Since becoming a university, Northwest students have participated in a wide range of activities. The annual Christmas Yuletide Feast began in 1973 under the direction of Gilbert Whitney and later Dr. 理查德Weymuth. The Department of Fine and Performing Arts to this day bring seasonal medieval cheer to countless Northwest alumni, 教师, 工作人员, 学生和玛丽维尔社区. In 1971, Walk-out Day was briefly discontinued due to students using the day for inappropriate off-campus activities. 但是罢工日的传统在1977年恢复了.
Student Senate introduced the Tower Service Awards in 1987 for service and in 1998, 并推出“品质承诺奖”. 西北的行政,在总统的领导下 迪恩·哈伯德, helped Northwest win four Missouri Quality Awards with its institutional commitment to quality program. 学生运动员在许多运动项目中获胜,尤其是足球. 熊猫足球赢得了1998年和1999年的冠军.
In 1987, students saw a dramatic change in how they communicated with the implementation of the Electronic Campus program. Networked terminals were placed in every residence hall room and then were later upgraded to networked, 装有标准化大学软件的个人电脑, 包括Microsoft Windows和Office Professional.
随着在线注册的出现,注册课程变得更容易了, 先是Star和WebStar,然后是CatPAWS. SOAR was established in the late 1990s to help first-time freshmen students acclimate to campus prior to the start of classes. SOAR (Summer Orientation Advisement and Registration program) allows incoming students and their parents to spend one day on campus visiting with a SOAR Leader (a current Northwest student who shares similar interests to their own). 在飙升, 家长和新生与指导老师见面, register for first semester classes and get the opportunity to visit the residence halls. In 2008, all full-time Northwest students received a wireless notebook computer with standardize university software as part of the Electronic Campus's on-going initiative to make technology ubiquitous on campus.