ACUE

What ACUE does

ACUE (Association of College and University Educators), operating as EdCERT, LLC, is a private higher education faculty development company founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York. The company delivers the only nationally recognized Certification in Effective Teaching, endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE), built on its proprietary Effective Teaching Framework covering five core competencies across 24-25 modules. Its product ecosystem includes the Certification in Effective Teaching, Advanced Teaching Certification, Effective Teaching Practices and Effective Online Teaching Practices courses, a Nursing Pathway specialization aligned with AACN Essentials, ACUE Commons community platform with Quick Studies and Endorsements (including AI for Higher Ed, Workforce Readiness, Civic Skills, and Holistic Student Support), and packaged deployments such as ACUE Complete, Institutional Cohorts, and National Cohorts.

ACUE's technology stack comprises a cloud-based learning management system delivered through Canvas (acue.instructure.com), an ACUE Commons community platform at learn.acue.org, and the Effective Teaching Framework and Bias-Free Student Evaluation Survey as proprietary differentiators. The company makes money primarily through institutional subscription agreements with colleges, universities, and higher education systems (multi-year contracts, pricing negotiated by scope), supplemented by individual course enrollment at $679 per course ($2,716 for full four-course certification), small-group enrollment with tiered volume pricing, and ACUE Commons subscriptions. Distribution combines enterprise field sales to academic leadership (provosts, chief academic officers, teaching center directors), system-wide partnerships with state higher ed systems (Texas A&M System, PASSHE, CSCU), self-service individual enrollment through national cohorts, and community-led growth via ACUE Commons.

ACUE serves 600+ institutional partners and has certified over 100,000 faculty cumulatively, with evidence of measurable outcomes including up to 7% higher student grades, 16% fewer D/F/Withdrawal rates, and 6% higher first-to-second-year retention at partner institutions. Independent research validation spans nearly 1,800 courses analyzed by Sam Houston State University, with the largest study published in the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching.

Name

ACUE

Legal name

EdCERT, LLC

Website

https://acue.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ACUE delivers the only ACE-endorsed Certification in Effective Teaching for higher education faculty, serving 600+ colleges and universities with evidence-based courses, certifications, and community-based professional development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Faculty Development

NAICS

Educational Services (611), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Certification & Exam Prep Course Marketplaces (EDAFAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories (EDAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Faculty development
• Higher education teaching
• Teaching certification
• Online learning programs
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Individual Course Enrollment: Individual faculty members purchase pathway courses directly at $679 per course. Four pathway courses complete the certification. Enrollment is processed through an application followed by payment confirmation before course start dates. The individual market serves faculty not covered by institutional partnerships.
2. Institutional Partnership Programs: ACUE partners with colleges, universities, and higher education systems to deliver faculty development at scale. Institutional packages include ACUE Complete (full ecosystem access), Institutional Cohorts (dedicated group enrollment), and system-wide deployments. Pricing is negotiated based on institutional size and scope. Programs include academic support, advanced reporting, impact research, and campus culture support.
3. National Cohort Enrollment: Faculty from multiple institutions join scheduled cohorts with set start dates. Individual course enrollment, course bundles, and small group pricing (with volume discounts) are available. Small groups contact ACUE directly for scalable, tiered pricing.
4. ACUE Commons Subscription: Institutions can join ACUE Commons to access core community features even without faculty pursuing certification. The full suite of tools and resources is unlocked once certification courses are added. Individual enrollment in Commons is available through direct purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ACUE develops and delivers evidence-based faculty development courses, micro-credentials, and certifications for college and university educators. Its flagship offering is the nationally recognized Certification in Effective Teaching, endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE), supported by pathway courses in Effective Teaching Practices and Effective Online Teaching Practices, a Nursing Pathway, ACUE Commons community platform, Quick Studies, and ACUE Endorsements. Institutional buyers receive bundled packages (ACUE Complete, Institutional Cohorts) that scale implementation across departments or entire systems.

Product overview

ACUE (Association of College and University Educators) offers a comprehensive faculty development ecosystem focused on evidence-based teaching practices for higher education. The core offering is the Certification in Effective Teaching (endorsed by ACE), which can be earned through the Effective Teaching Practices and Effective Online Teaching Practices pathway courses. Supporting offerings include Effective Teaching 101 for foundational training, the Nursing Pathway for discipline-specific applications, and ACUE Commons as a community platform for ongoing learning through Quick Studies and Endorsements. ACUE Complete packages provide institutions with full ecosystem access, while Institutional and National Cohorts enable collaborative learning. The Effective Teaching Framework serves as the research-backed foundation for all programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACUE Commons: A dynamic online community and platform designed to deepen and sustain faculty growth through ongoing learning, collaboration, and timely professional development aligned with emerging priorities in higher education.
• ACUE Endorsements
• Nursing Pathway

