Alternative and Next-Generation Credentialing

In recent years, the higher education space has seen stunning transformation in the way we recognize and credential student learning.

With the resurgence and expansion of competency-based education, we’ve seen the value both students and employers put into mastery and learning outcomes. With the expansion and success of coding bootcamps—as well as institutional non-credit offerings—we’ve come to understand that a degree is not the ultimate goal for many learners.

This Special Feature explores the new higher education reality and shares some insights into how colleges and universities can compete and succeed in today’s rich and competitive postsecondary marketplace.

Innovative Credentials: Turning a Drop in the Bucket into a Transformative Tidal Wave

Sean Gallagher | Chief Strategy Officer for Global Network, Northeastern University

Innovative credentials still represent just a drop in the bucket when it comes to total dollars spent in the postsecondary space, but with greater employer recognition and participation they could be truly transformative.

Digital Badges and the Career Pathway: Understanding the Value

Stephen Wright | Director of Information Communications Technologies and Digital Media Sector, Doing What Matters for Jobs & the Economy, Economic & Workforce Development, California Community Colleges System

Digital badges provide community colleges with new ways to forge career pathways for students who are not necessarily enrolling in higher education to earn a degree, but to get a job.

Education Alternatives Offer Exciting Career Transition Opportunities for Military Veterans

Margaret O’Donnell | Executive Education Program Manager in the Business School, Rutgers University

By improving access to flexible, alternative postsecondary credentials, colleges and universities can make huge strides in smoothing the transition into the civilian labor market for military veterans.

Stackable Credentials Meet the Needs of Students and Society

Doug Shapiro | Executive Research Director, National Student Clearinghouse

The number of students earning multiple credentials is already rising—colleges and universities need to do more to formalize the non-conventional pathways students are already taking to earn their degrees.

A Primer on the Present and Future of Alternative Credentials

Preetha Ram | CEO and Co-Founder, Open Study

Alternative credentials will not replace degrees but are strongly following the disruptive innovation process outlined by Clayton Christensen.

Abnormal Becoming the New Normal: CBE and Moving Beyond Standard Practice in Higher Education

Irene Cravey | Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Texas State Technical College and Celina Garza | Associate Vice President for Institutional Assessment, Texas State Technical College-Harlingen

The capacity to microcredential through competency-based education formats allows colleges to ensure their content remains relevant and responsive to the needs of students and the labor market.

The Path Forward for Alternative Credentialing

Ray Schroeder | Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning, University of Illinois Springfield

By making use of blockchain verification, stackable credentials can grow to meet the specific needs of today’s just-in-time, dynamic labor market.

The Differentiating Power of Alternative Credentials

Cathy Sandeen | Chancellor, University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extension

Institutions can use microcredentials as a platform to stand out from the crowd, but their offerings must be verifiable and of the maximum quality possible in order to serve as an effective differentiator.

Resumes are Dead and Transcripts are Ailing

Nina Morel | Dean of the College of Professional Studies, Lipscomb University

As the traditional college transcript and CV falls further and further out of vogue among employers, colleges and universities need to turn to more competency-focused credentials like badges to communicate their graduates’ skills to potential employers.

Assessing the Long-Term Potential for Bootcamps: How Do They Truly Stack Up?

Richard Garrett | Chief Research Officer, Eduventures

Though alternative credentials have yet to overtake traditional degrees in value—perceived or otherwise—their focus on short-term benefits and demand responsiveness could lead to a longer-term shift in the powers of each respective credential.

Normalizing Certificates and Certifications for Today’s Learners

Monty Sullivan | President, Louisiana Community and Technical College System

The focus on improving student outcomes starts with ensuring that institutions are directly meeting the needs and expectations of their students. In many cases, this means moving away from the bread-and-butter degrees towards high-demand non-degree certificate and certification programming.

