Retro Award As You Go credentials recognize learning that has already been acquired but not yet officially recognized with a credential. These credentials often target adult learners who have completed some college coursework but do not hold a degree or certificate. They may also recognize learning milestones reached before completing a degree, such as general education requirements. Retro Award As You Go credentials can provide a way for learners to earn credentials for what they already know and can do, and they offer pathways toward degree completion and/or workplace advancement. Additionally, these credentials link general education studies with many different fields and industries and formally recognize prior learning.
Historically excluded or overlooked populations are disproportionately represented among students who have earned sufficient credit for a credential, but have not been awarded one. Recognizing this missed opportunity for students—and for their families, potential employers, and communities—so-called “reverse transfer” ensures students are awarded the degrees they have earned. According to the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), the reverse transfer process allows students who have completed degree requirements at a four-year institution to combine credits from their four-year institution with those they previously earned at a community college to be awarded an associate degree. The primary goal of reverse transfer is to ensure that students are given the degrees they have earned by transferring credits earned at a four-year institution back to the two-year institution where they started. A recent Texas study revealed that Latina/Latino students, those from low-income backgrounds, and adult learners who receive a reclaimed associate degree through reverse transfer benefit from statewide reverse transfer policies and are more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than are peers who are not awarded a degree before transferring.
Related work/initiatives:
Halley Sutton – Increase completion rates, degree equity with reverse credit transfer
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.