The current historic COVID-19 Pandemic moment has thrown into sharp relief the need for flexible and rigorous higher education that meets upskilling and reskilling needs of global workforces. Discussions of micro-credentialing predate the Pandemic but have received increased focus as potentially assisting in addressing perceived skills gaps.…

Postsecondary education and training have become essential to economic mobility, and equitable access to postsecondary education and training is critical to building an inclusive economy. Part of building inclusivity is increasing the number of and diversity of working people earning these quality credentials in workforce education and training…

Micro-credentials vis a vis competency-based certifications of skill domains have existed for decades across vocational-technical education and the professions. What appears to be changing is the "priority" ascribed to different micro-credentials along a credentials continuum that has focused on formal degrees and certificates. This…

Senate Bill 22-192, titled Opportunities for Credential Attainment called on the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) to work collaboratively with other state agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), employers and other stakeholders to build 10 stackable credential pathways across five high-value, high-demand industries between…

Higher education faces increasing demands to take a more active and direct role in assuring employability for students. Micro-credentialing and badging is a growing movement, attractive for its flexibility and efficiency in connecting students with careers and jobs. This paper presents a case study of the development and pilot of an…

In conducting a multi-disciplinary, multi-degree study of all 83 higher education accrediting organizations in the United States and the 605 academic programs associated with them, our goal was to uncover patterns in the presence of leadership and general workforce competencies identified within the stated learning outcomes employed by these…

Entering the middle of the 21st Century, Texas has the ninth-largest economy in the world, whose success is powered by the increasingly educated workforce. Texans have earned more degrees, certificates, and credentials over the past decade than at any time in history, and Texas has outpaced every other state in growing undergraduate and graduate…

The United States is experiencing dramatic shifts in the skills required of incumbent workers and new hires. While the recent low unemployment rate was generally good news, it also exacerbated a persistent skill shortage in the region's labor force that has been consistently reported by many employers. A McKinsey Global Survey indicates that…

The higher education system does not work well for taxpayers, students, or higher education institutions. Student loans were expected to be such a good deal for taxpayers that their projected revenues were used to offset costs associated with the Affordable Care Act and increasing the size of Pell Grants. Less than a decade ago, the federal…

This report from JFF with a select group of community college practitioners, makes the case for policymakers, employers and practitioners to invest in and strengthen short-term credentialing programs to rapidly retrain unemployed workers for better career prospects, especially workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes key commitments…

This brief is part of a broad landscape analysis focused on policy and practice issues related to the recognition of prior learning. The landscape analysis focuses on issues arising in the practice of the recognition of prior learning, policies that encourage or limit its adoption, and key research needs and future directions for the field. This…

Ontario's 24 colleges will play a pivotal role in establishing Ontario as a global leader in higher education -- producing a workforce with the qualifications and expertise to help drive economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown. In its recently released white paper, The Future of Ontario's Workers, the StrategyCorp Institute of…

"The Virginia Plan for Higher Education" articulates the objective that the Commonwealth will be the best-educated state by 2030. To achieve this objective, Virginia not only must increase educational attainment rates, but also must close the gaps in the differing rates of attainment that exist across its population and its regions. For…

Education reformers have spent decades doggedly working to improve student outcomes in K-12 education by championing policies spanning federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Higher education is a much different story. Policy ideas at the federal level are plentiful; however, state- or institution-level policies are examined and implemented far…

Since their inception, community colleges have included the transfer function as a central mission. However, arguments have been made contending that community colleges have systematically diverted students toward occupational education. In the 21st century, community colleges continue to contend with multiple missions and identities, especially…