On Bootcamps: Community Colleges Are In A Different Category

David Baime | Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Policy Analysis, American Association of Community Colleges

While bootcamps provide the hard skills students need to get a job, community colleges teach those hard skills as well as the soft skills students need to get a career.

The Need for a National Certification Ecosystem

Matthew Meyer | Associate Vice President for STEM Innovation and Strategic Planning, North Carolina Community College System and Anne Bacon | Director of Strategic Innovation, North Carolina Community College System

As community colleges begin to deliver a wider range of credentials, including but not limited to degrees, it’s critical that a national certification system be established to provide critical information to all key stakeholders regarding their value and potential.

Partnering with a Non-Traditional Provider: EQUIP and Experimental Education Opportunities

Becky Takeda-Tinker | President, Colorado State University—Global Campus

With students demanding more choice and employers looking for more specific credentials, colleges and universities need to work harder to ensure they’re providing alternative pathways for students to prepare themselves for the labor market.

EQUIP-ping Students for a Fruitful Career by Partnering with a Bootcamp

Nan Travers | Director of Collegewide Academic Review, SUNY Empire State College

By taking advantage of an innovative and forward-thinking government experiment, SUNY Empire State and Flatiron School have created low-cost access to critical workforce development programming that can transfer seamlessly into a traditional degree program.

Navigating the CBE Frontier: Creative and Alternative Student Support for Creative and Alternative Models of Education

Aaron Brower | Provost, University of Wisconsin-Extension and David Schejbal | Dean of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning, University of Wisconsin-Extension

Though the Department of Education has taken steps to create more access to alternative and innovative programs for students, more must be done to get away from the faculty-centric model that underpins the federal regulatory standards.

Combining Good Educational Models with Good Business Models for CBE Programs

Sally Johnstone | President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

When an institution introduces a new educational model designed to create new approaches to learning for students, they also need to consider how to adapt the institutional business model to accommodate the change.

Using Digital Badges for Competency-Based Recognition

Paige Brooks-Jeffiers | Director for Innovative Strategies, Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Rhonda Tracy | Chancellor, Kentucky Community and Technical College System

Badging has the capacity to serve as a complementary feature in a strong competency-based education, helping to create deeper levels of understanding and engagement among students.

The Potential of Non-Degree Credentials to Reinvent Workforce Education

Jason Petrait | Director of Special Projects for Georgetown Campus, South Seattle College and Daniel Dillard | Interim Associate Dean of the Georgetown Campus, South Seattle College

Alternative credentials have the opportunity to transform workforce education and preparation, but more must be done to create a common understanding of what these credentials represent.

Common Language Crucial to Future of Alternative Credentials

Nancy Salzman | Dean of Extended Education, Brandman University

Though alternative credentials have burst onto the scene as a way to better illustrate and understand the accomplishments of students, the rising numbers of alternative credentials could make this advantage short-lived unless a common language is established.

What It Takes To Attract Students to a CTE Offering

Richard Hudnett | Assistant Director of Program Development and Recruitment, Nova Southeastern University

The biggest hurdle for career and technical education program providers to overcome is the false equivalencies that prospective students may draw between the institution’s CTE offerings and their degree offerings.

Transforming the Non-Credit Model to Create More Pathways to the Labor Market

Dennis Di Lorenzo | Dean of the School of Professional Studies, New York University

Transforming the non-credit model is the first step towards creating new and innovative pathways to the labor market for individuals. The second step is transforming internal processes to make it a reality.

An Overview of Competency-Based Education: Its Place in the Market and Gaining Stakeholder Buy-In

Michelle Solér | Director of Competency-Based Education and Assessment, University of North Carolina-General Admission

While faculty should have final say on all competency-based curricula, student demand and industry requirements must play a role in the competencies being delivered.

Career Pathways: Expanding Higher Education’s Role

Nelson Baker | Dean of Professional Education, Georgia Institute of Technology

As learning moves from a one-time event to a lifetime commitment for today’s professionals, education providers have to find new access points and opportunities that meet the needs of the labor market.

