Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) is pleased to join Lumina Foundation and more than 40 other organizations spanning business, labor and education in co-sponsoring a national conversation on ways to transform our nation’s highly fragmented credentialing system into one that is student-centered and learning-based. We are all convinced that a new system is needed to ensure educational quality, increase access, multiply the benefits of increased attainment, reduce social inequity and foster individual progress.
You can engage in the dialogue in a number of ways, as described below. We want – and need – a broad base of stakeholders to join us in a frank discussion about the problems posed by our current system and in identifying and acting on changes that improve how credentialing works in the U.S.
What Would a Learning-Based System Do?
- A learning-based credentialing system would recognize and reward the learning inherent in all high-quality credentials ─ from badges and certifications to apprenticeships and certificate programs, all the way through degree programs and post-doctoral studies.
- It would reduce the barriers that students and workers face as they seek to gain the skills and credentials they need to succeed in the workplace and in life.
- An improved system would build employers’ trust in credentials as they seek the skilled employees they need to compete globally.
- A learning-based system would require individuals to demonstrate achievement of clear, concrete and well-conceived learning outcomes to earn a quality credential.
Between now and the end of the year, we plan to conduct a mix of conversations – within constituency groups, with national policy organizations, in specific regions where interest in reimagined credentialing is growing, and with other interested stakeholders about important issues affecting credentialing – to identify concrete solutions for addressing the challenges in our existing system. No top-down strategy can achieve the transformation that the co-sponsors believe is necessary to improve the nation’s credentialing system. Rather, the multiple stakeholders in that system must see the benefits of change and act voluntarily to effect that change.
How to Participate in the Dialogue
We invite you to participate in the dialogue in any or all of the following ways:
- Sign up to participate in one or more of the upcoming themed online conversations on specific topics related to creating a more connected credentialing system.
- Visit our just launched “Connecting Credentials” website to respond to questions about: credentialing-related challenges facing students, employers, workers and policymakers; how a transformed system would have to function to accrue real benefits for these users; and what steps each of the stakeholders could take to create a learning-based, student-centered system.
- Take advantage of the robust collection of research and resources on credentialing in the U.S. that is identified on the website and suggest additional resources that we can add to the site to increase its value to users.
- Involve your members in the dialogue by, for example, discussing credentialing issues at one of your upcoming meetings, hosting a webinar and/or writing an article for your newsletter or blog to solicit input. If any of these avenues seem attractive to you, CSW and CLASP can help. We can provide background materials, assist in agenda development and perhaps facilitate a session. Contact us at credentials@skilledwork.org.
- Provide feedback on how the just released “Connecting Credentials: A Beta Credentials Framework” can be improved to serve as a platform for yet to be developed tools/applications that can be used for connecting credentials and using competencies as the common currency to enhance transparency, comparability, portability and equity in the credentialing marketplace.
We look forward to talking with you further about this critical national dialogue.
For more information, contact credentials@skilledwork.org.
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