At NU’s 2026 commencement in San Diego, California Assemblymember and American Council on Education president will address nearly 6,800 graduates — nearly 1 in 7 over age 50 and 12% veterans — including 748 autism therapists, more than 1,000 educators and school leaders
SAN DIEGO, CA (May 11, 2026) —National University (NU)—one of the largest private, nonprofit universities in the United States dedicated to serving working, military, and nontraditional students—will award degrees to nearly 6,800 students entering some of the most critical, hard-to-fill professions in the country this spring at its 2026 Commencement at Frontwave Arena in San Diego. The ceremonies will feature addresses by Dr. Darshana Patel, California State Assemblymember and former cancer researcher, and Dr. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education and former U.S. Under Secretary of Education.
“Our graduates this year are the workforce America needs to heal, teach, build, and protect our communities — the autism therapist, the cybersecurity analyst, the family therapist, the nurse, the school principal and the special education teacher,” said Dr. Mark D. Milliron, president and CEO of National University. “Crucially, these students are ANDers, who are earning their degrees while working, raising families, serving in uniform and caring for the people who depend on them. It is our great privilege to salute these students who serve their patients, students, families, communities and their country.”
As a Veteran-founded institution, National University’s student population reflects the shifting demographics of higher education. Approximately 70 percent of National University’s students take the majority of their classes online. More than 80 percent of undergraduates are transfer students. The vast majority are working. The average age of NU students is 33 years old. About one in four students are servicemembers or Veterans.
In the graduating class of 2026, the 6,780 graduates make up one of the largest, most diverse, and most experienced classes in American higher education this year. Nearly 1 in 7 graduates is age 50 or older, adults pursuing second careers, advanced credentials, and new professional chapters after decades in the workforce, in caregiving roles, or in uniform. More than 1,500 are connected to military service — including 822 veterans, 363 active-duty service members who finished their degrees while still in uniform, and dozens of reservists, military spouses and dependents.
- 748 new autism therapists in a year when families are waiting months for one. NU’s master’s in Applied Behavioral Analysis is its single largest program and one of the largest ABA cohorts graduating from any U.S. institution this year. With a national shortage of Board Certified Behavior Analysts and persistent gaps in bilingual and culturally responsive providers, this class is walking directly into a workforce that families with children on the autism spectrum cannot find fast enough.
- More than 1,000 teachers and school leaders, during a critical inflection point for America’s teacher shortage. This year’s class includes more than 1,000 graduates in education — special education, early childhood, educational counseling, school leadership, bilingual education — at a time when every state is grappling with shortages. Roughly 200 of those graduates earned advanced degrees in school leadership, principal preparation, and superintendency.
- A new generation of marriage and family therapists, in a profession that has long lacked them. More than 340 graduates trained as marriage and family therapists this year — at the master’s, doctoral, and PhD levels. The cohort lands in the middle of a national reckoning with mental health access, at a time when more than 150 million Americans live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas.
- A doctoral class at scale. About 700 NU graduates earned doctoral degrees this year — EdDs, PhDs, DBAs, DNPs, and others, many of them the first in their families to reach this level of academic attainment.
- A new pipeline into cybersecurity and nursing. More than 200 NU graduates earned degrees in cybersecurity. Roughly 265 earned nursing credentials, in a profession that remains around 80 percent white and one of the country’s most acute shortages. Together, these graduates represent a small but important shift in who fills the talent gaps that hospitals, school systems, and federal agencies have been raising alarms about for years.
- A class built around second acts and second chapters. Nearly 1,000 NU graduates this year are 50 or older — completing MBAs, master’s degrees, and doctorates, often after decades in the workforce, in caregiving roles, or in military service. The class also includes 822 veterans and hundreds more military-connected students, many of whom finished their degrees in fields directly tied to the country’s mental health and helping-profession workforce: counseling, psychology, and family therapy.
- Built for non-traditional, working and military students. Most NU students arrive with prior college experience and outside obligations, and earn their degrees through online, on-campus, and hybrid programs built on four-week and eight-week class schedules and one-to-one graduate education models — a structure designed to fit education into real lives, not the other way around.
“Through our work on the Carnegie Classifications, we’ve been rethinking how higher education recognizes the institutions doing the most important work of opening doors, removing barriers and accelerating pathways to better careers and better lives,” said Dr. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education. “National University is a prime example of a new category that we call Opportunity Colleges and Universities. These are places where access and mobility aren’t afterthoughts but are part of the design. National University graduates are proof of what that looks like. It is an honor to celebrate their extraordinary achievements.”
Dr. Mitchell brings decades of national leadership in higher education policy and institutional advancement. As president of the American Council on Education, he works closely with colleges and universities across the country on issues of academic quality, access, and accountability, including stewardship of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education®. A former U.S. under secretary of education, his career also includes senior leadership roles at major universities and national service advancing education policy, with a consistent focus on learners whose lives and responsibilities extend well beyond the classroom.
Dr. Patel has built a career at the intersection of science, education, and public service. Trained as a biophysicist, she spent years in cancer research before stepping into education leadership, serving on and later leading the Poway Unified School District Board of Education. In 2024, she was elected to represent California’s 76th Assembly District and now serves in a leadership role focused on education policy.
“It is an honor to celebrate alongside National University graduates,” Dr. Patel said. “Earning a degree reflects perseverance, belief, and the courage to keep going even when the path is demanding. This graduating class carries those qualities forward, and I look forward to recognizing their hard work and heart.”
About National University: National University, a Veteran-founded nonprofit, has been dedicated to meeting the needs of nontraditional, working, and military students by providing accessible, affordable higher education opportunities since 1971. As San Diego’s largest private nonprofit university, NU offers over 150 online and on-campus programs with flexible four-week and eight-week classes and one-to-one graduate education models designed to help students reach their goals while balancing busy lives. Since its founding, the NU community has grown to 130,000 learners served per year — 50,000 degree-seeking students and 80,000 workforce and professional development students — and 250,000 alumni around the globe, many of whom serve in helping industries such as business, education, health care, cybersecurity, and law and criminal justice. To learn more about National University’s new possibilities in education including next-generation education, value-rich education, and whole human education, visit NU.edu.
