This study seeks to share student feedback about the design and creation of comprehensive learner records. Student input is not often solicited as institutions develop new credentials issued to students. Our workshops encouraged students to consider how they would develop new credentials and what artifacts and features they would include on these…

This non-experimental, quantitative study used a correlational research design to determine if a significant, positive relationship existed between students' completion of a series of CTE courses "and" earning industry-recognized credentials and sense of self-efficacy toward employment pursuits. This research was framed within Social…

This article highlights two competency-based coaching and mentoring models for the incumbent infant-toddler workforce, designed and implemented at two Illinois institutions of higher education. Each model has been intentionally developed with an antibias and equity lens, focused on cultivating a diverse workforce of practitioners through…

Building on the importance of experiential learning for early career success, this paper presents a blueprint for a multiple-tier co-op approach, where students as early as high school will be selected by employers, will learn skills relevant to the employer's needs, and will get hands-on experience while enrolled in a relevant educational…

Internships are work-based learning experiences, but when they are unpaid and become the standard after formal education, they imply an opportunity cost and could add to the formation of obstacles to the socio-economic mobility that (public) education should seek to attenuate. The present study consists of an evaluation of the intern economy in…

The U.S. workforce is increasingly comprised of older adults, women, and minorities who lack basic skills and are unable to acquire these skills through traditional educational and training programs. New approaches are needed to provide effective training to the adult learner and flexible support for nontraditional students who must balance…

The increasing availability of non-formal education in the form of Open Education Resources (OERs) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) gives rise to the questions of how such education can be formally recognized for credit. Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), and Qualification Frameworks are fields of practice actively engaged in…

This study discusses innovations in digital credentialing, namely the Elon Visual EXP, and the broader implications of documenting student experiences in co-curricular, high-impact practices. Following a similar survey of employer observations of the new transcript, a survey was sent to all undergraduates of Elon University to assess their overall…

The higher education landscape has changed significantly over the past decade as advances in technology and the proliferation of data have rapidly reshaped the work of the registrar. Despite these innovations, many registrars steadfastly resist changing the academic transcript, arguing that it must reflect the highly structured curriculum that…

How will higher education fare under a President Donald Trump? According to this author, the campaign's misogyny shouldn't sit well with a student body that is now majority female, its disavowal of climate changes won't impress research universities, and the xenophobia won't help economies and cultures bolstered by foreign enrollment. The number…

Although the recognition of learners' experiential learning toward postsecondary credentials holds the promise of increased flexibility and opportunity for many, especially in the current climate of labour shortage, Canadian universities have been slow to adopt recognition of prior learning (RPL) systems. This case study of one Canadian…

The Degree of Experience is a program for accrediting prior learning (APL) at a London university. Advantages for students lacking entry qualifications include admission criteria stated in terms of skills, knowledge, and ability (SKA) rather than credentials; accurate SKA profiles for diagnosing weaknesses; and integration of APL into admissions…

Investigates the way in which Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology, UK, is working with Ravenscroft Plastics and the British Polymer Training Authority, to establish a programme that meets the company's specific needs. Describes how the move has ensured that more than 40 of Ravenscroft's 130-strong workforce have achieved National…

Explores how an advertising degree course had to be positioned between competing definitions of valid and relevant, academic and experiential knowledge. Locates the issues within the context of credential inflation--credentials become worth less as more people acquire them. (SK)

To assure program quality, an institution should choose its priorities--minimum achievements required, learning gains sought, content of learning emphasized, degree of rigor expected--and adopt a strategy for effective coordination of the efforts of the many persons who can contribute to each individual's learning. (Author/MLW)