Products and services

• Certification in Effective Teaching The flagship, nationally recognized certification in effective teaching, endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE). It is earned by completing four pathway courses and equips college and university faculty with evidence-based teaching practices shown to improve student outcomes.
• Advanced Teaching Certification Credential awarded to faculty who complete both the Effective Teaching Practices and Effective Online Teaching Practices pathways, demonstrating dual expertise in in-person and virtual learning environments.
• Effective Teaching Practices Evidence-based faculty development course, taken as four pathway courses or as a single comprehensive course, covering topics such as creating productive learning environments, promoting active learning, inspiring inquiry, and designing learner-centered courses.
• Effective Online Teaching Practices Course that prepares faculty to design engaging, student-centered online learning experiences across synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid modalities, including effective module development, active learning online, and online discussion facilitation.
• Effective Teaching 101 Self-paced foundational teaching essentials course that equips faculty to create engaging learning environments from day one and jumpstarts the path to ACUE Certification.
• Nursing Pathway Nursing-specific edition of the Certification in Effective Teaching that connects proven pedagogy directly to AACN Essentials, helping nursing faculty strengthen clinical reasoning, professionalism, and self-directed learning.
• ACUE Commons Online teaching and learning community platform providing curated content, resources, events, peer networking, endorsements, badges, and Quick Studies to sustain ongoing faculty professional development.
• Quick Studies One-hour, self-paced micro-credential courses covering emerging instructional topics such as AI for Higher Ed, Cultivating Civic and Social Skills, Holistic Student Support, and Preparing Workforce-Ready Students.
• ACUE Endorsements Specialized one-year credentials recognizing faculty expertise in timely topics including AI for Higher Ed, Preparing Workforce-Ready Students, Cultivating Civic and Social Skills, and Holistic Student Support; earned through Quick Studies and ACUE Commons engagement.
• ACUE Complete Comprehensive institutional faculty development bundle uniting courses, certifications, ACUE Commons community access, and ongoing professional learning to enable teaching excellence across an entire institution.
• Institutional Cohorts Dedicated faculty cohorts organized within a single institution, fostering collaboration, community, and collective growth as faculty progress through ACUE courses together.
• National Cohorts National, multi-institution faculty cohorts that connect educators across institutions as they work toward certification, providing diverse perspectives, discipline-spanning discussions, and expanded professional networks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students taught by ACUE-certified faculty achieve up to 7% higher grades
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2026TMCF and ACUE expanded their partnership through the CHANGE Initiative (Community for HBCU Advancement Through Networked Growth and Excellence), launching a 2026 cohort of 10 HBCU institutions focused on faculty and staff professional development. The nationwide initiative is fully funded by TMCF and scales participation beyond faculty to include academic leadership, student-facing teams, and instructional support staff, with a new research focus and well-being component. HBCU partners include North Carolina Central University, Alabama State University, and Morgan State University.
• TurnitinsecondaryTechnology or Integration · 15 October 2025Turnitin and ACUE partnered to equip educators with AI insights and skills. The partnership focuses on helping faculty integrate AI tools in the college classroom to advance rigor, integrity, and student success.
• Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2025CSCU partnered with ACUE on the Excellence in Teacher Residency project to address teacher shortages and retention, as well as supporting instructional quality. The project supports K-12 teacher preparation through evidence-based faculty development.
• National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 September 2024NASH and ACUE announced a strategic partnership to strengthen teaching in higher education. The partnership aims to advance teaching excellence across higher education systems through ACUE's evidence-based faculty development programs.
• American Council on Education (ACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACE officially endorses ACUE's Certification in Effective Teaching as the only nationally recognized teaching certification. ACE President Ted Mitchell has repeatedly endorsed ACUE's impact on student outcomes, stating that investing in faculty development through ACUE produces measurably better results for students.
• AASCU (American Association State Colleges and Universities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAASCU President Charles L. Welch has publicly endorsed ACUE's approach to faculty development, noting that AASCU member institutions serve students who depend on transformative learning experiences and ACUE ensures faculty have the tools to deliver that. AASCU institutions are featured prominently in ACUE's partner network.
• Lumina FoundationminorOthersLumina Foundation is listed among ACUE's partner supporters and institutional network, though specific partnership details are not detailed in available sources.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• edX (2U): University-founded MOOC and credentialing platform owned by 2U offering micro-credentials, certificates, and degree pathways. Comparable in delivering instructor-facing professional development and university-issued credentials at scale.
• 2U: Online program manager and digital education provider that partners with universities to deliver degree and short-form programs. Directly comparable to ACUE's institutional partnership model and is a logical adjacent — ACUE's CEO previously served as 2U's CAO and President.
• Skillsoft: Enterprise learning and talent development platform offering courses, certifications, and learning paths. Comparable in selling structured, certified professional development content to institutional buyers in higher education and adjacent verticals.
• Instructure (Canvas): Maker of the Canvas LMS that ACUE integrates with (acue.instructure.com). Comparable as an institutional buyer of instructional-improvement content and as a potential bundle competitor for faculty development resources embedded in the LMS.
• D2L (Brightspace): Learning management system provider serving higher education and K-12 with built-in competency-based frameworks and faculty tools. Comparable as an LMS-based alternative channel for structured faculty development programs.
• Coursera: Online learning platform offering courses, certificates, and degree programs with deep university partnerships and a Coursera for Campus product. Comparable as an institutional buyer of professional-development and faculty credentials content and as an indirect competitor for instructional-improvement budgets.
• LinkedIn Learning: Subscription-based professional development library often bundled into institutional licenses for faculty upskilling. Comparable as a competing source of asynchronous professional-development content for the same higher-ed buyer.

Direct peers

• Magna Publications: Publisher of teaching-focused resources, newsletters, and professional development programs for college faculty. Directly comparable as a competitor for faculty-development content and subscriptions within higher education.
• NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development): Higher-education professional development organization affiliated with UT Austin offering conferences, publications, and faculty programs. Directly comparable as a faculty-development content provider serving community and technical colleges.

Others

• HBCU Change / TMCF: Strategic partner of ACUE rather than a competitor, but the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's role in funding HBCU faculty development through the CHANGE Initiative makes it functionally adjacent as a channel and ecosystem influencer in higher-ed professional development.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/associationofcollegeanduniversityeducators
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acue
• Xx.com/ACUE_HQ

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACUE