NCHSE

What NCHSE does

NCHSE (National Consortium for Health Science Education) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization founded in 1991 to reduce fragmentation in healthcare education and align curricula with industry workforce needs. It functions as the national authority for health science education in the United States, operating as a membership consortium for state education agencies, individual educators, and institutional partners rather than as a technology vendor.

The consortium's core product is the National Health Science Standards framework, validated by input from over 1,000 healthcare employers, college faculty, and professional organizations, refreshed in 2023 with 98% endorsement across 38 career specialties. NCHSE monetizes this asset through four revenue streams: (1) annual State Leader membership dues of $2,000 per state education agency, providing discounts on resources within the state; (2) HSEA individual educator memberships at $50 per year with volume discounts to $30 for 201+ member groups; (3) one-time/perpetual license sales of Curriculum Enhancements 7.0 ($470 member, $620 non-member) and Work-Based Learning Guide 4.0 ($160 member, $210 non-member) through its e-commerce storefront; and (4) transaction-based certificate assessment fees of $15-$20 per student for the National Health Science Certificate and stackable certificates, administered through YouScience as the certification delivery partner.

NCHSE serves three primary customer segments. State education agency leaders consume standards, certificate data, and professional development for their statewide programs. Health science educators (middle school through postsecondary) purchase curriculum, sit webinars, attend the annual National Health Science Conference (60+ sessions, 50+ exhibitors), and access the HSEA community. Publishing and certification partners (HOSA-Future Health Professionals, McGraw-Hill, DEPCO, RealityWorks, NCCT, PTCB, Transfr) embed NCHSE standards into their products. Distribution is primarily direct via the consortium's own website store and the YouScience platform, with membership-gated pricing tiers that provide substantial discounts (typically $150 on full curriculum products) to incentivize state-level adoption. The consortium operates with 1-10 employees and is governed by a multi-stakeholder Executive Council. Dana Stringer assumed the Executive Director role on February 1, 2026, succeeding Nancy Allen.

Name

NCHSE

Legal name

National Consortium for Health Science Education

Website

https://healthscienceconsortium.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NCHSE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1991 that sets the National Health Science Standards and operates the National Health Science Certificate program, serving U.S. state education agencies, health science educators, and institutional partners through memberships, curriculum products, and assessments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Science Education Standards and Certification

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Other Schools and Instruction (6116)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping (State/National) (EDAJAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Physical Education & Health Instruction (EDAJAFAL), Subject-Specific Standards & Curriculum Councils (EDADAEAB), Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ)

Keywords

• Health science standards
• Health science curriculum
• Education certification programs
• Healthcare workforce development
• CTE membership consortium

Headquarters

HQ city

Clinton Township

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Curriculum Product Sales: Direct sales of curriculum enhancements, work-based learning guides, and updates through the NCHSE e-commerce store. Pricing varies by membership status with significant discounts for member states and HSEA members.
2. HSEA Membership Dues: Annual membership fee of $50 per educator for the Health Science Educators Association. Group discounts available for 25+ members ($45 each), 51-100 members ($40 each), 101-200 members ($35 each), and 201+ members ($30 each).
3. State Leader Membership: Annual membership investment of $2,000 for state education agency health science leaders, providing discounts on NCHSE resources and certificates for schools and teachers in their state.
4. Certificate Assessment Fees: Student exam fees: $15 per student for National Health Science Certificate (NCHSE member states), $20 for non-member states. Stackable certificates at $10/exam for members, $12 for non-members. 23+ additional content-specific certificate exams available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

NCHSE develops and disseminates the National Health Science Standards, a four-course curriculum framework, and the National Health Science Certificate (NHSC) program administered via YouScience, along with stackable course-specific certificates covering foundations, essential practices, human structure, and disease knowledge. The organization sells curriculum enhancement packages, work-based learning guides, and classroom instructional resources to state education agencies, secondary and postsecondary institutions, and individual educators through membership-based and e-commerce channels.

