Partner As You Go credentials have become an increasingly popular option for individuals seeking work-focused credentials. These credentials are often developed in partnership with business/industry partners and can be integrated into credentialing pathways without a degree or certificate program. The goal is to integrate evaluated workplace learning, training, licenses, or certifications for academic recognition into an academic pathway, giving learners an opportunity to gain both academic and practical skills. Through partnerships with industries, learners can enter institutions as well as return to industry as highly skilled workers. The benefits of these incremental credentials include increased persistence and completion rates, reduced costs, and improved marketability.
One example of an institutional effort to make work-based learning programs more equitable can be seen at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, which audited and revamped its participant outreach and recruitment methods to achieve parity in participation among men from racially minoritized backgrounds.
Credential As You Go has acquired three phases of funding to date. Lumina Foundation funded Phase I, resulting in the Incremental Credential Framework for testing. The Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education funds Phase II (Grant R305T210063), which focuses on rapid prototyping of and research on incremental credentials with a national campaign. An anonymous private donor fund at the Program on Skills, Credentials & Workforce Policy at George Washington University funds the development of the prototype Learn and Work Ecosystem Library. Walmart funds Phase III, which focuses on systems change for expansion and sustainability of incremental credentials. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of Lumina Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education, Walmart, or George Washington University.
