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Welcome to the February edition of Transparency, Credential Engine’s monthly newsletter. This month, Credential Engine announced its newest Advisory Group. The CTDL Advisory Group (CAG) includes leading experts in areas critical to powering talent ecosystems’ data internationally. This group will provide important updates on CTDL developments and opportunities to provide input to planning, expanding, and global positioning of CTDL to help power data for talent ecosystems. All are welcome to participate and attend meetings when convenient for your schedule. Visit the CAG webpage to learn more. And keep reading to learn more about what Credential Engine has been up to this month!
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State policymakers and agencies play a vital role in ensuring their residents and employers have the information they need to make well-informed decisions. To date, we are partnered with 25 states that are working towards credential transparency through the use of open, interoperable data. States that utilize the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) are able to harness the power of rich data about credentials more effectively, understand the larger landscape of all credentials both in and outside states, and build better solutions to serve everyone. The collective and additive value of the universal adoption of the CTDL is that all information about credentials, competencies, and providers is available in the same common language and linked data format.
Compiling those data in a common, open Registry makes it easier for all states, navigation and pathway platforms and services, LER providers, policymakers, and others to survey the full ecosystem. States can set their own requirements–higher than Credential Engine’s minimum level–for publishing that meet their standards and when doing so through CTDL and the common, open Registry, everyone benefits from those richer data. And then, States can pull data from the common, open Registry to power state-branded tools to meet their particular needs. And it’s all possible because of adopting and using the same common, open data standard – the CTDL.
When we all work to create a truly open data ecosystem, everyone can then benefit by being able to see the whole ecosystem and then identify and use what’s best for them. The vision behind the shared and community-built CTDL is taking hold. We want to congratulate all states that are working towards credential transparency, using CTDL, contributing to the larger value of open data in the Registry, and ultimately using these resources to help their residents and employers make their best-informed decisions.
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CTDL Advisory Group Launches: On February 14th the initial meeting of the CTDL Advisory Group (CAG) was held. The purpose of the CAG is to build on and expand the established foundation of the CTDL and work to position CTDL as a global de facto standard for linked, open, interoperable data for open- and closed-world modeling in learn and work ecosystems. Thirteen esteemed experts from across the globe serve as Principal Members of the CAG, and were joined by nearly 100 others to engage in this work. The CAG will meet every other month. To participate, you can sign up here.
NPI Executive Committee Announcement: Scott Cheney, Credential Engine CEO, has been named to the National Pathways Initiative (NPI) Executive Committee. NPI is a national coalition of leaders from education, business, government, and the Civil Rights Community convinced that our current education is failing to prepare most students for success and that we urgently need to develop a more efficient, effective, and equitable approach. This executive committee is comprised of people who are aligned by a shared vision to improve the education system. The committee reflects the growing and diverse support for the “pathways approach” which is rooted in the belief that education should focus on helping all students navigate pathways from school to college to career. Learn more here.
Staff Update: Credential Engine is excited to welcome Man Nguyen to the Credential Engine team! Man is serving as our new Solutions Developer. Man’s primary focus is on supporting an ongoing Ready Relevant Learning-related project with the U.S. Navy. Get to know the Credential Engine staff here!
Business Partnership Announcement: Credential Engine and the Learning Economy Foundation (LEF) have joined together for a partnership and to provide joint services. Privacy-preserving digital wallets powered by verifiable Learning and Employment Records (LERs) can enable more equitable access to education and employment opportunities in an increasingly dynamic and ever-evolving labor market. By giving individuals ownership and control of their unique skills, achievements, and credentials, we ensure learners are empowered by their personal data. Together, CE and LEF now bring a complementary package of technologies and best practices to states, post-secondary institutions, employers, and any organization looking to make an ecosystem-level impact at scale. Download the Joint Services PDF to learn more about this new collaboration.
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The U.S. Department of Labor is announcing a new round of funding, and we encourage you to consider applying to advance your credential transparency goals. Note that several states have used WDQI funds to support their work around credential transparency.
Policymakers and thought leaders play a vital role in ensuring people have easy access to the information they need to make well-informed decisions. That is why Credential Engine has and will continue to work with states, federal agencies, and Congress to help craft policies that ensure essential credential information will be made available as open data and support credential transparency. Please contact us at [email protected] to help support your efforts as well.
