Outdoor Leadership Training Course (OLTC) & Certified Outdoor Leader (COL) Credentials

Important distinctions:

• The Outdoor Leadership Experience (OLE) and the Outdoor Leadership Training Course (OLTC) are "certificate of completion" programs only.
• The Certified Outdoor Leader (COL) credential is a "certification." Participation in a COL program does not guarantee certification: minimum requirements must be met in order to earn certification.

Hosting a Course

All WEA Organizational Members are invited to apply to host Outdoor Leadership Experiences, Outdoor Leadership Training Courses or Certified Outdoor Leader programs. Your organization will need to review all documents, perform the following steps, and submit all paperwork to the WEA National Office.

Step 1:           Ensure your Organizational Membership is current.

Step 2:           One Time: Submit a one-time WEA Host Application for Organizational Members (pdf). (Waived for current Accredited Organizations)

Step 3:           Annually: Review, Sign, and Submit annually the WEA Organizational Member Credentialing Programs Agreement (pdf). 

Step 4:           30 Days Prior:  Submit a WEA Course Notice 30 days prior to course start date.

Step 5:           30 Days Prior: Submit an OLTC Roster (excel) or COL Field Course Roster (excel) 30 days prior to or within 30 days after the completion of each course to the National Office.

• Upon receipt of OLTC rosters, the National Office will invoice the Organizational Host for OLTC participants and then provide electronic OLTC certificates.
• COL Field Course Rosters will be used to verify completion of requirements when COL candidates apply for certification.

Resource: 

You may review the WEA Guidelines for Outdoor Leadership Experience (pdf), WEA Guidelines for the Outdoor Leadership Training Course (pdf) and/or the WEA Certified Outdoor Leader Guidelines (pdf) at the links provided above. We recommend you to read these annually. 

Please contact the WEA National Office with any questions: nationaloffice@weainfo.org or 971.208.5751.