National Louis University (NLU) is a private non-profit American university. NLU has locations in and near Chicago,Illinois, as well as in Wisconsin, Florida and Nowy Sącz, Poland. Many courses and programs are also offered at-a-distance. Since its founding in 1886, NLU has played a historic role in education, when it helped found the National Kindergarten Movement, and the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and stressed the importance of academic and professional training in childhood education theory and practice.

　　History of the University

　　National Louis University (NLU) began in 1886, when Elizabeth Harrison founded the school to train "Kindergarteners", young women teachers who began the early childhood education movement.The school's requirements became a model for education colleges nationwide.In 1893, the university published Harrison's book, The Kindergarten as an Influence in Modern Civilization, in which she explained, "how to teach the child from the beginning of his existence that all things are connected [and] how to lead him to this vital truth from his own observation . . .."

　　The university's name was changed to the Chicago Kindergarten Training School (1887), Chicago Kindergarten College (1893), the National Kindergarten and Elementary College (1912) and then the National College of Education (1930). The "National" part of the university's name came about when the school became the professional school of the National Kindergarten Association. The university championed the concept of kindergarten and early education teaching in America and was one of the first teacher's colleges in the country to offer a four-year program culminating in the bachelor of education degree.

　　In 1913 the National Kindergarten and Elementary College campus moved to 2944 South Michigan Avenue, where it remained until moving to Evanston, Illinois in 1926.

　　In the 1920s, the university partnered with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jane Addams to provide educational opportunities to the largely poor, immigrant population served by Hull House.In 1954, the university's graduate school was accredited to offer masters and doctorate level degrees. The university organized its general liberal arts offerings into the Michael W. Louis College of Arts and Sciences in 1982, and began its business and management school in 1989, offering both bachelors and master of business administration degrees.

　　In 1990, National Louis united the name of National College of Education with that of trustee and benefactor Michael W. Louis. Louis’ significant gift spearheaded the transition from college to university and enabled the university to greatly expand its programs. NLU now encompasses three colleges — National College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business. Together, they offer more than 72 academic programs, with degrees extending to the doctoral level.

　　In 1999, the historic 22-story Peoples Gas Building at 122 S. Michigan Avenue, built in 1910, became the flagship location of NLU. Designed by Daniel Burnham, the university's new home housed faculty and administrative offices, a library, classrooms and computer labs.

　　In 2006, the university closed its former main site in Evanston, Illinois, replacing it with its current location in Skokie.

　　In 2011, the university became the first in the USA to participate in a Groupon discount on course registration fees when a three-credit graduate-level course was offered for a 60-percent discount on the usual $2,232 fee.

　　Programs

　　In 2014, the university merges its College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business into one new entity, the College of Professional Studies and Advancement (CPSA). CPSA consists of three schools: The School of Health and Human Services, the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and School of Business and Management.

　　Faculty Reduction

　　From 2011 to 2013, the university reduced its number of full-time faculty to half (more than 60 full-time faculty members) through a combination of early retirements and lay-offs.On April 18, 2013, the American Association of University Professors released a report saying that the university "had no acceptable financial or educational justification for either the layoffs or a related reorganization leading to the closure of four academic departments and 14 academic programs.".The university's president, Nivine Megahed, said the university " had been "facing serious financial pressures" and the cuts " enabled the university to stabilize a multiyear decline. ".On June 15, 2013, the AAUP censured National Louis for violating AAUP standards of academic freedom and tenure.

　　Downtown location

　　The university's downtown Chicago owns and occupies the second through sixth floors of the historic Peoples Gas Building onMichigan Avenue in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District, across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago. It was in borrowed rooms in the then fledgling Art Institute (in its earlier home on Michigan Avenue at Van Buren) that the university held its first classes.