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Welcome to the September 2022 edition of Transparency, Credential Engine’s monthly newsletter. As we say hello to Fall, we also say goodbye to one of Credential Engine’s staff members, Emilie Rafal. She has not gone far, as she is embarking on a new adventure at RIPL. Emilie was Credential Engine’s second staff member, and in fact came to Credential Engine from its predecessor, the Credential Transparency Initiative, at George Washington University. Through her leadership, and with the help of her colleagues, Emilie facilitated the development and success of 28 state and regional partnerships and was a wise advisor and trusted colleague on the promotion of credential transparency. We are grateful to Emilie and all that she did to make Credential Engine what it has become today.
As we look ahead, Credential Engine will be celebrating its five-year anniversary on December 7th to acknowledge all that has been achieved with our many partners. This will be a virtual event, and if you are interested in registering, please read further down the newsletter to get the registration link and additional information.
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Learning and Employment Records Action Guide and Education Design Lab Partnership
Credential Engine has created a Learning and Employment Records (LERs) Action Guide pilot version to help describe phases and steps that stakeholders can take to develop and sustain trusted LER ecosystems. It is based on Credential Engine’s widely and successfully used State Roadmap and Action Guide for Transparency. State stakeholders, including policymakers, state agencies, employers, and education providers, are searching for ways to help learners and workers find the most efficient and equitable pathways to secure the right skills and credentials that lead to good jobs. Verifiable LERs are emerging as a powerful tool that, when implemented and utilized as a part of a state's broader investment in data transparency and learner/worker sovereignty, can help take the friction out of inefficient labor markets and reveal new opportunities. The big picture goal is to ensure that policy and state actions create ecosystems where LERs are widely accessible, understood, and trusted, inclusive of all aspects of an individual’s education, training, military, and work achievements, and shareable so that LERs securely connect people to opportunities.
An example of how Credential Engine is working toward making LERs more accessible, understood, and trusted is through the recently announced joint services partnership between Credential Engine and Education Design Lab (the Lab). We have teamed up with the Lab to offer services that will help stakeholders prepare for LER pilots, laying a strong foundation for LERs designed to empower learners in the sharing of their verifiable credentials and skills as currency towards job opportunities. Together, the Lab and Credential Engine bring a blend of human-centered design tools and processes, best practices in data transparency, and technical knowledge that will position emerging LER pilots for success. To learn more, click here.
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Staff Update: Credential Engine is excited to announce that Cadence Calixto has joined the Credential Engine team! Cadence will be serving as our new Operations Coordinator and will be working to provide support to Credential Engine, its Staff, Board, and Advisory Groups. Get to know the Credential Engine team!
Credential Engine is hiring! Credential Engine is seeking a State Partnerships Manager to join our state team and provide support to a growing number of state and regional partnerships. This person will advance Credential Engine’s vision, mission and goals of credential transparency to ensure that everyone can make their most informed decisions with regard to credential opportunities and pathways. Women and people of color are encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Priority will be given to applications submitted by September 30th, 2022. Read the full job description.
Equity Council September Open Meeting: On September 14th, Credential Engine Equity Advisory Council members and the public met to review data points related to inputs and outputs that support equitable pathways, equitable transfer, and recognition of prior learning. The attendees were able to break out into groups to have a focused conversation about the data points. The next open meeting will be held on November 1st at 1 pm ET. Keep an eye out for a registration link, as that will be going out next month.
Credential Engine 5th Anniversary: On December 7th, Credential Engine will be (virtually) celebrating its five-year anniversary and acknowledging all that has been achieved with our many partners. Together, and through open collaboration, we have done so much in those five years, and do not expect to stop anytime soon! The event will be held virtually from 1-4 pm ET on December 7th. Additional details regarding the agenda and speakers will be forthcoming. In the meantime, register today to save the date and secure that time on your calendar!
