About NACOL

Mission

The mission of the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) is to increase educational opportunities and enhance learning by providing collegial expertise and leadership in K-12 online teaching and learning.

The North American Council for Online Learning:
An Opportunity in the Making

Vision
Online teaching and learning has the potential to transform education. The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) is dedicated to fostering a learning landscape that promotes student success and lifelong learning.

The North American Council for Online Learning Believes:

• Online learning is a viable option that allows every learner to achieve a quality education.

• Online learning is a viable path for educating children throughout their primary and secondary education years.

• Quality online learning opportunities are led by outstanding course content delivered by highly qualified educators.

• Federal, state and local education entities must evaluate and refine existing education public policy in order to promote online teaching and learning options.

• Professional development, whether delivered in an online or face-to-face environment, is the basis for ensuring that students and teachers have productive online learning experiences.

• Models of reform in public and private education should incorporate online learning as a viable tool for change.

• Online teachers and students match or surpass all accountability standards.

• Federal, state, local and corporate entities must support research and development to provide insight into and promote best practices in the areas of online learning.

Introduction

Due to the rapid development in the field of K-12 online learning, the North American Council for Online Learning was launched as a formal corporate entity, in September 2003, as an international K-12 non-profit organization representing the interests of administrators, practitioners, and students involved in online learning in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The express purpose of the organization is to facilitate collaboration, advocacy, and research to enhance quality K-12 online learning.

Having evolved from a diverse group of over 100 concerned educators into a policy making body guided by a committed board of directors, NACOL is focusing its organizational objectives in order to best meet the immediate and long-term needs of the online learning community. The following objectives, accompanied by specific benchmarks, serve as the foundation of NACOL’s research and advocacy objectives for fiscal years 2004-2007.

Objectives & Benchmarks
NACOL believes that it is best positioned to lead the efforts to bring together administrators, teachers, policy makers and corporate interests to determine the long term viability of the use of online mediums as a mode for delivering content and instruction.

Specifically, NACOL intends to:

1. Identify and recruit a membership base.

• Identify the audience to be served by NACOL membership programs and initiatives.

• Define a membership category and attendant benefits for each of the NACOL audiences.

  • Individual

  • Institutional (public & private)

  • Associate (non-profit)

  • Corporate

• Identify the benefits of membership for each membership category

2. Create organizational efficacy

• Prepare and complete by-laws to govern the operation of the organization’s non-profit board of directors.

• Educate, on a consistent basis, the members of the board of directors about the function and role of a non-profit organization.

• Develop and disseminate operating standard operating policies and procedures for the board of directors.

• Develop a three year fiscal business plan to guide the budget and spending activities of the organization.

• Develop an employee handbook to define the working conditions for the NACOL Executive Director and staff.

• Develop and disseminate an annual report to the general membership and funding organizations.

3. Identify and conduct industry-leading research in the area of K-12 online learning

• Conduct meta-research on current available research in online learning throughout North America in the areas of:

  • course content

  • course management systems

  • teacher professional development

  • virtual education program administration

  • state and federal public policy

• Establish research agenda parameters and policies

• Identify collaborators to advance the research agenda from the K-12, higher education, non-profit, and corporate communities.

• Secure funding to support and carry out the identified research agenda.

4. Define quality online learning and teaching

• Establish a committee of industry experts to define elements of excellent online teaching and learning.

• Define and disseminate standards for best practices

• Investigate a certification process for course content

• Conduct an evaluation of course content by an appointed evaluation committee

• Investigate a national/international repository of learning objects that have met the NACOL standards for excellence.

5. Provide support and advocacy for the online learning audience

• Facilitate knowledge transformation and act as a repository for teachers to exchange information about best practices in the area of online teaching.

  • establish a web-based forum for information exchange

  • investigate providing a networking, training, and professional development opportunities through annual regional conferences

• Facilitate knowledge transformation and act as a repository for administrators to exchange information about the policy and practice of establishing and operating online learning programs.

  • establish a web-based forum for information exchange.

  • provide networking, training, and professional development opportunities through annual national conferences.

• Facilitate the development and dissemination of a blue print for state and federal policy makers to guide the implementation and expansion of district or state-wide online learning initiatives.

  • identify effective public and private funding models that support broad-based online learning programs.

  • provide networking and conferencing opportunities for key legislators in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to learn about effective public policy initiatives guiding thriving online learning programs.

• Facilitate knowledge transformation between the education and corporate sectors participating in online learning.

  • provide an annual forum for inter-organizational exchange.

  • promote the development of effective learning management systems and course content that is adaptable to numerous educational environments.

Summary

Advances in technology, external funding, potential opportunities for partnership collaboration, numbers of potential NACOL members, changing global economic patterns, public attitudes concerning public online education, and new competition by for-profit entities are all factors that must be considered in planning. Vigilant monitoring is a must.

This strategic plan is a vehicle to enable NACOL to realize its fullest potential. Clearly defining, communicating, and implementing its organization’s vision, mission and yearly goals will be critical to NACOL’s success. The priorities outlined in this plan will serve as a guide for all members of the online learning community to understand the challenges it faces, the changes that must come, and the path it wishes to follow in its quest for excellence.