Labor Market Shifts Create Greater Role for Non-Credit Divisions

Kathleen Radionoff | Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education, Madison Area Technical College

As the skills required to get and maintain jobs become increasingly complex, and as adults begin to see their careers as a multi-industry progression, non-credit divisions need to be more active in delivering programs that deliver the critical skills professionals need to advance.

Stackable Credentials, Learners and Leaders: A Conversation

Jane LeClair | Chief Operating Officer, Washington Center for Cybersecurity Research & Development

Increasing numbers of non-traditional students are looking for postsecondary opportunities every day, and institutions need to develop unique and specialized programs designed specifically to suit their needs.

Developing an Action Plan to Forge a 21st-Century Credentialing Ecosystem

Larry Good | Chairman, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce and Holly Zanville | Strategy Director, Lumina Foundation

With the vast array of competing and complex credentials in the postsecondary ecosystem, it’s critical to develop a plan that defines their place and value for the benefit of students, employers and institutions alike.

Inspiring Imagination and Innovation: Coding Bootcamps in the Postsecondary Environment

Jean Floten | Chancellor, Western Governors University Washington

Far from being a threat, bootcamps have been highly effective in helping higher education leaders understand that there are alternative and valid ways for students to get their education.

How Credential Diversification Can Save the Soul of Higher Education

Bernard Bull | Assistant Vice President for Academics, Concordia University Wisconsin

Higher education institutions need to move past the simple role of degree factories into places where students are nurtured and allowed to grow, which means opening up an array of new learning pathways and outcomes.

Agility and Responsiveness Central to Bootcamp Success

Adam Goldberg | Education Manager, Lighthouse Labs

Colleges and universities were slow out of the gate in creating programs to meet the labor market demands of the tech sector, and now they need to contend with the bootcamps that are dominating the space.

Recognizing Faculty Commitment and Workload using ePortfolios and eBadging

Lara Madden | Professional Development and Community Coordinator, University of Alaska Anchorage

By developing a robust array of badges as professional development microcredentials, it’s possible to support buy-in for the adoption of new tools and pedagogies across the institution.

Alternative Credentials and the Pathway to an Unbundled Higher Ed Environment

Michelle R. Weise | Executive Director of Sandbox ColLABorative, Southern New Hampshire University

The transition towards unbundled, alternative credentials could spell significant benefits for students, employers and institutions forward-thinking enough to see the opportunity.

Unbundling and Rebundling: The Lasting Impact of Alternative Credentialing on Higher Ed

Michael Horn | Co-Founder and Distinguished Fellow, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation

As alternative approaches to postsecondary education become more common, the fundamental work of the higher education institution will evolve.

Moving from “Alternative Credentials” to an Integrated Credential Ecosystem

Jamie Merisotis | President and CEO, Lumina Foundation

As alternative credentials continue to gain steam, the higher education marketplace is moving towards a place where they will simply be considered “credentials.”

Microcredentials: Closing the Skills Gap and Adding Value to Passion

Richard Katz | President, Richard N. Katz and Associates, Inc.

Microcredentials fill a critical void in the postsecondary space that helps to close the skills gap and provide individuals the competencies they need to enter and succeed in the labor market.

Understanding the Present and Future Roles of Alternative Credentials

Sheryl Grant | Director of Alternative Credentials and Badge Research, HASTAC

Though badges currently exist in a type of Wild West, where there are significant quality differences between various options, there are models currently in place to transform their position in the diverse credentials ecosystem.

As We May Badge: Understanding the Central Characteristics of a Valuable Badge

Alexander Halavais | Director of the MA in Social Technologies, Arizona State University

There are four key characteristics that could transform badges from being a fun side-project to a critical and valuable approach to microcredentialing that creates immense value for employers and students alike.

