See what's new with Credential Engine in "Transparency" our monthly newsletter.

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Transparency
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July 18th, 2023
Welcome to Transparency, Credential Engine’s monthly newsletter. This month we are proud to announce the release of two papers that come from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and The Higher Learning Commission (HLC). We worked with ECS to release a joint Policy Brief ([link removed]) on data capacity, governance, and funding as key policy areas, and the brief provides considerations that states, systems and practitioners can use to develop credential transparency. Additionally, we worked with HLC and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education on the Consumer Awareness: Curating Information About Higher Education report ([link removed]) that looks at the current state of higher education information and identifies some ways to help consumers navigate it. Keep reading to learn what’s new with Credential Engine!
Jump ahead:

> Spotlight (#Spotlight)
> U (#Policy) pdates (#Updates)
> Policy Corner (#Policy)
> State Connections (#State)
> Technology & Support (#Technology)
> News (#News)
> Events (#Events)


** Spotlight.
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Publish Pathways Using Credential Engine’s New Pathway Builder and Attend Launch Webinar

There are over 1 million credentials ([link removed]) and at least 50,000 providers in the United States alone, making it difficult for learners, workers, and employers to understand, map, and navigate their learning and career pathways. Additionally, there is an imbalance in talent ecosystems, where employers say they cannot find the talent they need, yet training and credentialing organizations say their programs and credentials provide what employers are looking for. Learning and career pathways provide individuals with structured routes to gain knowledge, skills, and experiences that guide them toward meaningful and fulfilling careers while enabling lifelong learning. Pathways vary for different people and opportunities, so making data transparent helps everyone understand quality, equitable pathways through this maze.

The Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) and the Credential Registry provide critical solutions for data transparency. The CTDL linked open data structure is foundational for creating solutions that benefit everyone. The Pathway Builder Tool ([link removed]) builds off the data in the Credential Registry to communicate learning and career pathways. This tool enables publishing existing or creating new CTDL pathways. And no matter your role in creating, supporting, and/or sharing learning and career pathways, the CTDL is beneficial to you and your stakeholders. When ecosystem players work together and publish CTDL linked open data structures, they are building balanced ecosystems where everyone benefits.

Our goal is to empower people to build quality CTDL data in the Credential Registry that’s foundational to pathways, and to link the components of learning and career pathways into beneficial human- and machine-readable data to power systems and applications. Using the CTDL and Credential Registry data to build pathways illuminates the best path forward for learners, workers, and employers by providing actionable data.
We are launching and hosting a webinar on July 26th at 12:30 PM ET to introduce the tool, provide an overview of how the tool works, and why this is an important development for credentialing ecosystems. Click here to register today! ([link removed]) All recordings and materials from the webinar will be made available to the public.


** Updates.
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Attend Credential Engine’s Equityhttps://credentialengine.org/resources/equity-advisory-council-report-and-recommendations/ Council’s Report And Recommendations Webinar: On June 12th, we released our Equity Advisory Council’s Report and Recommendations ([link removed]) on improving equity in and through the expanded use of linked, open, and interoperable data about credentials, competencies, programs, quality, outcomes, and related aspects. The Council’s report and recommendations focus on two areas: What are the data points ([link removed]) that students and workers need to know–and that providers should make public–in order to make their most informed decisions about whether a program and credential can lead to an equitable outcome for them, and what are the data use principles
([link removed]) that counseling, guidance, navigation, and pathway tools and services should incorporate in order to ensure that such data are most effectively usable and used by students and workers to achieve their most equitable outcome.

To help facilitate conversation, we have scheduled an open, public webinar for July 20th at 1 PM ET to share information about the report, its recommendations, and how to publish and use the identified data. To register, please click here ([link removed]) .