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 Pennsylvania and Credential Engine Partnership: Credential Engine and Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) are partnering together to create a Pennsylvania-branded state credential registry. Pennsylvania will pull data from the common, open Credential Registry to power its state-branded tools through the use of the CTDL. The user-friendly online tool will help students and workers navigate the maze of education and professional credentials, enabling people to make informed decisions about their opportunities. The State System’s credential registry will initially include in-demand programs such as business, computer science, education, engineering, nursing, and social services. The first phase of the credential registry is anticipated to be ready in 2024. To read the full Press Release, click here.
Texas Work-Based Learning Inc orporates CTDL and the Texas Credential Library: The Texas Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative - including the Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board - released a Strategic Framework for work-based learning. This report discusses essential components in the adoption of Work-Based Learning training models and how the Texas Tri-Agencies are bringing uniformity and transparency to the credentials being awarded across the state through the use of the web-based Texas Credential Library being established through the use of the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) and Credential Engine’s technologies.
Michigan’s  Work Towards Credential Transparency: In November, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's Office of Employment and Training launched its Career Pathfinder tool. This tool uses current labor market, wage and institutional data and metrics to help users create an individualized career roadmap. Michigan pulls these data from the common, open Credential Registry to power the Pathfinder through the use of the CTDL. The data in Michigan was very siloed, and they did not have a way to connect - or crosswalk information on credentials - between data systems because there was no common way to describe licenses, certifications, and other credentials. This tool brings together national and state-wide education and occupational data with the help of their Education Training Provider List (ETPL). By using the CTDL, the tool provides consistent, comparable information about credentials so students can make informed choices about educational and career options. Since this information is coming from the state, they're able to provide additional data, to show occupations (SOC codes) and pathways that connect to credentials and programs of study (CIP codes) that colleges report. Michigan is committed to credential transparency and updating its data in the Registry so as to have the most accurate information for its residents. To learn more about the Pathfinder tool, click here.
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New Support Services Task Group: Credential Engine follows a clearly defined, open process to make significant updates to develop the CTDL, which includes subject matter and technical experts forming short-term task groups to provide valuable input. Our newest Support Services Task Group (SSTG) focuses on data that includes learner supports to enter into, navigate, and successfully complete credentialing programs including pre-enrollment, post-enrollment, and post-exit. It will also consider demographic information with outcome data, and other types of information about how organizations develop and implement policies related to equitable access and outcomes. The work of this task group supports the goals and recommendations of Credential Engine’s Equity Advisory Council, state partners, and other agencies and organizations who are working to improve the learn and work data ecosystem. If you are interested in learning more and/or how to get involved, click here.
Credential Registry Badge Publisher Tool: Credential Engine’s 2022 Counting Credentials report counts over 430,000 badge credentials offered in the United States. This number will continue to grow as more formal and informal learning is represented in digital credentials. That is why Credential Engine created the badge publisher tool, to make it easier for organizations that use badges to publish information about their badges to the Credential Registry. Publishing badges using the CTDL contextualizes them with other meaningful data in the Credential Registry, such as skills, courses, transfer value, other credentials, and pathways. The badge publisher can be integrated with any badging platform that issues Open Badges. The tool is being piloted in February 2023 and will be available in Spring 2023. Visit the Badge Publisher page to learn more.
 Pathway Builder Tool: We strongly believe that all of us together can illuminate paths toward credential transparency and a better future. To support this vision, we provide a suite of tools built on the CTDL for publishing linked open data to the Credential Registry. To advance building clear and equitable learning and career pathways, we’ve been working on a new tool called the Pathway Builder. It combines the power of CTDL with Registry data about credentials, courses, competencies, jobs, and more. We will be entering the pilot phase of this project soon and plan to release this tool Spring of 2023. If you’re interested in learning more or joining the pilot, please contact us at [email protected] and visit the Pathway Builder page.
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Open Badges Issued Tops 74 Million Globally: 1EdTech and Credential Engine released today the third bi-annual Open Badge Count report that highlights the tremendous scale and continued growth of digital badge practices around the world. Open Badges are verifiable and shareable digital credentials that empower learners across K-12, higher education, and professional learning and development. Collectively, badge product providers reported a total of 74,780,775 issued badges, an increase of 73% from the previous 2020 report. This continuously increasing number of badges emphasizes the importance of resources that demonstrate how badges can be used for career advancement. To read the Press Release, and learn more, click here.
INQAAHE Talk Series Recording Available: Deb Everhart, Credential Engine CSO, along with other tertiary education global experts, spoke at the last International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) Talk Session. The webinar was an opportunity for attendees to reflect on the changing paradigm of tertiary education and the role of INQAAHE's new International Standards and Guidelines for Tertiary Education Quality Assurance (ISGs). If you missed this session, the recordings are available here.
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