Recent developments in OER and MOOCs (Open Educational Resources and Massive Open Online Courses) have raised questions as to how learners engaging with these courses and components might be assessed or credentialed. This descriptive and exploratory paper examines PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition) as a possible answer to these…

Since online learning burst on the scene in the late 1990s, predictions of traditional higher education's obsolescence and disruption have been steady fare in the trade and popular media. This time the change is shaping up to be more profound than most had envisioned. As alternatives to the degree system (and the accreditation/financial…

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between the credentials held by science teachers who taught at a school that administered the Science Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (Science TAKS), the state standardized exam in science, at grade 11 and student performance on a state standardized exam in science administered in grade…

The purpose of this article is to explore the experiences of Temporary Foreign Workers in health care in Alberta, Canada. In 2007-2008, one of the regional health authorities in the province responded to a shortage of workers by recruiting 510 health-care workers internationally; most were trained as Registered Nurses (RNs) in the Philippines.…

The education sector is no stranger to fraud, unfortunately. This article provides best practice guidance in recognizing and dealing with fraud, with emphasis on domestic and international academic credential fraud. It includes practical approaches to academic document review and verification. Success in fighting fraud requires becoming informed,…

Today, science teachers continue to seek ways to improve their instruction and become credentialed as "highly qualified" in their field. This paper describes how science and science education faculty at the University of Massachusetts and veteran K-12 science teachers, with funding from the National Science Foundation, designed Science…

Over the past few years, as the nation has attempted to emerge from a recession, people are increasingly turning to education as a means to return to work in an economy that demands new skills and a larger number of knowledge-based workers. The demand for more education has resulted in increased enrollments in postsecondary institutions,…

Recent reforms of high school education in Korea have focused on transforming the uniform and standardized system into a deregulated and diversified system that has an emphasis on school choice and competition. Situating the high school diversification policy in the context of the recent controversy of the neoliberal educational reform, this study…

Credentials of hypothetical standing principal candidates are assessed in a 3X2 completely crossed factorial design varying diversity of applicants (Hispanic, Latino, or White) and diversity of students (low vs. high Hispanic enrollments). Screening decisions of superintendents are assessed according to job-related criteria, probability of an…

In many fields, the concept of professional development for workers at varying levels is well entrenched. At the heart of professional development is the desire to expand the "toolbox" of workers' skills. However, for out-of-school time (OST) staff and youth workers, experiences with professional development can vary widely, from high…

It is well established that workers with more years of education earn higher wages. By establishing a reference or "required" level of education for a worker's occupation, it is possible to decompose an individual's actual level of education into years of required education and years of over-education or under-education relative to that…

Countless media reports point to the mismatch between workers' skills and employers' needs. Education and employment data bear out this fact. Using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and other sources, an influential 2011 report found that a substantial percentage of recent college graduates lack core competencies critical…

Because of its diversity, the BC post-secondary system offers many routes to credential completion. However, to capture the dynamics of institutional attendance requires a long view of individuals' journeys through the various post-secondary institutions over time. In this report, the authors employ data from the "Paths on Life's Way"…

For the past 45 years, New Jersey community colleges have helped thousands of students pursue higher education to gain skills, earn college credentials, and better their lives. Today, New Jersey's 19 community colleges enroll over 400,000 students across 70 campuses, fulfilling community colleges' traditional core mission: granting access to…

A mixed methods framework utilized quantitative and qualitative data to determine whether statistically significant differences existed between high school and GED[R] student perceptions of credential value. An exploratory factor analysis (n=326) extracted four factors and then a MANOVA procedure was performed with a stratified quota sample…