Three influential theories are used to understand why employers value and seek out educational credentials in hiring. Qualifications can function as proof of productive skills (Human Capital Theory), as a signal of desirable characteristics (Signalling and Screening theories) or as a means for social closure (Closure Theory). Although these…

The nation is facing a shortage of educators prepared to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Latinos are the nation's fastest growing population but are underrepresented in higher-skilled occupations in the classroom and overrepresented in supportive roles with lower wages. This shows the need for employers and…

Formal graduate education in a measurement related field provides a solid foundation for professionals who work on credentialing examinations. Those foundational skills are then expanded and refined over time as practitioners encounter complex and nuanced challenges that were not covered by or go beyond the context described in textbooks. For…

The current education accreditation process poses a significant risk globally to the quality of education due to the increased falsification of academic certificates. Although previous studies have highlighted the potential benefits of blockchain technology in this context, there remains an opportunity towards a thorough investigation into the…

In this study, we examined the requirements for career and technical education administrators across all 50 states. The decline in the number of states that require a specific career-technical administration certification/licensure to oversee secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs has continued for decades. Most states have moved…

Although more Latinos are entering the STEM workforce, they continue to be underrepresented in high-salary STEM occupations. To ensure America's future, institutions and STEM employers must both play an active role in preparing, selecting, and sourcing Latino talent for a global economy. Excelencia's research demonstrates that select institutions…

Colleges are important providers of vocational education and training and in some countries they are the major provider. Although the international literature on colleges has grown considerably in the past two decades, it still consists primarily of qualitative descriptions of college sectors in different countries. Quantitative studies of…

In this critical qualitative study, we draw on interviews with sitting Presidents of Color in one state to explore the racialized dimensions of the college and university presidential search and appointment process. Informed by Ray's racialized organization tenets of whiteness as a credential and racialized agency, our findings show that…

Purpose: Recognizing, tracking and providing mechanisms for sharing an individual's comprehensive record of learning is necessary and essential for both her agency over and ability to manage sharing her qualifications with parties whom she desires to be aware of her learning record. In doing so, she may capture and present degrees, certifications,…

This report explores the experiences of ten CAEL member community colleges in their efforts to develop quality non-degree credentials that can be completed in in one year or less, lead to good-paying jobs in high-demand industries, and are stackable to a higher degree, allowing learners to unlock opportunities for even greater economic mobility.…

In a time when the value of a college degree is under continuous scrutiny and the opportunity for alternate pathways to workforce readiness is ever-increasing, ensuring high-quality credentials is imperative. However, how can we reassure our students, employers, and other stakeholders that what we offer is high quality? To answer this question, we…

Sport-sales-specific coursework is emerging as a crucial addition to sport management curricula for a variety of institutions. However, a new sport sales course can present instructors with the unique challenge of developing a course without any departmental precedent. The current study collected syllabi from recent sport sales courses to provide…

Latinos continue to make progress in college attainment and workforce participation. We have the fastest growth in postsecondary enrollment and completion, and our labor force participation is the highest of any group. However, Latino talent remains overrepresented in high-skilled, low-wage occupations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022e).…

In this study, we posit a new category of products provided by diploma mills, which we term Life Experience Degree Offerings (LEDOs). LEDOs uniquely capitalise on the misuse of the principle of Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) by granting higher education qualifications based on a resume or CV alone. Through a comparative analysis with…

The institutional form and conception of Higher Education have changed through the growth of mass higher education, which in many national systems now operates on market logics. Drawing on theories of credentialism, this article provides a critical analysis of the inter-relationship between massification and marketization and examines a range of…