The National Student Clearinghouse estimates that approximately 36 million American adults have some college experience, but no degree. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 71 million adults have a high school diploma or equivalent, but no college experience (63 million of these are ages 25 or older). Even more concerning is the discrepancy in college enrollment and completion rates across race and ethnicity, age, income, and other minority groups.
With these statistics in mind, a new initiative, Credential as You Go, is exploring the feasibility of a nationally recognized, incremental credentialing system in higher education which expands upon existing certificates and degrees at the associate, bachelor’s, and graduate degree levels. A significant part of this work will be to recognize learner’s prior knowledge (either through formal education and/or work experience) to award credit when credit is due, while cutting down on time-to-degree and related student loan debt. This initiative aims to increase the number of individuals who hold high-quality college credentials to better position learners for employability in a changing landscape.
Over the course of the next year, Credential as You Go will conduct background research and develop a proposal that will serve as the foundation to create a national campaign towards an incremental credentialing system. Credential as You Go is a grant-funded initiative supported by Lumina Foundation.
The College of Education’s own Dr. Natasha Jankowski, executive director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) and research associate professor with the department of education policy, organization and leadership, will be on the advisory board. Dr. Gianina Baker, NILOA Assistant Director, serves as a researcher on the initiative. Together, they will help find examples of practice and provide insights to help guide the project’s next steps. Spearheading the project is Dr. Nan Travers, NILOA Senior Scholar and Director of the Center for Leadership in Credentialing Learning (CL2) at SUNY Empire State College.
