National Consortium for Teaching about Asia

What National Consortium for Teaching about Asia does

The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) is a non-profit educational consortium founded in 1998 and funded by the Freeman Foundation. It was established by five major US universities — Columbia University, the Five College Center for East Asian Studies, Indiana University, the University of Colorado, and the University of Washington — with the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Southern California added as national sites in 2008. NCTA's mission is to encourage and facilitate teaching and learning about East Asia in elementary and secondary schools across the United States.

NCTA delivers professional development to K-12 educators through intensive seminars, remote/online courses, and study tours to China, Japan, and Korea for seminar alumni. Programming is distributed through seven partner university sites, supplemented by NCTA-produced videos, curriculum materials, webinars, and recommended book lists. The organization also administers the annual Freeman Book Awards, which recognize children's and young adult literature that contributes meaningfully to understanding of East and Southeast Asia, in partnership with the Association for Asian Studies Committee on Teaching about Asia and Asia for Educators at Columbia University.

NCTA does not charge fees to educator participants; operations are sustained by multi-year Freeman Foundation grants and in-kind support from partner universities. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The organization reaches more than 2,300 educators annually and is governed under United States jurisdiction, with no venture, private equity, or individual ownership interests involved.

Name

National Consortium for Teaching about Asia

Legal name

The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia

Website

https://nctasia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NCTA is a non-profit educational consortium founded in 1998 by five major US universities and funded by the Freeman Foundation. It delivers free professional development, study tours, and curriculum resources on East Asia to K-12 educators through seven partner university sites and remote courses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Teacher Professional Development Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faculty-Led Study Tours & Embedded Short Programs (Home Institution-Led) (EDAIAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faculty-Led & Custom Group Study Abroad Programs (EDAIAAAA)

Keywords

• Teacher professional development
• East Asia education
• K-12 educator training
• Educational curriculum resources
• International study tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Foundation Funding: NCTA is a multi-year initiative funded by the Freeman Foundation. The organization operates as a consortium of universities and does not charge fees for educator participation in its professional development programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) delivers free professional development programs for K-12 educators focused on teaching about East Asia. Programs are offered through remote courses and in-person seminars at partner university sites, supplemented by study tours to China, Japan, and Korea, and a library of curriculum resources including videos, webinars, and recommended books.

Product overview

NCTA operates as a multi-site educational consortium offering a unified portfolio of professional development programs for K-12 educators. The core offerings include East Asia Professional Development Programs (delivered via remote and in-person methods), the Freeman Book Awards (annual literary awards for children's and YA literature on East/Southeast Asia), and Educational Resources (videos, curriculum, and teaching materials). Study tours to China, Japan, and Korea provide immersive learning experiences for alumni. All offerings are designed to encourage and facilitate teaching and learning about East Asia in elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• East Asia Professional Development Programs Multi-year professional development programs for K-12 educators focused on teaching and learning about East Asia, delivered through remote courses and in-person seminars at partner university sites across the United States. Participants interact with East Asia specialists and receive extensive readings and teaching materials.
• Freeman Book Awards Annual awards program recognizing quality children's and young adult literature that contributes meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia, including Children's Literature and Young Adult categories.
• Educational Resources NCTA-created videos, curriculum materials, webinars, and a curated gateway to quality resources on East Asia for classroom use, including recommended books for students.
• East Asia Study Tours International study tours to China, Japan, and Korea offered to NCTA seminar alumni to deepen and solidify their knowledge of East Asia.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,300 educators reached annually through professional development programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Georgia State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming. Contact: Kevin Hsieh
• Princeton UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming through the Princeton Project for Teaching about Asia. Contacts: Thomas Conlan and Richard Chafey
• Rhodes CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming serving Memphis, TN area. Contacts: Stephen Ceccoli and Han Li
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming through Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Contact: Gary Mukai
• Texas Christian UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming. Contact: Carrie Liu Currier
• University of Central ArkansascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming. Contact: Zachary Smith
• University of North Carolina at Chapel HillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner site for NCTA programming through Carolina Asia Center. Contact: Becky Butler
• Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner and home of Asia for Educators (AFE). One of the five original founding institutions in 1998.
• Five College Center for East Asian StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner consortium member. One of the five original founding institutions in 1998.
• Indiana UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner institution. One of the five original founding institutions in 1998.
• University of ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner institution. One of the five original founding institutions in 1998.
• University of WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner institution. One of the five original founding institutions in 1998.
• University of PittsburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational site added in 2008 to expand programming reach for growing educator demand.
• University of Southern CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational site added in 2008 to expand programming reach for growing educator demand.
• Association for Asian Studies (AAS) - Committee on Teaching about AsiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of the Freeman Book Awards with NCTA and Asia for Educators at Columbia University.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pulitzer Center: Pulitzer Center runs a K-12 teacher professional development program and curriculum resources focused on global news and international affairs, similar to NCTA's mission of equipping K-12 educators with deep international content and classroom materials.
• Facing History and Ourselves: Facing History and Ourselves is a mission-driven non-profit that delivers intensive teacher professional development, curriculum, and classroom resources on history, identity, and global issues, structurally similar to NCTA's model in audience, format, and grant-funded operation.
• World Affairs: World Affairs runs K-12 teacher professional development and student programs on global affairs and international issues, comparable to NCTA's mission of bringing international content into US classrooms through teacher training.
• Asia Society: Asia Society is a large non-profit that promotes understanding of Asia across the US and globally, including K-12 teacher professional development and curriculum resources. It is the most direct mission-comparable organization to NCTA in scale and audience.
• Asia for Educators (AFE) at Columbia University: AFE is Columbia University's East Asia education initiative for K-12 teachers and a founding partner of NCTA. It produces curriculum materials and teacher training content on Asia that substantially overlaps with NCTA's offerings.
• East Asia Resource Center: The East Asia Resource Center is a university-based K-12 teacher professional development program focused on East Asia, run in parallel to NCTA and serving overlapping audiences of US K-12 educators seeking content on the region.
• Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE): Stanford SPICE is an NCTA partner site that also delivers K-12 professional development and curriculum on international topics, including East Asia. It operates a comparable teacher-training model and shares audiences and resources with NCTA.

Broad incumbents

• IREX: IREX is a larger global non-profit working in international education and professional exchange, with overlap to NCTA's focus on international and area-studies teacher training, though operating at a much broader scale and scope.
• The Asia Foundation: The Asia Foundation is a major non-profit operating Asia-focused development programs across the region; while its K-12 education footprint is smaller, its Asia-wide mission and grant-funded structure overlap with NCTA's region-specific educational focus.

Others

• Five College Center for East Asian Studies: The Five College Center for East Asian Studies is an academic consortium that includes K-12 teacher outreach on East Asia and is a founding partner of NCTA. Its primary academic-research focus makes it more of a collaborator than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NCTAsia
• Instagraminstagram.com/ncta_asia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Consortium for Teaching about Asia