Academic advising

Academic advising is the collaborative process by which students engage with a member of their institution (professor, mentor, or advisor) to receive direction or advice on academic or personal decisions. The purpose of this process is to counsel or inform students, so they get the most of their college experience. Advising includes establishing educational goals or milestones based on the student’s interests and intentions.

Accreditation

According to the U.S. Department of Education, accreditation is the process of assessment meant to improve academic quality and institutional accountability by an established set of standards to ensure a basic level of quality. Accreditation covers both the initial and ongoing approval of an educational institution or program. Entire schools or institutions can be accredited (referred to as institutional accreditation), as can individual schools, programs, or departments (referred to as specialized or programmatic accreditation). Accreditation can be conducted on the national, state, or private organizational levels. The accrediting agency establishes an agreed-on set of standards, evaluates organizations or institutions, and then re-evaluates the provider on a set schedule—typically, every five or ten years.

Achievement Wallet

A comprehensive repository that bridges the worlds of education and employment by capturing an individual's formal and informal educational experiences, professional development achievements, soft skills, and industry-specific training programs. The approach provides a more complete picture of an individual's abilities and experiences than is available with traditional academic transcripts and resumes. Employers may use the Wallet to verify and assess credentials, skills, and achievements -- this occurs by jobseekers uploading and tagging in multiple formats demonstrations of their skills directly to employers (e.g., a video of a sales presentation or adding a publication to their Wallet).

Adult Education

Refers to a range of adult education and literacy programs including Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Family Literacy, Skills Development, Workforce Development, and other programs which assist undereducated and/or disadvantaged adults to function effectively. Adult education programs typically focus on numeracy, literacy, high school equivalency, digital literacy, workplace readiness training, and wraparound services. Programs are often set up to help adults with particular needs; e.g., workforce readiness to get a new job, learning how to use a computer, or learning to speak English.

There are an estimated 44 million adults with low basic skills in the U.S.; federally funded adult education assists about 1.5 million annually to earn a high school equivalency, increase basic and employability skills, or improve their English language proficiency (Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act).

A fast-growing sector of adult education is English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), also referred to as English as a second language (ESL) or English language learners (ELL). These courses assist immigrants in acquiring English language skills and acclimating to the culture of English-speaking countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Adult Learners

Adult learners are known by a variety of names: nontraditional students, adult students, returning adults, adult returners, mature learners, comebackers. Common characteristics: usually 25 or older; delayed entering college for at least one year following high school; usually employed full-time; often have a family and dependents to support; may have started college as a traditional student but needed to take time off to address other responsibilities; looking to enhance their professional lives or may be switching careers; have more experience than traditional students, having already started a career or served in the military; more mature, independent, and motivated than traditional students.

Alternative Credential Platforms

Nontraditional and digital credentials are offered through a higher education institution's partnerships with approved third-party vendors. These alternative credentials may be viewed as pathways to obtain attainable and accessible education. Such courses or modules may be used as supplemental materials to instruction provided within the higher education institution's graded, organized courses or offered as a stand-alone program. Digital badge awards do not typically come with letter grades upon completion, nor add or subtract to an enrolled student's grade point average (GPA), nor produce a GPA for non-enrolled students.  An institution's Transfer Credit typically addresses whether academic credit may be earned within these platforms.

Alternative Credentials

Alternative credentials are competencies, skills, and learning outcomes derived from assessment-based, non-degree activities that align to specific, timely needs in the workforce. Different types of alternative credentials include but are not limited to: (1) Digital Badge—verified indicator of accomplishment, skill, knowledge, experience, etc. that can be earned in a variety of learning environments. Digital badges are awarded based on competency, not necessarily the completion of a program. The badge itself is an icon that can be displayed on a website, profile, email signature or anywhere else on the Internet. (2) Verified Certificate—awarded to indicate completion of an online course, especially a MOOC. Students must complete all program requirements and then verify their identity before receiving the credential. Course sequences are a form of verified certificates that indicate a pathway of courses for learning a specific topic.(3) Microcredential—highly specific, competency-based degree or certification. Microcredentials are often created and chosen to align a student’s needs with instructional goals. The credential is earned upon the completion of certain activities, tasks, projects, and/or assessments.

Alternative Provider

The American Council on Education (ACE) defines alternative providers as an organization that is not a public or private institution of higher education that delivers postsecondary content and/or provides skills training and support services that connects learner to the labor market, either independently or in partnership with colleges and universities.

Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is an all-in-one human resource(HR) software that automates the hiring process. It helps HR teams manage every part of recruitment (from job posting to onboarding): (1) stores job candidate information, including resumés, cover letters, references, and other recruitment and hiring data that HR teams can easily access and organize; (2) tracks job candidates and their application status throughout the hiring pipeline; (3) weeds out unqualified candidates and recommends the best fit for a position based on the parameters set by HR and only those on the shortlist are moved to the next stage of the hiring process; (4) automates time-consuming administrative tasks such as manually screening applicants, reading resumés, scheduling interviews, and sending notifications and emails to job candidates and employees.