Microcredentials: Closing the Skills Gap and Adding Value to Passion

Daniel T. Hickey | Professor and Program Coordinator of the Learning Sciences Program in the School of Education, Indiana University

Like the eCommerce boom in the 1990s and 2000s, the demand for credentialed workers in the labor market will drive a massive increase in the number of alternative credentials awarded by 2025.

Digital Credentials Make Convenience Possible, But Not Without Reliability

Ricardo Torres | President and Chief Executive Officer, National Student Clearinghouse

A widespread move toward digital credentials has the capacity to minimize bureaucratic inconveniences while improving portability of every type of learning recognition, but there are some major bumps in the road that must be smoothed out first.

Data Can Show if Credentials Pay Off

Jenna Leventoff | Policy Analyst for the Workforce Data Quality Campaign, National Skills Coalition

Making more data on labor market success available for prospective students will provide the critical information learners need to determine the best programs to suit their ambitions.

It’s Time to View Industry Credentials Through the Lens of Student Success

Roberta Hyland | Chief of Staff, National Student Clearinghouse

Industry credentials serve a critical role in helping individuals get work in certain high-demand industries, and colleges and universities have a role to play in helping students prepare to earn these credentials.

Demystifying Credentials: Growing Capabilities for the Future

Marcus Bowles | Director and Chair, Institute for Working Futures

Microcredentialing creates opportunities for employers to better understand the competencies and skills of employees while professionals gain globally portable and verified credentials to prove their abilities anywhere.

Alternative Credentials Create Alternative Paths to Employment

Tom Darling | National Director for Workforce Education, Pearson

Alternative credentials create faster pathways for individuals to gain entry into the labor market, but in order to be successful they should be designed with the same principles that make credit-bearing programs successful.

Microcredentials Transforming MOOC Positioning and Higher Education Models

Rick Levin | Chief Executive Officer, Coursera

As employers and job-seekers begin to recognize the value of microcredentials, higher education institutions will have to do more to ensure they’re certifying hard and soft skills while transitioning to more of a lifelong learning model.

Alternative Providers Are Fundamentally Transforming the Postsecondary Space

Burck Smith | Chief Executive Officer, StraighterLine

In the already-competitive higher education marketplace, the reduction in size of barriers to access for alternative providers means that colleges and universities are going to have to work even harder to attract and retain learners.

The Shift from Personal to Professional: On Today’s Learners and Their Credentialing Needs

Wendy Woon | Edward John Noble Foundation Deputy Director of Education, Museum of Modern Art

As ongoing learning becomes increasingly important to participation in the labor market, learners who may have previously been enrolled for personal growth are beginning to see the professional value of education as well.

Alternative Credentialing Can Add Value to Degrees

Richard DeMillo | Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities, Georgia Institute of Technology

As traditional postsecondary education costs continue to rise, microcredentials and other alternative approaches to higher education are providing affordable and accessible solutions that likely won’t replace, but will complement traditional degrees.

Credentials Make the Difference in a Job Hunt

Christine Chmura | President and Chief Economist, Chmura Economics and Analytics

Certifications show a level of knowledge and competency that instill confidence in employers and, as such, serve as labor market differentiators for job seekers.

The Mainstreaming of Alternative Credentials in Postsecondary Education

Deborah Keyek-Franssen | Associate Vice President for Digital Education and Engagement, University of Colorado System

Alternative credentials are meeting a clear market demand for more granular recognition of learning, and so long as the alternative credential ecosystem avoids a few critical concerns they will become mainstream offerings for colleges and universities nationwide.

Microcredentials: Questions About Quality, Transparency, Learner Rights and Issuer Concerns

Deb Adair | Executive Director, Quality Matters

While microcredentials have grown spectacularly both in numbers and impact, there are still questions to be answered around student control and privacy.

Cap and Gown (and Trade): Why the Risks of Badge Pollution are Overstated

Jonathan Finkelstein | Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Credly and Ryan Craig | Managing Director, University Ventures

With the increased information and data that badges bring to the table, their value more than outweighs the concern over credential glut.