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The National Labor College, based in Silver Spring, is working with its partner, the AFL-CIO union organization, to create an online degree program for the group's 11.5 million members and their families, the college announced last month.

The College for Working Families, as the program is tentatively named, will be up and running as early as fall and will offer a diverse course catalog to students who want to go beyond labor studies, said Tom Kriger, provost and vice president for academics.

"There's talk to expand and to really offer other programs outside of labor studies," he said. "We get lots of calls from potential students who say, ‘I like the labor studies program ... but do you offer any other programs?' They want to study communications or something else they need in their jobs to move up."

The Princeton Review Inc. and its subsidiary, Penn Foster Education Group Inc., will run the technical side of things, such as online learning management systems. The National Labor College is working to create a diverse curriculum that combines liberal arts with more technical skills, Kriger said. Possible areas of expansion are security studies, communications, construction management or health-related fields, Kriger said, though he stressed no decisions have yet been made on the exact curricula.

The online college, as its name suggests, is focused on providing an opportunity for educational advancement to working union families. An online degree program will enable union members to take classes around their busy schedules of work, union meetings and family life, Kriger said.

"They have other responsibilities and they really have to fit higher education and college courses around their busy schedules," he said. He also noted that one of the key focuses of the college will be retention; counselors will closely track students' progress to see what services they need.

Tuition will likely cost about the same as the National Labor College's current courses, at $200 per credit. Students at the college must have 56 credits to enter the bachelor's program, but Kriger said he is unsure whether this will be a requirement for the online program.

He said he hopes the college will help the Silver Spring area by bringing jobs to the area and allowing local families to move up in their careers.

The online program is something that has been discussed over the years, but is finally now being executed after finding the right partners.

"We see this as the fulfillment of many years of plans to expand our mission, and that's where the partnership comes in," Kriger said. "Both the Princeton Review and Penn Foster are committed to high-quality online education for working people. They share that vision and their role will really be to help us scale up, to reach the rank and file through marketing and student services."

Eddie Vale, spokesman for the AFL-CIO, said the organization is on the college's board and wants to expand the college's success through the online program.

"The idea behind the National Labor College was having a place where workers could go to better their education and training; it's something we're really proud of and is working well," he said. "But time and technologies are changing. As more and more people are distance-commuting and taking classes online, we thought it was time to upgrade."

Vale hopes the new program will bring increased national attention to the local college.

"Expanding this program will get more attention for the college and will let local people know this is there as an opportunity for them," he said.