Moving from a Degree-Centric Postsecondary System to an Incremental Credentialing System: What Happens to Learners’ Financing Options?

What CAYG Is Doing in Phase Two

Transforming the Credentialing System in the U.S.

To transform our legacy degree system into a nationally recognized transferable incremental credentialing system, we must:

  • increase national awareness of and value for incremental credentials
  • ensure equity, quality, and integrity of incremental credentials
  • develop purposeful policy and practice reforms to support incremental credentialing
  • align this work with other efforts within the learn and work ecosystem

Initially, six areas are targeted to increase the adaptability, scalability, and sustainability of incremental credentialing practices:

  1. Framing the National Campaign – We will develop strategies to increase awareness of and value for incremental credentialing by centering on priority audiences – learners, employers, policymakers, and educators.
  2. Equity and Inclusion – We will support incremental credentialing strategies that expand career and educational pathways options and avoid ‘dead-end’ shorter-term credentials, increasing the recognition and credentialing of knowledge and skills as they are developed.
  3. Trust – We believe that trust is a crucial element to achieving a nationally recognized incremental credentialing system. We will explore how to develop and sustain trust in incremental credentials across different stakeholders.
  4. Rapid Prototyping and Research – Using the Incremental Credentialing Model, we will support many incremental credentials across different state systems and institutions, in conjunction with industry partners. We will conduct research on learner outcomes and revise the model based on results to move toward a national framework.
  5. Policy Reform – We know widespread change in the credentialing system cannot happen without changes in federal, quality assurance, accreditation, state, educational system and institution, and industry and individual business polices. We will conduct a deep-dive analysis of current policy initiatives and advocate for reform across all sectors.
  6. Learn & Work Ecosystem Library – We know this work cannot be done in isolation and that there are many other related initiatives in the credentialing space. We also know that finding information on credentialing and various initiatives can be like finding a needle in a haystack. We will create a robust portal that will serve as a curated library of resources to support all who are working in the credentialing space and build toward a well-functioning and connected learn and work ecosystem.

Improving Education and Employment Outcomes