Parchment and Credential Engine Partner to Deliver Transparent Digital Credentialing Ecosystem: Parchment and Credential Engine have partnered to create a more transparent digital credentialing ecosystem by enabling credential issuers to integrate the information they have published to the Credential Registry with Parchment Award's issued digital credentials. This integration helps to showcase the unique value of individuals' earned credentials and supports more informed hiring decisions by employers. To learn more about this partnership, please click here ([link removed]) .

iQ4 Corporation and Credential Engine have Partnered to Advance the Value of Digital Credentials: iQ4's Achievement Wallet supports multiple capabilities that make it easier for learners, educators, and employers to benefit from public Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) credential information. These capabilities include detecting CTIDs, retrieving and parsing CTDL information, incorporating CTDL information into skill-focused smart algorithms, and providing recommended credentials and learning opportunity options. The partnership uses CTDL to translate credentials and degrees into competencies and skills. This helps learners and workers understand potential career pathways and employers to match skills with hiring needs. Together, iQ4 and Credential Engine make it easier for people to understand their competencies and how they align with workforce needs. To learn more about this partnership, please click here
([link removed]) .

Staff Update: Credential Engine is excited to welcome Chris Ernstes to the Credential Engine team! Chris is serving as our new Accounts and Publishing Data Analyst where he will provide support to a growing number of partners publishing data to the Credential Registry. Learn more about the Credential Engine staff here ([link removed]) .

Career Opportunities at Credehttps://credentialengine.org/about-us/careers/ntial Engine: Credential Engine is hiring! We are currently seeking a Director of Business Partnerships and a State Partnerships Manager focusing on K-12 and CTE data.

The Director of Business Partnerships will develop, lead, and maximize the organization’s Business Partnerships. If you are interested in learning more about this role and how to apply, you can read the full job description here ([link removed]) . The State Partnerships Manager will join the state team and provide support to a growing number of state and regional partnerships, with a specific focus on K-12 and CTE data. If you are interested in learning more about this role and how to apply, you can read the full job description here ([link removed]) . Contact us at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) if you have any questions.

Staff Member Joins LMI Institute Board of Directors: Credential Engine’s Director of State Partnerships, Rachel Vilsack, joins the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute Board of Directors. The LMI Institute is the pre-eminent resource for supporting the development, interpretation, and use of labor market information. Rachel and other board members will provide guidance to help build capacity for state labor market information (LMI) agencies.


** Policy Corner.
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CHIPS Workforce Development Planning Guide: The recent guidance for CHIPS Incentives ([link removed]) Applicants from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce, calls out the need for credential transparency. The CHIPS Incentives Program "aims to strengthen U.S. economic and national security, including economic resilience and competitiveness, through long-term growth and economic sustainability in the domestic semiconductor industry... The CHIPS Program Office offers this Workforce Development Guide as a resource for applicants responding to the February 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the construction and expansion of commercial leading-edge, current, and mature node fabrication facilities under the CHIPS Incentives Program."

"The Department’s workforce development agenda is guided by a set of best practices and principles. The Department encourages applicants to consider these practices when planning CHIPS Act-related workforce investments... Highly effective workforce investments lead to stackable, industry-recognized credentials and ensure that information about credentials is publicly accessible through the use of linked open data formats that support full transparency and interoperability.” If you have questions about credential data transparency, reach out to [email protected].


** State Connections.
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Credential Engine State Partners Use Learning and Employment Records (LERs) to Support State Goals: At our most recent State partners meeting, three state partners presented on how LERs will be used to achieve state goals and why credential and skills transparency is important. Indiana ([link removed]) presented two main state goals, the first focusing on workforce development and the importance of understanding what skill sets are needed and what skills employers are looking for, and the second goal focusing on the individual and how LERs promote social and economic mobility for individuals within the state. Indiana discussed how they are using the Indiana Achievement Wallet and how credentials are being issued in ways that would permit them to ‘fit’ in the Wallet and use the credentials’ CTDL. Washington ([link removed]) discussed their three LER projects: National Governors Association Skill Driven States project, Intake
Project, and Licensed Practical Nurse Apprenticeships project, which all use Washington’s Career Bridge ([link removed]) . They discussed how they are protecting all personable identified data. North Dakota ([link removed]) discussed their state's need to address a skills-based hiring workforce. They are addressing how to articulate prior learning and work experience, and also how employers can investigate what skills are available in the community. To meet community needs, they are creating Open Award Service working groups to address how they should provide infrastructure wherever needed for people to use digital credentials.

