Credentials & Providers

Overview

Credentials and providers comprise a main building block in the learn-and-work ecosystem. The process and design used to develop and award credentials  is credentialing. 

A credential is a documented award by a responsible and authorized body that attests that an individual has achieved specific learning outcomes or attained a defined level of knowledge or skill relative to a given standard. The credential is an enabling mechanism for promoting educational, social, and/or economic mobility. 

There are many types of credentials. Credential is an umbrella term that includes different kinds of degrees and non-degrees (also known as alternative credentials). Non-degree credentials include diplomas, licenses, certificates, badges, and professional/industry certifications. The term microcredential is often used to describe a credential that is less than a degree, though the term is also used to define an online credential. These different types of credentials serve different purposes (e.g., to validate  completion of a program of study, verify an individual’s qualifications, or document achievement of specific competencies). 

Credentials are awarded by different types of entities, including educational institutions, professional and industry certifying bodies, and state licensure boards. They are awarded based on different frameworks (e.g., higher education program requirements, industry-validated competencies and mastery levels, certification and licensure board definitions). They are subject to different quality assurance processes (e.g., higher education accreditation, third-party validation, state reviews). They may be assessment ─ or participation-based, and they may be delivered using digital technology, which allows them to be easily shared or embedded in learner profiles. 

Credential providers are the entities authorized to determine and distribute credentials to learners. There are many types of providers, including secondary schools; community colleges; technical schools; four-year colleges and universities; military; business and professional associations; professional certification bodies; boot camps and governments for licenses, certificates, and industry-awarded certifications; and companies. 

The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act defines credentialing in a workforce context. The  main purpose of credentialing is to provide high-quality education, training, and other services that:

• Align with the skill needs of employers.
• Prepare an individual to succeed in secondary and postsecondary education.
• Includes support services such as counseling to help individuals achieve their education and career goals.
• Include, as appropriate, education offered concurrently with workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
• Organize education, training, and other services to accelerate the educational and career advancement of the individual to the extent practicable.
• Enable individuals to attain a secondary school diploma (or recognized equivalent) and at least one recognized postsecondary credential.
• Help an individual enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.

The U.S. credentialing ecosystem developed over time to meet the needs of society and economic structures in which a single credential often served an individual well for a stable career over a lifetime. But today’s economy and society depend on ever-higher levels of knowledge and the ability to rapidly evolve and adapt to changing circumstances. Credentials have proliferated to meet the needs of the diverse, 21st century knowledge economy. In the rapidly changing credentialing arena, there is a lack of understanding about what credentials are, what makes them valuable, how that value varies across different types of credentials for different stakeholders, what constitutes quality, and how credentials are connected to each other and to opportunities for the people who have earned them.

A newer development in credentialing is the trend among companies to move beyond training their own employees or provide tuition assistance programs to help them pursue higher education. A number of employers are also developing their own curricula and expanding their publicly facing credential offerings. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that a wider array of high-value, non-degree credentials is here to stay. Strada Education Network’s national consumer surveys have found that more and more American adults are considering pursuing a certificate, industry certification, or license. The digital credentialing platform Credly reports that the number of organizations issuing industry and workforce credentials is up 83 percent since the pandemic. In publicly traded online education company 2U’s last fiscal year, “alternative credential” revenue surged 83 percent to $288 million. And Coursera’s IPO filing in March 2021 showed booming business in professional certificate offerings from both universities and companies.

Relationship to the Ecosystem

Credentials are a major component of the learn-and-work ecosystem, particularly the learning (education) system which focuses on preparing learners to transition into and progress through the workforce. Credential providers determine the recruitment of individuals to their courses and programs, and the design, content, and distribution of credentials in academia and the workforce.  

Examples

• As described by Credential Engine in  Counting U.S. Postsecondary and Secondary Credentials 2022, four types of credential providers award more than 1 million unique credentials in the U.S.: postsecondary educational institutions; massive open online course (MOOC) providers; non-academic providers; and secondary schools.
• The American Council on Education’s Quality Dimensions for Connected Credentials defines different types of credentials, lists six dimensions of quality in connected credentials (transparency, modularity, portability, relevance, validity, and equity), and uses these criteria to assess the connectedness of different types of credentials. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Quality-Dimensions-for-Connected-Credentials.pdf
• Understanding Certifications—from the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, WorkCred, and the George Washington University of Public Policy—is a primer to help policymakers and practitioners navigate the complex landscape of certifications. https://skilledwork.org/publications/understanding-certifications/
• Certifications: The Ideal, Reality and Potential summarizes key findings from a study of certifications, including recommendations for actions by certification bodies, governments and employers and topics that warrant further research. https://skilledwork.org/publications/certifications-the-ideal-reality-and-potential/
• Google offers its popular Google Career Certificates portfolio. This has included more than 100,000 scholarships and a hiring network of more than 130 partner employers.
• IBM runs a digital badging program that has awarded millions of credentials and grew 61 percent between 2019 and 2020.
• HubSpot issues its own certifications and partners with colleges to integrate them into curriculum. In 2020, certification issuance was up approximately 70 percent. 

The stacking of employer-issued credentials to create new pathways into college degree and certificate programs is an increasing trend. Partnerships with community colleges are central to Google’s approach. Northeastern University articulated IBM’s digital badges and Google’s IT certificate for degree program credit.

Alternative Terminology

• Qualification is the formal outcome of an assessment and validation process which is obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved learning outcomes to given standards. Connecting Credentials – Glossary of Credentialing Terminology (June 2016). The term especially is used outside the United States, in the context of qualifications frameworks. Such frameworks are formalized structures in which learning-level descriptors and qualifications are used to understand learning outcomes and develop, assess, and improve quality education in a number of contexts.
• Credentialing pathway is used synonymously with career pathway 
• Degree-granting institutions
• Credentialing institutions
• Accredited organizations
• Approved institutions