Academic Catalog

Northern Arizona University (NAU) structures its academic terms and sessions in accordance with U.S. Department of Education (DOE) definitions for standard and non-standard terms. These definitions determine financial aid eligibility and provide the framework for the university’s academic calendar.

NAU assigns academic credit in accordance with its Academic Credit policy. Term and session lengths define the timeframe in which the academic work required for awarded credit is completed.

The Office of the Registrar establishes term and session calendars, including term dates, session length, grading timelines, and add/drop and withdrawal deadlines, in accordance with university policy and approved term structures.

NAU operates with two primary terms/semesters in which financial aid may be awarded and two additional terms/semesters that are not independently eligible for financial aid.

Dates and deadlines are calculated based on the length of each session. Enrollment-related deadlines follow the Student Course Enrollment policy and are applied proportionally based on session length so that key academic actions occur at consistent points in the course timeline across all session formats. See NAU Policy #200347: Student Course Enrollment, All Students

Faculty design course content, assignments, and instructional pacing based on the approved term or session length so that the academic work defined in the Academic Credit policy is delivered within the established timeframe. Shorter sessions require the same academic work as standard terms.

Standard class meeting patterns are defined by the Standard Class Meeting Times policy and must be used when scheduling synchronous instruction unless otherwise approved.

The Office of the Registrar reviews scheduled class meeting patterns and session structures during the schedule build process to confirm alignment between scheduled instructional time, session length, and assigned Units of Credit prior to publication of the Schedule of Classes.

Fall and Spring Term/Semester

The Office of the Registrar determines the first and last day of the term, and the NAU Executive Team and the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) approve them.

Fall and spring terms are 16 weeks in length, consisting of 15 weeks of instruction and one week of final examinations. These terms may not overlap.

Sessions within fall and spring vary in length. Session dates and deadlines are calculated based on session length and aligned to the full-term calendar.

The Summer Term/Semester

The summer term is twelve weeks in length and begins the Monday following the end of the spring term.

Sessions within summer vary in length. Dates and deadlines are calculated based on session length. Course structure and pacing are adjusted to ensure that the same academic work required for credit is delivered within the shorter timeframe.

The Winter Term/Semester

The winter session is four weeks in length and begins the Monday following the fall term.

Winter courses are delivered in an accelerated format. The academic work required for credit does not change; instruction and assignments are delivered in a compressed timeframe.

Dynamically Dated Sessions

Dynamically dated sessions allow courses to be offered with start and end dates that differ from standard session patterns.

The Office of the Registrar establishes standard structures for dynamically dated sessions. Course timelines, grading deadlines, and instructional pacing are set so that the academic work required for the assigned credit is completed within the course duration.

Dates and deadlines follow University policy and are applied proportionally based on course length.

The Non-Standard Term Calendars

Non-standard term calendars are not maintained in the Student Information System but are published by the Office of the Registrar and must align with institutional requirements for academic timelines, credit, and student progress.

Dates for graduate and undergraduate terms can be found on the Registrar's Office website.

Personalized Learning

Personalized Learning is based on a non-standard term and does not use the traditional semester/term calendar but rather on a 180-day (six-month) subscription period. The subscription model allows the student to complete coursework at an individual pace, making accelerated degree completion possible.