Overall, LERs will play a vital role in Indiana, Washington, and North Dakota by providing a comprehensive record of an individual's learning experience and skills, allowing transferability of credits and credentials, and promoting transparency by ensuring learners have access to their own learning data. LERs facilitate seamless communication between learners, educators, and employers, enabling a better match between skills and job requirements.

Updates to Credential Engine’s Learning and Employment Records (LER) Action Guide: On July 12th, Credential Engine published updates to its LER Action Guide ([link removed]) . This Action Guide describes the phases and steps that stakeholders can follow to develop and sustain trusted LER ecosystems. While many of the resources outlined in the Action Guide target state-specific actions, this Guide is intended to be broadly applicable for LER ecosystems. We encourage you to adapt these materials to connect the why and how to for LERs that meet the needs of your stakeholders. Read the updated LER Action Guide here ([link removed]) .

Indiana Digital Credentials [link removed] Series: Credential Engine state partner, In ([link removed]) diana ([link removed]) , is hosting a three-part informational webinar series on digital credentials and wallets in the state. Indiana is advancing Learning and Employment Record (LER) systems to digitally show individuals’ skills, educational experiences, and work histories. LERs may make career pathways more accessible and equitable by providing jobseekers with detailed, verified and secure records of their skills, as well as educational experiences and work histories. This information can better match employers with potential employees. The audience for this webinar series is high school and post-secondary counselors, dual credit coordinators, admissions representatives, academic advisors, registrars, administrators, career
advisors, employers seeking skilled talent, and human resource professionals. Register for the first webinar on August 2nd here ([link removed]) . The next two webinars will be held on September 11th and October 4th.


** Technology & Support.
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Empower People with Support Services Data: On June 28th, Credential Engine announced the release of the updated Support Services CTDL Terms. For organizations that provide resources and assistance that help people overcome barriers to succeed in their education and career goals, this is a great opportunity to publish your information to the Credential Registry. Making data transparent, especially data around support services, ensures that all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances, have access to high-quality and transparent information about credentials. If you are interested in publishing your support service data, start by setting up an account here ([link removed]) and a Credential Engine staff member will reach out to you. You can also reach out to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) if you have any questions. Watch the Support Services webinar here ([link removed]) .

The Support Services CTDL data release coincides with the release of our Equity Advisory Council Report and Recommendations ([link removed]) . This report outlines tiers of data about credentials, providers, programs, quality, outcomes, pathways, and support services that must be made available as linked, open, transparent data to support equity and help students, workers, and others make their most informed decisions. We are excited to announce that Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and Western Governors University (WGU) have already started to publish tier 1 data outlined in the report, which includes support services information. Reach out to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) if you are interested in learning more.


** News.
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1. The Power of Data to Promote Equitable Higher Education Pathways - Higher Education Today (higheredtoday.org) ([link removed])
2. State postsecondary pathways that provide social and economic mobility (insidehighered.com) ([link removed])
3. Here’s what data credential providers should publish to promote student equity | Higher Ed Dive ([link removed])
4. 40 - Equity and Transparency for Education and Credentials - Ready for Work | A ([link removed]) CT ([link removed])


** Events.
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Education Commission of the State’s Nation Forum on Education Policy ([link removed])
July 12th-14th, Minneapolis, MN. This conference brought together thought leaders to connect and collaborate on solutions and innovations that address the most pressing issues in state education policy. Scott Cheney and Rachel Vilsack attended and presented at the “State Opportunities to Increase Credential Transparency” breakout session to discuss the newly released joint Policy Brief ([link removed]) and more.

Badge Summit 2023 ([link removed])
July 24th- 26th, Boulder, CO. This Summit is a leading gathering to learn about digital badge credentials and connect with others who are changing the world. The Badge Summit brings together experts from K-12, Higher Ed, Industry, Government, Non-Profit, and Cultural institutions for an impactful conference. Scott Cheney will be speaking at the closing plenary on “Unlocking the Power of Human Talent and Potential: A Glimpse into Colorado’s Education and Workforce Transformation” where he along with the Colorado Workforce Development Council will discuss what's happening in Colorado to strengthen the connections between education and work.

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