Back to: NEA Academy Home / About Us

• Subscribe
• Email
• Print

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the NEA Academy courses only available to NEA members?
Some NEA Academy are offered to both members and non-members, but members usually receive a discounted price on courses for which there is a fee. Click on the course description for each course in the Online Course Catalog to determine if it is offered to non-members.

How much do the courses cost?
NEA-produced courses are usually offered free of charge to members.  Those courses developed by an outside non-profit or for-profit vendor will have a fee, although we will attempt to negotiate a reduced rate for members.  Many courses may be taken for graduate credit for an additional fee.

Are courses from the Academy eligible for renewal credit in my state?
Many of the vendor-produced courses have arrangements with state departments of education or state standards boards to accept their courses for renewal credit.  Participants who are interested in receiving renewal credits or CEUs should download the course description and submit it to their personnel office to apply for pre-approval. Several courses also have graduate credit options available for additional fees and assignments.  Your NEA local may be able to assist you in getting approval for renewal credits for these courses.

Can I complete the courses in my own time frame?
Most course have a time frame (e.g. six months) in which they must be completed.  Courses marked as "facilitated" will generally follow a tighter time frame, with weekly assignments and expectations.  "Non-facilitated" courses allow you to work at your own pace.  Most courses are "asynchronous" meaning that you are not required to be online at a specific time.  Check the Quality and Content Review Board summary in the course description to determine the structure of the course you are interested in.

I'm worried that I'll feel too isolated if I take an online professional development course.
We encourage participants to go through these courses in district or school-based cohorts, so you can work together with your colleagues to complete the expectations.  Many participants report to us that their "online cohorts," who may be across the country, become close collaborators and confidants. In fact, many report that they feel freer to express themselves with someone in another state than they do with a colleague down the hall.

Is there any research about the effectiveness of online learning?
The research base for online learning is sketchy.  Mostly it is self-reporting -- with participants indicating whether or not it was useful, impacted their teaching, etc.  We hope to stimulate a more robust research agenda concerning online professional development.  To be fair, there is not a very strong research base for most workshop-based professional development experiences, either.

Is there any follow up to a course after completing it?
We hope to develop learning and/or discussion forums for educators who complete online courses so they can continue to interact with their online colleagues.  You can help us create our learning communities by clicking here to complete our brief survey.

I have a great idea for a course (or I've already taken a course that was great).  Is the NEA interested in my idea?  Who do I contact?
Yes!  We are interested!  Course offering and course selection is guided by member needs and experience.  Click here to complete and submit one of our forms.

Do I have an opportunity to tell you what I think of an NEA Academy course?
Yes, we will have an evaluation form at the completion of every online course.  Participant experience and evaluation information will be available to those wishing to take a course.

I have registered for a class, but when I click on it, nothing happens.
Our Help Center is available to resolve this as well as any other problems or concerns you encounter. Just click here.

How can we use the NEA Academy courses to strengthen the Association?
It is our hope that local and state affiliates can organize cohort groups to participate in Academy courses and that building representatives, state teaching and learning staff, Uniserv Directors, and others will use these course offerings to increase the value of NEA membership.  We will document and publicize the creative ways that our members and affiliate staff use the Academy to promote membership.  The Academy courses will be a very visible demonstration of NEA's commitment to creating great public schools for all students.