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The Northern Arizona University Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition

What is the faculty composition at NAU ?

Get a feel for student life at Northern Arizona University by checking out the information on classes and faculty below.

Below Average Student to Faculty Ratio

Student to faculty ratio is one of the standard metrics used to gauge the number of teaching resources a school provides for its students. With 19 students for every one instructional faculty member, Northern Arizona University has more students split among the same faculty when compared to the national average of 15 . This metric might be an indicator that larger class sizes may be the norm, especially in introductory courses.

Breakdown of Instructional Staff

The following table shows all the employees the school considers instructional, and therefore, part of the above student-to-faculty ratio. These include both those employees designated as either "primarily instructional" or as "instructional combined with research/public service". It does not include employees that have been identified by Northern Arizona University as primarily performing research or public service.

TotalFull TimePart TimePercent Full Time
Total of Instructional Employees1,45697548167.0%
Total of Those With Faculty Status1,45697548167.0%
Tenured Faculty404404-100.0%
On Tenure Track129129-100.0%
Not on Tenure Track92344248147.9%
Without Faculty Status----
Graduate Assistants374-374-

This Campus is Filled with Full-Time Teachers

Northern Arizona University has more full-time teachers than the average school, with 67.0% of instructors teaching full time.

Lower Than Average Use of Adjuncts or Part-Time Teachers

At Northern Arizona University , only 33.0% of the teaching staff are part-time non-faculty or non-tenure track faculty. This use of adjuncts is low, below the national average of 51.4%, which could be indicative of Northern Arizona University's commitment to building a strong, long-term instructional team.

Colleges often use part-time professors and adjuncts to teach courses, rather than full-time faculty. This hiring practice is primarily a way to save money amid increasingly tight budgets. However, it is a controversial practice with strong views on either side. We encourage you to understand this topic more deeply, and how the colleges you are interested in approach faculty hiring. It's your education and your money on the line. Make sure you know what you are getting for it.

Additional Information

Grad Assistants May Teach Classes

Northern Arizona University has 374 instructional graduate assistants that teach or provide teaching-related duties. These responsibilities could range from entirely teaching lower-level courses themselves, to assisting professors by developing teaching materials, preparing or giving exams and grading student work. We suggest you ask the college to what extent graduate assistants are relied on for instruction, so you know what you are paying for.

Additionally, the school has 240 non-instructional graduate assistants.

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