 2026.

Environmental Health & Safety Management (BCPS). The Bachelor of Science in Environmental, Health and Safety Management is recognized as a Qualified Academic Program (QAP) by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 8645 Guion Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268, 317-593-4800, https://www.bcsp.org. Students must apply for the Graduate Safety Practitioner within one year of graduation.

Health and Human Performance (CAAHEP). The Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), 9355 - 113th St. N, #7709, Seminole, FL 33775-7709, 727-210-2350, http://www.caahep.org. NSU’s initial accreditation is valid through 2027.

Medical Laboratory Science (NAACLS). The Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science (Medical Laboratory Science, B.S.M.L.S.) program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 5600 North River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, IL 60018, 773-714-8880; http://www.naacls.org. NSU’s continuing accreditation was reaffirmed in 2021-22, and its next visit is 2032.

Music (NASM). The Bachelor of Arts in Music (Music, B.A.) and Bachelor of Music Education (Music Education, B.M.E.) degrees are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (http://nasm.arts-accredit.org/) located at 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, VA 20190, 703-437-0700. NSU was recognized with continuing accreditation in fall 2010, and its next visit is scheduled for the 2021-22 academic year (COVID delay).

Nursing (ACEN). The NSU baccalaureate and master’s nursing programs, Nursing, B.S. N. and Nursing, M.S.N., are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, Georgia, 404.975.5000, www.acenursing.org The BSN program has continuing accreditation through fall 2024, and the MSN program’s initial accreditation is active through fall 2025.

Occupational Therapy (ACOTE). The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (Occupational Therapy, M.S.) program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) located at 6116 Executive Blvd, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20852-4929.  ACOTE’s telephone number is 301-652-6611, www.acoteonline.org. The program’s accreditation is active through 2032-33.

Optometry (ACOE). Northeastern State University’s Oklahoma College of Optometry Professional Doctoral Degree (O.D.) Program has full accreditation by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141, 314-991-4100. http://www.aoa.org/. The program’s continuing accreditation is effective through December 2029.

Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The Physician Assistant Studies, M.S. program has been granted Accreditation-Provisional status by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.  ARC-PA is located at 12000 Findley Road, Suite 275, Johns Creek, GA 30097, 770-476-1224. www.arc-pa.org . The next visit is scheduled for fall 2025.

Social Work (CSWE). The Bachelor of Social Work (Social Work, B.S.W.) program and the Master of Social Work (Social Work, M.S.W.) are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (1701 Duke Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314-3457, 703-683-8080). www.cswe.org. The BSW program’s continuing accreditation is through 2029, and the MSW program’s initial accreditation was received in 2021 and is valid through spring 2025.

Speech Language Pathology (ASHA-CAA). The Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (Speech-Language Pathology, M.S.) education program {residential} at Northeastern State University is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, MD 20850-3289, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. https://caa.asha.org. The program’s continuing accreditation is valid through September 2030.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) is a constitutional board of nine members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, with one member’s term expiring each year. This board issues all degrees earned, determines the curricula and courses of study, prescribes academic standards, establishes student fees, and allocates funds to each institution for operation and maintenance from the legislative appropriations which are made to the board.  http://www.okhighered.org/

The Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) is a constitutional board of nine members, eight of whom are appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate. The ninth member is the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Members of the Board serve a nine-year staggered term.  The duties and powers of this Board are to make rules and regulations governing Northeastern State University and its sister schools, employ all persons in the service of these universities, construct all buildings, and authorize the purchase of equipment and supplies. http://www.ruso.edu/

Locally, the President is the chief executive officer and is responsible for the administration of the university. The President may delegate authority to selected administrators to facilitate management of the university while retaining the responsibility and accountability vested in the President. The President reports directly to the governing boards and is responsible for the determination and administration of all University policies.

