The year 2025 brings exciting changes we are proud to share with the NAACLS Community.  At the end of 2024, a conversation with a volunteer sparks the first of many NAACLS News advocacy articles throughout 2025.  The Program Advocacy Project includes five NAACLS News articles, a CLEC presentation with the NAACLS Board President and Chief Executive Officer, and a live Dr. NAACLS Q&A with the project’s authors. We invite you to visit the NAACLS News page and filter by Featured to explore these materials and view the Dr. NAACLS video recording.

Strengthening Data and Advocacy

Providing meaningful data to our community remains a top priority. We continue refining our Annual Survey of Programs to collect deeper insights and showcase new visualizations that highlight the creativity and adaptability of NAACLS-accredited programs. The flexibility of our Standards empowers institutions to design educational models to suit their unique needs and resources, demonstrating our commitment to supporting your efforts through innovation.

Annual Survey data now serves as a powerful advocacy tool. As in other healthcare professions, evidence-based data demonstrate workforce shortages, faculty and preceptor gaps, and other resource needs, supporting the case for additional funding from government or institutional sources.

Building Collaboration Across the Profession

NAACLS believes collaboration is essential to expanding programs, establishing new ones, and attracting the next generation of laboratory professionals. We met with our sponsoring organizations, ASCP and ASCLS, numerous times throughout 2025 to coordinate workshops alongside their national meetings, reinforcing our loyalty to advancing the profession.

Our partnerships continue to grow. We meet quarterly with the Medical and Public Health Laboratory Workforce Coalition (MPHLW), and for the third consecutive year, join forces with the COLA Workforce Action Alliance (WAA). Our President, Karen Brown, served as a featured speaker, sharing insights from our 2024 Annual Survey to help programs drive meaningful organizational change. You can read more in the CEO’s Corner.

A Fresh Online Experience

In May, we launch a redesign of our website. The site is more modern, user-friendly, and accessible for our growing community. It showcases our new logo, refreshed color palette, and streamlined design. We also introduce a robust student section, expand program director resources, including two customizable advocacy template letters, enhance Program Search functionality, and enrich the Volunteer page. We hope these improvements help you build support and strengthen your advocacy efforts while also improving communication across our community.

Get involved with NAACLS!

We continue to advance our internal digital tools by implementing QuickBooks Online to streamline billing and upgrading our Zoom platform for smoother online engagement.

Staying Engaged and Visible

NAACLS maintains an active presence at advocacy events such as the Labvocate Symposium (Legislative Day) and continues to collaborate with the ASCLS Governmental Affairs Committee to monitor policies that affect laboratory professionals. A NAACLS Staff member currently sits on the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA) Education Policy Committee which tracks higher education policy on federal and state levels. We support several workforce advocacy efforts, including the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, and contributed to educating the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee.

In June 2025, we host a successful full-day virtual workshop, followed by a working meeting to discuss the future of NAACLS Workshops and Task Force work leading up to the July NAACLS Review Committee meetings. The day provides an excellent opportunity to engage in extended discussions with review committee chairs outside the rigid schedule of the review committee meetings. It also generates crucial momentum for essential strategic projects and lays a strong foundation for the NAACLS Review Committees Joint Agenda in July 2025.

Team building remains a priority. Our staff retreat in Geneva, Illinois, encourages collaboration and creativity. Enjoy this group photo from our Board & Brush activity that captures the fun spirit.

Our visibility grows with exhibit booths at two new events: KnowledgeLab and the ASCP Annual Meeting. We value every opportunity to connect with our community. All program services staff participate in site visits, strengthening relationships and providing firsthand insights into program needs. Our LinkedIn page now exceeds 900 followers, a remarkable climb from just 60 in 2022.

Recognizing Excellence

NAACLS Staff members speak at multiple events, including Chicago Area Accreditors (CAA), Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA), KnowledgeLab, the ASCP Annual Meeting, COLA Workforce Action Alliance (WAA), and Clinical Laboratory 2.0 (CL2.0) meetings.

Our volunteers are the heart of NAACLS. This year, we celebrate their dedication by presenting the third Distinguished Service Award to Terry Taff and the inaugural President’s Award to Brian Andrew at our board reception in Essex, Vermont, acknowledging their vital role in our success.

For more information on the Distinguished Service Award, including nominations, please click here.

Expanding our Reach

A major highlight in 2025 is awarding Initial Accreditation to our second international program: Al-Quds University in Palestine. This achievement marks an inspiring milestone and reflects NAACLS’ growing global presence.

NAACLS also launched an accreditation pathway for standalone Transfusion Medicine programs. Similar to Medical Laboratory Microbiology, programs may now be independently developed without operating under an MLS program. The ASCP BOC Board of Governors is currently considering a new Board of Certification eligibility route that would allow standalone Microbiology students to sit for the categorical exam, which was previously limited to MLS programs. More information will be available in the new year.

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2026, we carry forward the energy and progress of 2025. We will publish a Program Director’s Toolbelt series on NAACLS News to help program directors successfully maintain their laboratory science programs.

Click for more information on contributing to the Program Director’s Toolbelt series.

We will also offer two workshop options for the first half of 2026:

• A three-hour hybrid workshop preceding CLEC.
• A full-day virtual workshop in June.

To sign up for February’s NAACLS Workshop, please click the link.

Thank you for being an essential part of the NAACLS Community. We hope to see you online or in person in 2026!