Product overview

NCHSE offers a comprehensive portfolio of health science education products and services centered around its National Health Science Standards and certificate programs. The core offerings include the National Health Science Certificate (NHSC) and four stackable certificate exams administered by YouScience, along with a four-course curriculum framework that maps to these assessments. Supporting products include the Health Science Curriculum Enhancements 7.0 and Work-Based Learning Guide 4.0, which provide teachers with ready-to-use instructional resources. The organization also offers membership programs for Health Science Educators Association (HSEA) educators and Health Science State Leaders, annual conferences, and free resources including the Career Sub-Clusters Chart and Curriculum Crosswalk Template.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HSEA (Health Science Educators Association): A membership division of NCHSE for classroom teachers and health science educators, providing resources, professional development, and networking opportunities. Annual membership is $50 per educator.

Products and services

• National Health Science Certificate (NHSC) The primary end-of-program certificate exam that measures and documents student mastery of the knowledge of the National Health Science Standards, administered via the YouScience platform for NCHSE member and non-member states.
• Foundations of Healthcare Professions Certificate First of four stackable certificate exams covering foundational healthcare knowledge, equivalent to Course 1 of the four-course curriculum framework, administered by YouScience.
• Essential Healthcare Practices Certificate Second of four stackable certificate exams covering essential healthcare practices, equivalent to Course 2 of the four-course curriculum framework, administered by YouScience.
• Human Structure, Function, and Disease (A) Certificate Third of four stackable certificate exams covering human anatomy and physiology, equivalent to Course 3 of the four-course curriculum framework, administered by YouScience.
• Human Structure, Function, and Disease (B) Certificate Fourth of four stackable certificate exams covering advanced human anatomy and disease, equivalent to Course 4 of the four-course curriculum framework, administered by YouScience.
• Health Science Curriculum Enhancements 7.0 Classroom resource package providing content outlines, PowerPoint presentations, activities, projects, videos, websites, rubrics, and test items aligned to the National Health Science Standards, with technology infusion for face-to-face, blended, or completely online instruction; priced $620 non-member, $470 NCHSE Member States/HSEA Members.
• Work-Based Learning Guide 4.0 Guide of 240 Word/PDF/PPT files including lesson plans, projects, resources, activities, and templates designed to assist health science teachers in meeting work-based learning goals; priced $210 non-member, $160 NCHSE Member States/HSEA Members.
• Four-Course Curriculum Framework Curriculum example demonstrating how to teach a complete health science program, with Courses 1-4 mapped to the National Health Science Certificate and stackable certificate assessments; supports two- or four-semester program designs.
• National Health Science Standards (NHSS) Industry-validated standards providing a common, consistent framework for designing curricula, developing instructional resources, and assessing student achievement; available as a free downloadable PDF with 11 foundation standards and four career pathway standard sets.
• Health Science State Leaders Membership Annual membership ($2,000/year) for state education agency health science leaders, providing discounts on NCHSE resources, networking opportunities, influence on standards revisions, and access to state-level certificate program data.
• Health Science Educators Association (HSEA) Membership Annual membership ($50/educator) providing a community of classroom teachers, professional development, exclusive resources, and store discounts; group pricing tiers available for schools and districts.
• National Health Science Conference Annual national conference devoted entirely to health science education, featuring 60+ concurrent sessions, keynotes, certificate labs, exhibit hall, networking, pre-conference workshops, and an attendee social.
• Wednesday Webinar Series Regular Fall-Spring webinar series providing professional development for health science educators on topics, resources, and trends in health science education; hosted by NCHSE and HSEA.
• Health Science Partners Program Partnership program for publishers, professional associations, secondary and postsecondary institutions to connect with health science educators, contribute to educational resources, and gain visibility through conferences and exhibits.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% endorsement rate for National Health Science Standards from 38 career specialties
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• YouSciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationYouScience administers all National Health Science Certificates and certificate exams for NCHSE. The platform handles exam registration, proctor authentication through state/district education offices, test delivery, and score reporting. Provides online testing system and student/certificate data management.