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 Credential Engine Signs Digital Equity Plan Recommendation Letters: Earlier this month, Credential Engine, along with a group of national membership, policy, and advocacy organizations, signed on to a set of letters urging state broadband officials to have appropriate data collection, integration, and use a key element of their State Digital Equity Plans. The set of letters included steps state leaders should consider while writing Digital Equity Plans to ensure appropriate inclusion and use of state data within their plans. Specifically, one of the five steps calls out transparency and how the leaders can ensure transparency of data they collect and use for public benefit, and how all personally identifiable data that is part of the P-20W must be protected. We are excited to see what next steps state leaders will take from this call to action.
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Snapshots From the Roadmap: Each month, Credential Engine and our state partners meet to discuss updates and share experiences with fellow states around credential transparency. A resource for these states to follow and articulate their progress toward credential transparency is the State Roadmap and Action Guide for Transparency, which highlights the steps for state policymakers to help take the inefficiencies out of the labor marketplace and provide more efficient and equitable access to actionable information through the prioritization of credential transparency.
Most recently, leaders from Indiana presented to Credential Engine’s state partners about their progress on step number six from the roadmap, “Publish all credentials and their competencies to the Credential Registry and the Open Web in CTDL and CTDL-ASN.” In collaboration with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Ivy Tech Community College has published course level competencies that are part of Indiana College Core and all related competencies for Associate’s Degrees (see example.) They are now working on publishing related competencies to the Registry for the certificates they offer. In addition, all of Purdue University Global’s competencies for all programs have been published to the Registry. While these data are important to have in the Registry for transparency purposes, leaders in Indiana are also planning to pull all competency data from the Registry to populate their forthcoming application, which will allow students to see what classes are available and what competencies they will earn. Ivy Tech presented on how they collected competency data and how they published it to the Credential Registry. This process led them to work with their curriculum and course management vendor to implement and integrate competencies in their catalog maintenance cycle. We are excited to see what’s next for Indiana! |
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New Credential Registry Search API guide: On September 7th, the Credential Engine team updated the Credential Engine Registry Search API Handbook that explains how to use the Search API. The Credential Registry Search API provides a way to programmatically search the Credential Registry and return top-level resources based on data within those resources, including their connections to other resources. To learn more, click here.
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Short-Term Credentials in Postsecondary Education: Dynamics, Returns, and Funding Hybrid Event
September 15th-16th, 2022 - Credential Engine’s Chief Strategy Officer, Deb Everhart, attended and presented on a panel at the Federal Reserve’s Bank Short-Term Credentials in Postsecondary Education: Dynamics, Returns, and Funding hybrid event. Everhart presented on the Dynamics of Postsecondary Credentials panel that described the historic trends in the offerings and take-up of short-term credentials, including the increasing rate of credential stacking.
Indiana Learning and Employment Records Strategic Planning Meeting
September 19th, 2022 - Deb Everhart attended and presented at Indiana’s Learning and Employment Records Strategic Planning Meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to gather key stakeholders, including those from the business community, state government, education and training providers, and community service organizations, to learn more about Learning and Employment Records and what they can offer.
Brookings Institution and Learning Economy Foundation Symposium
September 20th, 2022 - Deb Everhart will be attending the Symposium and offering insight into how Credential Engine is playing a role in emerging international standards. The Symposium's goal is to connect the U.S. ed-tech ecosystem and the global community that is working to address major equity challenges in access to quality education in the wake of the pandemic.
Measuring Job and Credential Quality – The Role of State P-20W Data Systems
September 22, 2022. 2:00 PM ET— Credential Engine’s Strategic and Policy Engagement Manager, Rachel Vilsack, will be presenting virtually at Data Quality Campaign’s Measuring Job and Credential Quality: The Role of State P–20W Data Systems webinar alongside Jobs for the Future and National Skills Coalition. This webinar will highlight the importance of state data systems in measuring program, job, and credential quality. You will get to learn from two leading states that are currently exploring measurements of job and credential quality as they share lessons learned. Register here today!
Midwest Credential Transparency Alliance Hybrid Convening
October 10th-11th, 2022- The Midwest Credential Transparency Alliance Convening is bringing together MCTA members to share and celebrate accomplishments from the past 18 months. Over the two days, stakeholders across the Midwest will network and problem-solve together on how to reduce barriers to information, ensuring that all individuals have equitable access to the full range of learning, advancement, and meaningful career opportunities in the region. Learn more here and register today!
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