What would I do as an indie teacher?
What types of courses can I offer?
Professors have two broad options for course topics that can of value to their audience:
Applied/practical topics that are useful outside of an academic context. This can include personal development topics. For example, a course on writing that focuses on business communications would be an option for an English professor. Academic support courses: These are courses that support students who are enrolled in academic courses in a college or university. This could take the form of a course designed to prepare students to take a CLEP or other exam to earn credit, or it could be a course that supplements traditional course work. An English professor might offer a mini course on Thoreau that would be of value to students looking for additional content to support their studies in an American Literature course.
Why would students take my class?
Many students take courses because they are required to do so. One of the benefits of colleges is that they provide a captive audience of students for teachers. As an indie teacher, you must find your own audience.
As a professor and administrator in higher ed for over two decades, math is probably the course that students would most like to avoid. Yet the Sal Khan built the very successful Khan Academy by providing tutoring on math. Kahn is the poster child of indie teaching. He started by offering math tutoring to his cousins, which eventually he posted to YouTube. Today Khan Academy is a famous educational web site with support from many major donors.
Khan Academy illustrates the key to successful indie teaching. You must identify an audience with a need that you can solve through teaching. Khan audience began with his cousins and expanded to students around the world needing additional lessons in math.
What regulations and accreditations must indie teachers follow?
Since indie teachers do not handle financial aid for students, there are no federal requirements or accreditation requirements. Accreditors do not accredit anything other than degree-granting institutions.
States have regulations that govern both degree-granting and non-degree programs. However, if the intent is to offer instruction that is clearly for self-improvement, motivation, or avocational in intent and that only incidentally leads to gainful employment is generally exempt. Educational offerings outside of this span can trigger the requirement to be licensed in many states as an educational institution. Such licensure can be expensive and include long waiting periods for approval. Online educational offerings must be approved in each state where learners reside. This further complicates the process. An indie teacher should clearly state that courses are for self-improvement or development and do guarantee a job or preparation for a career. In some states, use of business names including “college” and “university” can be limited to approved institutions. Each state is different, and you should research the specific laws in your home state.
How can I offer classes for credit?
Academic credit can only be awarded by accredited institutions. Even then, credits earned at one institution do not always transfer to another institution. Having said that, there are four ways that non-academic learning experiences can be converted to academic credit at a college or a university:
Prior learning assessment and experiential credit:
- A student might be able to provide documentation of learning experiences that are equivalent to a college course. The institution will then award credit. The process and requirements vary by the institution. Credit awarded at one institution may not be awarded by another institution.
- A learning provider can enter into an agreement with an institution to accept learning from the provider for credit. This model is used by straighterline.com.
- Third-party approval of the learning experience. The American Council for Education (ACE) will review non-academic courses and approve them for college credit. This review process is expensive, but many institutions will award ACE-approved credits.
- Third-party testing service such as CLEP or DANTES. In this scenario, the non-academic offering would help students prepare for the exam. Institutions would provide credit based on passing the exam.
Except for the last option, a major consideration will be the amount of time spent in the class. College credit is based on the Carnegie Unit which equates 1 semester hour of college credit to 45 hours of student work. Courses that are less than this will not translate into a full credit even if the learning outcomes are equivalent. A group of classes could be bundled to achieve one credit, but the credit hour is a concept from over a century ago that is no longer practically relevant but legally important.
How do I offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs)?
Several professions and certifications require practicing professionals to earn a certain number of CEUs each year. If you are interested in offering courses in an area that requires CEUs, this is a designation that has some value. The requirements to offer CEUs vary by state, and you need to research the requirements in your state to determine what you would need to do to offer CEUs for your courses.
Can I offer certificates or certifications?
These are two closely related but separate terms. A “certificate” can be given for anyone completing a course, unless state regulations limit this practice. This is different from an academic certificate which is usually an academic program less than two years in length. A “certification” is usually a designation that someone has passed an exam or otherwise demonstrated proficiency in a subject.
How much can I make as an indie teacher?
This depends on your topic and your audience. While there are people making crazy money teaching online, those results are not typical. Topics that are aligned to a professional need tend to make more money than topics related to hobbies, but people still spend a great deal on hobbies. The size of your audience obviously influences how many people might purchase what you have to offer.
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