NSU's vision is to become a leading university in South Asia, and a center of excellence in higher education in the world. It aims to attract brilliant students, scholars, researchers and scientists from all countries particularly from the South Asian region.

The mission of NSU is to produce highly skilled manpower, visionary leaders and enlightened citizens. This mission is achieved by imparting high quality higher education, training and by conducting useful research, so that individuals can achieve their intellectual, social, and personal potentials, NSU is committed to developing human capital by sharpening creative thinking. In addition to creation and dissemination of knowledge, its mission includes promotion of humanism and peace through higher education. As a social organization, NSU endeavors to induce changes for betterment of the society as a whole through public services.

To fulfill its mission, NSU applies five basic strategies: (1) it offers socially relevant academic programs/curricula which meet the needs of the students coming from different backgrounds (2) hires highly qualified and internationally experienced faculties to teach those courses relevant to a changing environment (3) admits only those students who demonstrate during a rigorous selection process, the potential to complete the programs of study they select (4) provides the necessary infrastructural facilities and logistic supports and an environment conducive to teaching and learning endeavors and (5) practices the principles of good governance that encourages academic freedom and faculty-governance.

NSU has the authority, under its Charter, to impart instruction and confer undergraduate and graduate degrees including Ph.D., in all branches of arts and sciences, including engineering, agriculture, law and medicine. It also has the authority to grant diplomas, certificates and other academic distinctions. Currently, NSU offers Bachelors and Masters degrees in a 18 number of disciplines (9 Bachelors degrees and 9 Masters degrees). Additional programs are under preparation in consultation with collaborating universities and NSU's International Advisory Board.

North South University is accredited by the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC), the accreditation authority of the Ministry of Education, Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh. It is recognized by many world class universities of USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India,China, South Korea and Malaysia.

The credits obtained at NSU are accepted in most of the respectable universities of USA, Canada, Australia and other countries. NSU graduates have been accepted in the Graduate programs of Harvard, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, and other well-known universities. Six Economics graduates of NSU are studying for higher degrees at York University, Canada, with scholarship provided by York University.

NSU attracts foreign students from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Sudan, and Nigeria. In addition Under the Study Abroad and Group Exchange program, students from world-class universities of the USA and Canada such as Brown University, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Windsor University, York University, and other similar institutions attend summer semester at NSU and transfer credits back to parent institutions. Visiting faculty from foreign universities, mostly US and Canadian, teach courses at NSU. The university is committed to imparting high quality education. Visiting faculty from Universities in US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and New Zealand teach at NSU in different departments on contractual basis. NSU has a academic collaboration with large number foreign universities.

NSU has academic collaboration agreements with many foreign universities, some of the are: (1) St. Xavier University, Chicago, USA, (2) Indian University of Pennsylvania, USA, (3) Luton University, UK, (4) University of Delaware (UD), USA, (5) University of Maryland, USA, (6) Quest University, Canada, (7) Yunnan University, China, (8) Multimedia University (MMU), Malaysia, (9) Wayne State University (WSU), USA, (10) University of South Australia, Australia, and (11) Kyung Hee University (KHU), South Korea.

NSU has an International Advisory Board to counsel on academic matters. The Board Members include professors and administrators from universities and international organizations. They are:

Chairman:

Dr. David W. Strangway
Vice Chancellor, Quest University, Canada
Former Vice Chancellor, University of British Columbia, Canada

Members:

Prof. Peter J. Drake
Former Vice Chancellor
Australian Catholic University

Dr. Alan W. Heston
Professor of Economics
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

Dr. Herbert J. Davis
Global Research Professor of Business
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Prof. Earl Kellogg
Agricultural & Consumer Economics
University of Illinois at Urbana -Champaign, USA

Prof. David Little
Director, Center for Study of Values in Public Life
Harvard University, USA

Dr. David N. Nelson
University Libraries (South Asia Bibliographer)
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

Prof. Balakrishna Doshi
Architect-Planner, Director
Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design, Ahmedabad, India

Dr. Shelly Feldman
Professor, Department of Sociology, Cornell University, New York, USA