NOVA Southeastern University - From Airfield to Online Education Magnet

Nova Southeastern University was founded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1964 as the Nova University of Advanced Technology.  After merging with Southeastern University in 1994, the school became officially known as Nova Southeastern University.  During World War II, the land now utilized by the University was maintained as a naval training airfield.  The land was previously purchased from the Forman family and was subsequently named Forman Field.  Upon purchasing the land from the Formans, the federal government agreed that following its use as a military installation, the land could only be used for educational purposes.  Upon the conclusion of World War II, the land was used for the South Florida Education Center, leading the way for the formation of Nova University in 1964.

Over the last four decades, Nova Southeastern University has steadily risen to become the largest independent institution of higher education in the Southeast and the sixth largest not-for-profit independent institution in the United States.  Recognized nationally for exploring new educational methods, Nova Southeastern supplies high caliber instruction through traditional undergraduate programs.

Starting in 1972, the University began to offer a wide range of distance education courses, eventually becoming the first institution in the United States to offer graduate programs online in 1983.  Students located far away from the campus were able receive their course materials online, attend class meetings inside electronic classrooms, and use audio teleconferencing to communicate with instructors.

Nova Southeastern also began to supply a variety of support services for distance education students, including the Electronic Library and online help desk.  As a result, students were able to attend their classes from anywhere in the world with a connection to the Internet.

In an effort to accommodate its students further, Nova Southeastern has recently set up off-campus education centers in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Naples, plus non-Florida locations such as Las Vegas, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.

With such an assortment of options for the learner (a variety of degrees, a solid technological support network, continued flexibility in the classroom, etc.), each student is now assured of a comfortable and productive learning environment that will pave the way to securing his/her degree of choice.