Interlochen Center for the Arts has launched a certification program through its virtual platform, Interlochen Online, allowing students to earn credentials in everything from oil painting to flute from anywhere they can open a laptop. At the end of this summer the first cohort graduated from the 100 percent remote program, which offers 12 certifications.

Each certification is composed of three four-week courses, designed to be taken either sequentially or concurrently. Once completed, students receive both a physical and digital certificate. For highschoolers, the certifications are accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and can be counted as credit on transcripts.

For traditionally hands-on subjects like oil painting or flute, Interlochen Online uses a “backwards design” approach, explains Interlochen Online’s Executive Director Carin Nuernberg. This method helps students progress by breaking their big picture goals– say being able to play an advanced flute concerto for an audition– into smaller, incremental projects, like working on refining tone so they can hit those notes just right with confidence. All the while, students are sharing their work and instructors are providing guidance and feedback through photos, videos, and other means of digital communication.

Among the most popular certifications so far are Acting Techniques, Music Theory Basics, and Creative Writing, all of which allow students to develop fundamental skills in their chosen artistic field. As interest in the program grows, Interlochen Online is already planning to expand. "We're working really hard to build out our offerings,” Nuernberg says. “Students are telling us they want more music, more theater, and more visual arts in particular."

Interlochen Online first launched in response to the pandemic, offering remote summer courses to students unable to attend in person. The early success inspired a long-term vision for the school’s online initiatives. “It emerged as a way to deliver the arts experience in the summer of 2020, and it was received very, very positively,” explains Nuernberg.

Following a successful but hurried debut, Interlochen Online was officially relaunched in January 2023, incorporating a hybrid model that blends independent study with live interactions. According to Nuernberg, the change was driven by feedback from students and instructors who found the entirely synchronous model tricky to balance around their busy schedules. Scheduling flexibility wasn’t the only change implemented in the relaunch— Interlochen Online’s first set of students were also asking for more in-depth learning options. “That really gave us the idea that we needed to do more,” says Nuernberg. “Students felt strongly that they wanted something to represent their accomplishment by the end,” which resulted in the addition of certifications to their online offerings.

To give students a personalized experience, the certification courses are kept small, with class sizes ranging from six to fourteen students and are taught by instructors with serious cred in their field—many of whom are Interlochen alumni themselves. Each week, students engage with a mix of video lessons, interactive discussions, and hands-on projects plus weekly live classes for real-time interaction with peers and teachers. Screen reader compatibility and video captions are also available. 

“We're really big on small, incremental projects that show progress,” Nuernberg says. “You learn something, you practice it, you connect with other students about it through discussion, and then you create something that expresses your learning for a given week.”

Since launching the certifications, 15 students have earned their credentials, and the feedback, says Nuernberg, has been overwhelmingly positive, “There’s this real-world practicality that students feel they’re receiving from this education.”

Pricing is $799 per certificate, while individual non-certificate courses are $299.
 
“We had to make it as affordable as possible so that we could make it as accessible as possible,” she says, adding that the remote courses offer a pathway for students who may later attend the school in person, while providing an option for those who prefer remote learning. “Our concern is that we see arts budgets being cut or non-existent in public school districts across the country. From our vantage point, if we can offer something of really high quality and make it as accessible as possible, we're performing a really important service.”