Relational Map coming soon. Learn more about the work we’re doing with AI and view our example prototypes here.
Western Governors University published the Unified Credential Framework (UCF) in March 2022 to ensure that the array of credentials awarded through the university (degrees, competency badges, certificates, certifications, specializations) are relevant, verified, transparent, and portable. The framework provides standard definitions and guidance on the credentials and mastery classes offered by the university to ensure a transparent and consistent credentialing strategy where each skill and credential is backed by clear definitions and value for learners. The framework also enables alignment and crosswalks with external credential and industry frameworks.
Four criteria drive the framework:
The framework focuses on skills because skills are a critical intersection between the worlds of work and learning. Skills are viewed increasingly as the new currency of the labor market globally, and a foundation for bridging the gap between employers, education providers, and individuals’ return on their educational investment. The “tagline” for the framework is “ensuring student-centered value with skills-denominated credentials.”
The framework is predicated on the use of a structured theory for understanding skills and microcredentials to create more transparency into what postsecondary credentials represent, and the value they hold for individuals, employers, and education providers.
While the framework focuses primarily on postsecondary education in the U.S, it also offers two additional types of alignment:
WGU conducted research into the credentialing landscape to inform the development of the framework. Research included looking for standard definitions; studying fundamental credential components and intersections between academic credentials and the workforce; reviewing international models, US-based credentialing initiatives, and other higher education institutions efforts.
Many issues were identified in the research which resulted in key findings including:
The framework was designed with these factors in mind. The model was further conceptualized as one that any organization can implement for a clearer line of sight into the value and relevance of postsecondary credentials, not only WGU.
WGU was established in 1997 as a student-centered university with a competency-based curricular model to create more equitable pathways to opportunity in support of workforce development needs.
In 2020, WGU collaborated with the Open Skills Network (OSN) to develop a universal, machine- and human-readable language for describing skills known as Rich Skill Descriptors (RSD). The RSD is a structured data syntax that provides a common language for defining and describing skills in a way that can be understood by both individuals and technology systems.
In 2024, the WGU Skills Library contained more than 20,000 RSDs that span many job roles and industries. Each RSD in the Skills Library was developed in conjunction with practitioners, employers and hiring managers in their respective industries.
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