On the Road
with Rachel Hendrickson

I recently traveled down to Brevard Community College in Florida to talk to folks there about their distance education program and NEA's new portal.

The NEA portal will feature professional development channels with classes taught by faculty from NEA campuses. The NEA works first with Association leaders on the campuses and only then with administrators to ensure that our faculty will not be disadvantaged by the opportunity.

Between now and October 1, portal staff will be scouting about 400 classes and several degree programs that can be offered to NEA members and families via distance education. Brevard was our first stop. The rest of the campuses that we visit will have a tough act to follow.

Robin Boggs, an NEA member and also a member of the Brevard Education Association bargaining team, has created an amazingly interactive experience for her education students. Robin has extensive online contact with her students at least three times a week and has created a site where students can interact with each other.

More than 120 Brevard faculty have received training and are already providing distance education to Florida's students in over 100 classes. It's a real possibility that they may soon be providing those classes to NEA members nationwide.

We're also going to be calling on Association leaders on other campuses to work with us as we scout out more offerings.

On to Lansing Community College and Central Michigan University, then the University of Montana and Chico State University.

Anybody else ready for us out there?

—Rachel Hendrickson coordinates NEA higher ed activities.