iNACOL National Quality Standards
Beginning in 2007, iNACOL began a significant effort to establish a series of voluntary national quality standards for K-12 online learning. The purpose of these standards is to provide states, districts, online learning programs, and other organizations with a set of quality guidelines1 for all aspects of online learning programs.
The process of creating each set of standards began by forming a committee of online learning experts. The committee members then conducted an extensive literature review. The results of the review were then used to determine if existing standards addressed all necessary areas or if the committee needed to develop additional standards. After the completion of draft standards, the iNACOL membership was given an opportunity to provide input which was then used to finalize the standards.
Online Courses: In 2007, the iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses2 were published addressing the issues of online course content, instructional design, technology, student assessment, and course management. …more info
Online Teaching: In 2008, the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Teaching3 were published addressing the issues of online teaching and instructional design. …more info
Online Learning Programs: In 2009, the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Programs4 were published addressing four key areas: Institutional Standards, Teaching and Learning Standards, Support Standards, and Evaluation Standards. …more info
References for footnotes can be found on the resources page or click on the footnote number for a direct link.