Northeastern State University is committed to providing learning opportunities for the entire community through its Continuing Education office which arranges non-traditional or specialized offerings to meet constituents’ needs.  With flexible scheduling and customized approaches, NSU’s Continuing Education offers continuing education opportunities in areas ranging from accounting and financial planning to creative art to music lessons to software packages to summer camps. Training can be rapidly developed and tailored to areas not yet been fully developed into the academic mainstream.  For information on enrollment or course information, call (800) 722-9614 or (918) 456-5511, Ext. 4610 or website: https://academics.nsuok.edu/continuingeducation/default.aspx.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

The Degrees of Excellence institutional learning outcomes articulate high expectations for students’ success, and provide an inclusive framework for a distinctive educational experience emphasizing lifelong learning, intellectual growth, citizenship, and social responsibility.  They reflect NSU’s heritage, mission, vision, and values. Institutional learning outcomes are designed by NSU as a whole, taking into account the role that both instruction and student services play in contributing to a student’s success. Institutional learning outcomes assume achievement of general education learning outcomes and the stated program learning outcomes of the student’s discipline. 

Upon graduating from a degree program offered by Northeastern State University, students should embody the following competencies:

1. Intellectual skills - emphasizing analytic inquiry, information literacy, engaging diverse perspectives, quantitative fluency, and communication fluency. 
2. Integrative knowledge - emphasizing the ability to produce, independently or collaboratively, an investigative, creative, or practical work that draws on specific theories, evidence, tools, and methods from diverse perspectives. 
3. Specialized knowledge in the major - emphasizing student competency in the program outcomes of the major field(s) of study. 
4. Capstone Experience in the Baccalaureate Degree - emphasizing the integration of the major with baccalaureate degree expectations reflecting the intersection of academic and post-baccalaureate settings.
5. Citizenship - emphasizing leadership and engagement, experiential learning, cultural foundations, and personal and career development

Click Degrees of Excellence  for a complete description of each competency area.

Northeastern State University had its beginning in 1846 when the Cherokee National Council authorized establishment of a National Male Seminary and National Female Seminary to fulfill the stipulation in the Treaty of 1835 between the United States and the Cherokee Nation that public and higher education be provided for the Cherokees. Erection of the buildings for the two seminaries began in 1847 and the Cherokee National Male Seminary opened on May 6, 1851. The Cherokee National Female Seminary opened the following day. With the exception of a period between the end of the fall semester 1856 and the beginning of the fall semester 1871, these institutions were in continuous operation until 1909.

On March 6, 1909, the State Legislature of Oklahoma passed an act providing for the creation and location of Northeastern State Normal School at Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and for the purchase from the Cherokee Tribal Government of the building, land, and equipment of the Cherokee Female Seminary. The educational program of the normal school consisted of four years of high school and two years of college level study.

As previously authorized by an act of the Legislature, the State Board of Education, then the governing board of the college, took action in 1919 to change the normal school to Northeastern State Teachers College and to provide for a four-year curriculum leading to the bachelor’s degree. In 1939 the Oklahoma Legislature authorized that the name of the institution be changed to Northeastern State College.

A constitutional amendment adopted in 1941 created The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, which includes Northeastern State University and all other state-supported institutions of higher education. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education coordinates the system’s curriculum and academic programming. NSU’s governing board is the Board of Regents of the Regional University System of Oklahoma which oversees all personnel, facilities, and financial matters.

In the 1950s Northeastern emerged as a comprehensive state college, broadening its curriculum at the baccalaureate level to encompass liberal arts subjects and adding a fifth-year program designed to prepare master teachers for elementary and secondary schools. By the early 1970s the functions of the institution had been broadened to include degree programs in liberal arts, business, and selected service areas. The approval of several new certificate and degree programs in non-teaching areas added a significant dimension to the role of Northeastern. In 1974, the Oklahoma Legislature authorized that the name of the institution be changed to Northeastern Oklahoma State University. The Northeastern State University College of Optometry opened in 1979 and made history when its first doctoral graduates received their degree in the spring of 1983.

The official name of the University was changed by act of the Oklahoma Legislature in 1985 to Northeastern State University.

Mission: Building on its Cherokee heritage,Northeastern State University is committed to student success and a sustainable future for our diverse communities.

Vision: NSU will support our students’ success by adapting to a constantly changing, globally competitive environment by educating today’s learners to be tomorrow’s leaders, and by being responsive to the need of our stakeholders and the region’s workforce..

Values

Our People: We are committed to the growth and success of our students, employees and community partners.

Our Place:  We honor all who came before us and advance a culture built on diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging.

Our Purpose: We develop a collaborative environment that cultivates a life-long pursuit of learning,  excellence, creativity and opportunity.