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Welcome to the October 2022 edition of Transparency, Credential Engine’s monthly newsletter. In this month's newsletter, we share an update on the recent MCTA Convening, an exciting addition to our Board, highlights from the work on-going in Washington state, and events Credential Engine staff are participating in.
Looking ahead, readers should be on the lookout for updates on our new Pathway Builder tool, new state and developer partnerships, and the agenda and speakers for our 5th Anniversary event that is scheduled for December 7th. This will be a virtual event. Don’t forget to register today!
Also, if you are a good writer and editor, and would enjoy writing about our work and the larger ecosystem in ways that make the technical and complex easily understandable and actionable, give us a shout at [email protected].
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This month state and higher education leaders participating in the Midwest Credential Transparency Alliance (MCTA) met for a multi-day hybrid convening to celebrate their achievements in making information on credentials and career pathways more accessible to learners, organize regionally, and set goals for the year ahead.
Several states shared their progress towards their credential transparency goals. Some highlights include:
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The Kansas Board of Regents is working towards publishing their Accelerating Opportunity in Kansas (AO-K) credential approval list. AO-K delivers career and technical education at the same time as adult basic skills instruction within a career pathways framework. Students complete short-term certificate programs aligned with labor market needs, leading to industry-recognized credentials and immediate jobs. By publishing AO-K approved credentials, Kansas adults will more transparently see short-term certificate programs aligned to labor market needs that will lead to family-sustaining wages. The Board is also developing a proof of concept for publishing military transfer information to the Registry. This effort is important because enhanced transparency of credit for prior learning opportunities will help both active military and veterans with choices that could accelerate their postsecondary education goals, while also reducing associated costs.
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Miami University Regionals in Ohio is working towards publishing their microcredentials, or bundles of college courses around a specific skill, developed specifically for adult learners with industry partners in mind. By making data on microcredentials available on the Registry, the university can share more about their flexible microcredential opportunities so that potential students will see how the program will make them better qualified and employers benefit through a better prepared workforce.
You can find more information about MCTA and recordings from its recent convening online.
MCTA is a regional alliance focused on advancing credential transparency in service of learners, workers, educators, employers, and policymakers across the Midwest. The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) and Credential Engine support MCTA thanks to the generous support from Ascendium Education Group.
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Credential Engine's 5th Anniversary: On December 7th, Credential Engine will be (virtually) celebrating its fifth 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 1:00-4:00 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!
Learning and Employment Records Pilot Action Guide: Credential Engine has created a pilot LER Action Guide that provides steps to enable more efficient career navigation and provide more equitable access to useful information through LERs. The big picture goal is to 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. We are currently accepting comments and/or suggestions on the LER Action Guide. If you’d like to provide feedback, please email [email protected].
Kathleen deLaski Joins Credential Engine’s Board of Directors: Credential Engine welcomes Education Design Lab (The Lab) Founder and Chair, Kathleen deLaski to its Board of Directors. As a social entrepreneur who has launched/co-launched four non-profits related to improving the quality of education for non-elite students, deLaski is deeply invested and involved in the education sector and bridging equity gaps. With this addition, Credential Engine’s Board of Directors comprises members spanning education, workforce, human resources, labor, and policy. To read the full press release, click here.
Invitation to attend Credential Engine’s Fourth Open Meeting of its Equity Advisory Council: Credential Engine invites you to join its Equity Advisory Council on Tuesday, November 1st at 1 pm ET to participate in the next open meeting on the Council on Credential Transparency & Equitable Pathways, Transfer, and Recognition of Learning. The focus of this meeting is to continue to work on the Council's recommendations for equity and transparency. Interested in participating? Register today!
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 State Best Practices: Washington
This month’s best practices spotlight is the Washington Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. The Board is a partnership of business, labor, and government dedicated to helping Washington residents prepare for and land living-wage jobs while meeting employers' needs for skilled workers. They maintain CareerBridge, a public facing site used by students and workers in career transition to support planning career and education. The site includes close to 6,000 training registered apprenticeship programs, with rich data on completion rates, employment, earnings, and the characteristics of students participating in the program.
Washington has been a state partner of Credential Engine since 2019 when the state mapped credentials in Career Bridge to the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) and began publishing their credentials to the Registry. The Workforce Board maintains online resources on credential transparency, its partnership with Credential Engine, and also convened a Credential Advisory Committee, where education and workforce stakeholders established policy recommendations for how the state could expand and support its credential transparency goals. One of the major findings of their 2021 report was the need to upgrade CareerBridge to make it compatible with CTDL and to enable a consistent flow of credentialing data to the Registry. This year, the state legislature approved funding a partial amount to get Career Bridge started on its modernization project to connect to the Registry and provide a more modern experience for users.
Additionally, Washington has just begun requiring the collection of occupational data from employers as a part of the reporting that businesses who participate in the state’s Unemployment Insurance program submit to the state. In the next few years, Washington students, families, and policymakers will see whether graduates actually land jobs in the career for which they trained. This will provide a real-world report card and a true return on investment on the state’s education system.
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CTDL for State and Local Eligible Training Provider Lists: States maintain Eligible Training Provider Lists (ETPL) to identify training programs and the credentials that can be earned meeting state and federal requirements for Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding. These programs and credentials need to be shared as public information using a common language and linked open data structure to ensure people can search, discover, compare and apply to enroll. States benefit from better information about ETPL programs and their credentials that are offered across state boundaries and are on multiple state ETPLs. Often the information that needs to be useful to people and states originates via state systems that provide data geared towards customer management along with state and federal reporting. Using the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) to structure data to meet reporting and user needs is beneficial to people and states.
To the benefit of people looking for training and to states, the Illinois ETPL is using the CTDL to publish the approved training programs with related providers and credentials. Using the CTDL transformed ETPL data that is geared towards reporting to data geared towards search, discovery, and comparability. The CTDL linked open data structure connects the approved training programs, related credentials, and their providers. It also provides the context to ensure people and states can identify the state’s ETPL and the approved programs included with it. Using the Credential Registry Publishing API ensures the ETPL can be updated as any changes occur including adding to or removing programs from the ETPL.
As more states use CTDL for their ETPLs and publish to the Credential Registry there will be better information for people looking for training and for states looking at cross-state ETPL listings. Credential Engine is working with state partners now to improve ETPL to the benefit of everyone. States can contact the Credential Engine team at [email protected] to get more information on publishing their ETPL to the Credential Registry using the CTDL.
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CBExchange 2022
October 18th-21st, 2022 - Deborah Everhart, Credential Engine’s Chief Strategy Officer, is a panelist and a solo presenter at this year’s CBExchange event. Everhart will be a panelist on The CLR Standard and the LER: Lessons Learnt and What Lies Ahead panel. In this session, attendees will hear from two institutions that have implemented the CLR, and from two organizations that are defining the future of the CLR and LER. Additionally, Everhart will present at the Pathways to Equitable Opportunities: Learning and Employment Records (LERs) and the Journey to Jobs session. This session will follow the journey of Sharon, who is progressing on a pathway with equitable opportunities, showing how on-ramps, open standards, transparent linked open data, and universal design are all essential to support human success steps.
National Skills Coalition 2022 Skills in the States Forum
November 3rd-4th, 2022 - Rachel Vilsack, Credential Engine’s Director of State Partnerships, will be presenting at the Demystifying the Path to an Inclusive Economy Using Data session. Attendees at this conference will learn about new policy innovations and key workforce development issues in the states, discuss strategies for moving policies forward in your state, and hear how partners across our state networks are organizing around skills policies that expand economic opportunity and racial equity for workers while boosting local businesses.
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