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Transparency
Credential Engine develops its data standards through open, inclusive, and transparent processes
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September 18th, 2025

Welcome to Transparency, Credential Engine’s monthly newsletter, where we share the latest updates on Credential Engine and our partners. This month, we spotlight our work connecting skills to jobs, share news about a new Lumina Foundation grant expanding transparency around non-degree credentials, highlight sample state legislation language designed to help states demonstrate their commitment to credential transparency, and more. Bringing you the latest ways we’re making skills and credentials visible for all!

Credential Finder Numbers ([link removed]) : 106,231 Credentials, 12,379 Organizations, 48,137 Learning/Training Opportunities, 12,487 Competency Frameworks, 231,703 Competencies, and more! We encourage readers to explore the Credential Finder and learn more about the data in the Credential Registry.
Jump ahead:

> Spotlight (#Spotlight)
> U (#Policy) pdates (#Updates)
> Policy Corner (#Policy)
> Partnerships (#State)
> C (#Technology) TDL Solutions (#Technology)
> News (#News)
> Events (#Events)


** Spotlight.
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Connecting Skills to Jobs for People with Some College, No Degree

Credential Engine recently participated in GitLab Foundation’s AI for Economic Opportunity Demo Day, hosted at OpenAI. We shared our vision for a future where all learning counts and skills are visible for the 37 million Americans with some college but no degree. Credential Engine’s presentation highlighted a powerful solution with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and iQ4: an AI approach to translating college transcripts into job-relevant skills profiles. This work helps shift the focus from credentials earned to the actual skills gained. Because if someone successfully completed coursework, but didn’t finish the full degree, shouldn’t they still be able to highlight those skills on their resume?

This approach is already demonstrating real impact. More than 30,000 people have created skill profiles containing over 484,000 skills, and 75% say these profiles will help them advance their careers. By connecting transcript data with open skills data in the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), we’re not only giving learners a stronger way to communicate what they know and can do, but also helping employers and educators make more informed decisions. This work is part of the AI for Economic Opportunity Fund Grantee Cohort, and we are grateful to GitLab Foundation and OpenAI for spotlighting projects that expand opportunity. You can learn more about this work and view our demo on our website ([link removed]) . If you’d like to explore ways to get involved, please contact us at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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** Updates.
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How Arkansas LAUNCH Leverages CTDL Data: Join us for the next installment of our Solution Spotlight webinar series ([link removed]) on October 29th at 1 PM ET, where we will discuss ([link removed]) how Arkansas is leveraging CTDL data to power LAUNCH and expand opportunities for learners and workers.

Arkansas LAUNCH ([link removed]) is a free, skills-based platform helping learners and job seekers connect with opportunities in employment, education, and enlistment. Developed in collaboration with leaders across Arkansas, LAUNCH leverages CTDL data and integrates with the Arkansas Credential Registry. The result is clear, structured, and up-to-date information about credentials, skills, and career pathways, empowering learners, job seekers, education and training providers, employers, and state leaders alike. Register today! ([link removed])

Learn more about the CTDL solutions that empower people here ([link removed]) .

New Grant to Expand Transparency in Non-Degree Credentials: We’re excited to share that Credential Engine has been awarded a new grant from the Lumina Foundation to expand transparency around non-degree credentials (NDCs). With more NDCs than degrees in the U.S., and often little public information about their quality or outcomes, this work will focus on gathering and publishing consistent data on NDCs in three states, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Texas, selected from 12 eligible states that Lumina is working with. By working with state partners and leveraging tools like our AI-supported CTDL xTRA ([link removed]) , we’ll create detailed state-level collections of NDC information, covering providers, costs, skills, and quality assurance. This work will not only support learners, workers, and employers in navigating the credential marketplace but also strengthen the value of open data nationwide.


** Policy Corner.
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Sample State Legislation Language: Policymakers play a vital role in ensuring people have easy access to the information they need to make well-informed decisions about education and training. Government leaders are tasked with meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing economy and advocating for their communities, including helping learners and workers find the most efficient pathways to secure the right skills and credentials to meet the current workforce needs of employers.

Working towards better-connected learning and work ecosystems requires collaboration and planning. Credential Engine has developed resources for states to learn about, plan for, and implement policies and practices that help take the inefficiencies out of the labor marketplace and prioritize credential and skill transparency.

States may adopt this sample legislative language ([link removed]) to demonstrate their commitment to transparency by establishing a credentials and skills registry. This language aims to support states by highlighting the benefits of maintaining a state registry. See what other states have done: this resource ([link removed]) provides sample language and examples of existing state policies on credential and skill transparency from Connecticut, Alabama, Texas, Florida, and Colorado.


** Partnerships.
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Completed Gates-Funded Project Strengthens Healthcare Pathways: With support from a two-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Credential Engine is working with select institutions through our first round of funding ([link removed]) to make education and workforce data more accessible and transparent. Houston Community College has completed its project to strengthen healthcare career pathways by publishing detailed data on for-credit and non-credit health sciences programs, including essential skills, career pathways, labor market data, and employment outcomes. Houston Community College also supported San Jacinto College to publish its own healthcare pathways to further support building accessible, transparent pathways into healthcare careers while helping address Texas’s growing workforce needs.

SHRM Resources to Drive Skills-Based Hiring: Through its Center for a Skills First Future ([link removed]) , the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation is helping employers put skills at the center of hiring and talent development. The Skills Action Planner gives organizations a clear assessment of where they are today and a practical roadmap for progress, while the Skills First Specialty Credential prepares HR leaders to drive organizational change with the tools, frameworks, and language needed for a skills-first approach. To support this work with recognized standards, the Credential Registry includes SHRM’s Skills First Specialty Credential, SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP certifications, along with the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge competency framework - providing greater transparency and visibility into the skills that matter most for HR professionals.


** CTDL Solutions.
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Expanding CTDL to Support Global Recognition of Prior Learning: Join Credential Engine on October 15th, 2025, for a public webinar ([link removed]) exploring a proposed expansion of the CTDL to better support prior learning recognition (PL/CPL). This proposal addresses a critical challenge in education and workforce mobility: agreements, policies, conditions, and support services that are applicable to how prior learning is accepted are often hard to find, compare, and apply. By making this type of information transparent and interoperable, CTDL can reduce barriers, improve learner mobility, and strengthen pathways across institutions, systems, and borders.

We invite anyone advancing credential transparency, including practitioners, policy leaders, institutional representatives, developers, system designers, and global stakeholders working on credit transfer, learner recognition, and data interoperability. No deep prior knowledge of CTDL is required.

Register today ([link removed]) to help shape the future of credential transparency!


** News.
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1. Utilizing Data to Evaluate Skills-Based Practices and Non-Degree Credentials: NGA’s Intersectional Policy Lab - National Governors Association ([link removed])


** Events.
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Graduate Business Curriculum Roundtable ([link removed])

Virtual. September 23rd-24th, 2025. This year’s Credential Forum 2.0 will be held virtually and will bring together leaders to discuss, understand, and evaluate the value of credentials for learners, institutions, and industry. Join Credential Engine and UPCEA for their session, where they will share insights on the state of the credential landscape and what it means for the future of education and work.

2025 Convergence: Credential Innovation in Higher Education ([link removed])

Washington, DC. September 29th-October 1st, 2025. This event brings together key stakeholders in credential innovation to define and develop their institutional strategies with respect to alternative credentials. Credential Engine, alongside our partners, will be presenting in two sessions: From Birth to Meaning: The TBR CRED CLR 2.0 Journey, and Infuse: Empowering the Public Good of Digital, Portable Learning Records. We hope to see you there!

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