Northcentral University (www.ncu.edu), an innovator in 100% online higher education, announced today that its enrollment has now passed the 5,000 student mark. The mark reached May 30 means that NCU's enrollments have more than doubled in the past 18 months, and grown by 25 percent in the past seven months alone. "Our accelerated growth is a statement to the positive momentum NCU is sustaining, continuing to attract new students and faculty through innovation, flexibility and affordability," commented Dr. Claudia Santin, NCU President.

"NCU's growth signals that we are substantially outpacing most online higher education institutions, which is especially significant since the online component of higher education is growing at a much faster rate than higher education as a whole," commented Santin.

The increase in enrollment at NCU surpasses by a wide margin the growth trend in online and distance education in general. "We believe that a primary reason for NCU's growth is the satisfaction level of NCU's students with educational quality and support services ," Santin said. "Student satisfaction is a direct result of our approach to higher education which features monthly course starts, flexible terms, and one-on-one support from faculty who are trained in online teaching as well as credentialed and experienced in their fields."

NCU has enjoyed a series of positive developments in recent months. Already accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Higher Learning Commission, the University's School of Business and Technology Management recently gained national accreditation by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). NCU is the first fully online institution offering degrees from bachelor's to doctoral to gain this prestigious accreditation.

In addition, NCU is the first fully online institution to be granted a chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the national education honor society. Similarly, Delta Mu Delta, the international honor society in business administration, has chartered an NCU chapter. Both of the honor societies were formally installed during NCU's commencement festivities June 14-15, 2007.

 All of this comes as Northcentral University staff is settling into the new world headquarters in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The striking 52,000+ square foot building