The University of Illinois’ certificate program has recently graduated its first class of students, all from Illinois community colleges, according to a press release.

The Certified Online Learning Administrators certificate program provides certification to administrators, faculty and staff after the completion of a practicum and a series of five classes. Courses involve online program administration, faculty training issues, course quality and student support.

“Many individuals leading and administering online education have little online learning-specific training because the field is so new,” Scott Johnson, program coordinator, said in a press release. “The COLA program provides specialized courses that are valuable to educators, student service staff and others involved in the online education enterprise.”

The Illinois Online Network partners with the state’s community colleges to provide online training to faculty and staff from higher education institutions for teaching and learning