In the spring of 1968, participants in a conference sponsored by the University of Michigan Inter-Cooperative Council proposed the organization of a group "for the purpose of expanding the cooperative movement across college campuses." That fall, a group gathered in Chicago to organize NASCO. NASCO's creation in 1968 meant that, for the first time in 20 years, student co-ops began working together towards their common interests.
NASCO began its work almost immediately on co-op development. Through a strong lobbying effort, student co-ops were able to get the federal government to allow the College Housing Program to make loans directly to them. These 3%, 30-40 year term loans allowed student co-ops to be built in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, and Austin. The creation of NASCO also added momentum to the strong student co-op development activity in Canada.
During this time of federally funded expansion and throughout its early years, NASCO's annual conferences provided the organizational initiative and support for many student co-ops. The inspiration for new co-ops, and the ideas to improve the operations of ones that already were established, were generated at these conferences, providing the "ideological" support to effectively utilize the government loans. In addition, these early NASCO conferences helped organize many of the “new wave” food co-ops.
In the fall of 1977, NASCO's regional conferences were replaced by NASCO’s Cooperative Education and Training Institute, again providing affordable, essential inspiration and training for student co-opers. As with the smaller regional conferences, NASCO Institute served and continues to serve today, as a place for education, inspiration, and ideas. Attendees learn from one another and from the workshop presenters from across the continent.
From 1972 to 1981, NASCO operated the only movement-wide publications for co-ops. Originally called “The Journal of the New Harbinger,” and later “Co-op Magazine,” these publications served as a forum and focal point for the news and ideas of the student and "new wave" co-operatives. In 1981, the magazine was discontinued due to loss of funding.
