Professional Associations

Professional Associations

Professional associations exist for just about every industry and profession. They offer a variety of benefits to you when exploring careers, searching for jobs, and continuing your education for maintaining licensure.

• Industry information related to trends, product development, key leaders, and legislative updates
• Membership directories
• Networking opportunities
• Continuing education
• Job listings
• Publications, including professional journals and newsletters

Student membership is affordable and provides you with access to professional publications, as well as opportunities for early involvement in the profession by attending professional conferences or activities.

List of Suggested Professional Associations

Education: K–12

• American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
• American Association of School Administrators (AASA).
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
• Association of American Educators (AAE).
• International Reading Association.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).
• National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
• National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET).
• National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.
• National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
• National Education Association (NEA).
• National Reading Conference (NRC).
• National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
• Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
• The Council for Exceptional Children.
• U.S. Department of Labor — Education Administrators.
• U.S. Department of Labor — K–12 Teachers.

Education: Higher Education

• American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
• Academic 360.
• Adjunct Nation.
• American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE).
• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers .
• American Association of University Professors (AAUCP).
• American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
• American Council on Education (ACE).
• American Distance Education Consortium.
• Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE).
• Association for Gerontology in Higher Education ("Careers in Aging: Consider the Opportunities").
• Association for the Study of Higher Education.
• Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).
• Chronicle of Higher Education.
• Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
• Education Commission of the States.
• EDUCAUSE.
• Inside Higher Ed.
• League for Innovation in the Community College.
• Learning Point Associates.
• National Association for College Admission Counseling.
• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
• National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
• Professional Nurse Educators Group (PNEG).
• The Sloan Consortium.

Education: Instructional Design and Online Learning (IDOL)

• American Center for the Study of Distance Education (ACSDE).
• American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC).
• American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).
• Association for Telecommunications Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA).
• Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
• Association for Educational Communications & Technology (AECT).
• Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).
• Federal Government Distance Learning Association (FGDLA).
• Interactive Multimedia and Collaborative Communications Alliance (IMCCA).
• International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).
• International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC).
• International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI).
• International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
• Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT).
• The Sloan Consortium.
• United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).
• Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET).
• World Association for Online Education (WAOE).

Capella University cannot guarantee licensure, certification, or endorsement. State regulations vary regarding professional licensure and salary benefits. It is learners' responsibility to understand and comply with requirements for their state.