• HOSA-Future Health ProfessionalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOSA is a career and technical student organization that works with NCHSE to integrate National Health Science Standards into competitive events. Crosswalks between HOSA Competitive Events and NHSS support curriculum planning and student success. NCHSE co-sponsors scholarships for HOSA members.
• Bio-RadminorOthersFeatured as a valued membership partner and exhibitor at National Health Science Conferences. Listed among valued membership partners on NCHSE website.
• Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPostsecondary institution partner member represented on NCHSE Executive Council through category representative Kela Cowan-Gant. Contributes to health science education standards and curriculum development.
• McGraw-Hill EducationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher partner member providing educational resources for health science programs. New member for 2022-2023 membership year.
• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)minorOthersProfessional association partner contributing to health science education. New member for 2022-2023 membership year.
• Transfr Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVR simulation provider endorsed by NCHSE for health sciences training. Transfr's VR simulations offer immersive training environments for healthcare career preparation. NCHSE endorsement validates alignment with national educational standards.
• RealityWorksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher and resource provider partner represented on NCHSE Executive Council through Denise DuBois. Provides educational resources for health science programs.
• DEPCO Enterprises, LLCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher and resource provider represented on NCHSE Executive Council through Nicholas Wells (Treasurer). Provides educational products for health science education.
• National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT)minorOthersCertification and testing organization represented on NCHSE Executive Council through Dana Van Laeys (Treasurer).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SkillsUSA: SkillsUSA is a national CTE student organization that, like HOSA (NCHSE's partner), aligns competitive events to industry standards. It serves a parallel role in workforce preparation across multiple CTE clusters and shares the conference-driven engagement model.
• Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE): ACTE is the largest national education association dedicated to CTE, providing professional development, legislative advocacy, and curriculum resources. Like NCHSE, ACTE serves educators and state leaders across CTE career clusters with membership and event-driven engagement.
• Advance CTE: Advance CTE is the non-profit representing state CTE directors, parallel to NCHSE's state health science leader membership. Both organizations drive national CTE standards, provide professional development for state agency leaders, and serve as convening bodies for their respective CTE disciplines.
• Health Science Career Cluster (within Advance CTE): Advance CTE's Health Science career cluster is the broader CTE framework within which NCHSE's National Health Science Standards operate. It is the direct peer for cluster-level standards work and state-level policy engagement in health science CTE.
• HOSA-Future Health Professionals: HOSA is a core strategic partner of NCHSE that integrates the National Health Science Standards into its competitive events and co-sponsors scholarships. As a parallel national CTE student organization focused on health science, it is the most directly comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): NBPTS sets national standards and certification for accomplished teaching across subjects, including standards-based certification exams. As a broader standards and credentialing body for educators, it is comparable to NCHSE's model of standards + assessment, but at a wider scope.
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): NCTM is a subject-specific professional association that publishes standards, offers membership, and runs an annual conference — a structurally identical model to NCHSE applied to mathematics. Both monetize membership, conferences, and aligned curriculum resources around their respective standards.

Emerging players

• National Healthcareer Association (NHA): NHA provides allied health certifications (e.g., CCMA, CET, CPT) widely used in CTE health science programs. While focused on postsecondary credentials rather than K–12 standards, it competes for the same educator and student assessment budget that NCHSE's NHSC targets.
• CareerSafe: CareerSafe offers OSHA-aligned safety and CTE credentials marketed to high school CTE programs. It is comparable as a CTE-specific certification vendor targeting the same educator and student audience as NCHSE's certificate assessments.

Others

• YouScience (by Certiverse): YouScience is NCHSE's core technology partner administering all certificate exams. While not a competitor, it is the closest ecosystem partner and operates in the adjacent assessment/credentialing space for CTE and career-readiness programs.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nchse3
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNssZkgwN3EfPjWXIlTsYJg
• Facebookfacebook.com/nchse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-consortium-for-health-science-education
• Instagraminstagram.com/nchseofficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NCHSE