Applied Liberal Arts

A liberal arts degree is a bachelor's degree earned in certain liberal arts majors in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and fine arts. A liberal arts degree does not typically focus on a career-specific curriculum as many other college majors do, such as computer science, marketing, engineering, and nursing. Growing employer interest in skills-based hiring is spurring higher education institutions to build into the liberal arts curricula digital and other skills that can help graduates compete for a first job. Applied liberal arts refers to approaches to integrating skills content into liberal arts degrees. Approaches include: 1) offering an Interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree, often known as Applied Liberal Arts (ALA); 2) offering a Bachelor of Science in Applied Liberal Studies as a way of combining the liberal arts foundation with more specialized areas of interest; and 3) integrating skills content (e.g., digital badges, microcredentials) into majors in the liberal arts. The aim of these approaches is to ensure solid grounding in the liberal arts coupled with courses pertinent to the workplace such as project management, data visualization and analysis, design thinking, conflict resolution, public speaking, leadership, dialogue and intercultural exploration, health and wellness, social innovation, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. Skills such as these can be embedded into humanities, math, science, fine arts, and social sciences disciplines – and when this occurs, these are often referred to as applied liberal arts.

Alternative terms: Applied Liberal Studies, Liberal & Applied Studies

Apprenticeship Intermediary

As the youth apprenticeship field in the U.S. expands in scale and scope, so too has the expansion of organizations to support the development and successful implementation of apprenticeship initiatives. The term, “apprenticeship intermediary,” has been coined to refer to the function and focus of intermediary organizations that serve the needs of students, educational institutions, communities, and workforce partners in the apprenticeship field.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway that combines classroom instruction with on-the-job experience. Through apprenticeships, employers can prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience while earning a nationally recognized, portable credential. Employers can choose to register their programs with the U.S. Department of Labor to show prospective job seekers that their apprenticeship program meets national quality standards.

Articulation / Transfer

Transferring occurs from one educational institution to another. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, over a million students have transferred among colleges since 2015. Students can transfer from a community college or two-year program to a four-year college or university to graduate with both an associate and bachelor’s degree (this is called reverse transfer). Students can transfer in between all types of institutions – private, public, large, small, community, and research. Students can also transfer college credits from a high school dual-credit program to a two- or four-year program, and can use those credits toward their degree. Transfer includes the transition of credits from one institution to another, while still maintaining the value of those credits. Course articulation is an important part of that. Course articulation is the process of comparing the content of courses that are transferred between postsecondary institutions – one institution matches its courses or requirements to coursework completed at another institution. Transfer systems can be set up within states or systems. To make this process easier, some schools offer guaranteed transfer credit acceptance if students transfer from pre-approved schools.

Artificial intelligence (AI), Generative AI, & AI Prompts

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of a computer or computer-controlled robot to imitate human brain functions.  Machines use the application of computer science through algorithms to process large data sets to perform tasks typically associated with intelligent beings, such as the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize, synthesize, and learn from past experiences.  Through rapid advances in computer processing, speed, and memory capacity, AI is used for more and more sophisticated applications such as medical diagnosis; computer search engines; voice, face, and handwriting recognition; and chatbots.

Generative AI refers to AI able to generate text, images, or other media in response to prompts. Generative AI models process large data sets of natural language, code language, and images to create new content in these forms (natural language, code language, images) and other data forms. Examples include ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Bard. Many applications are using generative AI in the fields of art, marketing, writing, software development, product design, healthcare, finance, gaming, fashion, and education (in teaching, learning, student support services, and administrative supports).

AI prompts are any form of text, question, information, or coding that communicate to AI what response(s) are being sought.

Other terms for AI include machine learning (ML) and deep learning.

Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institution (AANAPISI)

Refers to an institution of higher learning with an undergraduate population that is at least 10% Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander. This designation is defined under the Higher Education Act (HEA) and is granted by the U.S. Department of Education to support eligible colleges and universities in improving and expanding their capacity to serve Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander learners. There are approximately 200 AANAPISIs in 27 states and territories, mostly clustered on the west coast, in Hawaii and the Pacific territories, as well as New York.

Assertion 

In badging, refers to representations that share information about a badge belonging to one earner. Assertions are packaged for transmission as JSON objects with a set of mandatory and optional properties. The assertion typically includes information about who earned the badge, what the badge represents, and who issued the badge. The assertion for a badge includes data items required by the Open Badges Specification: unique ID, recipient, badge URL, verification data, issue date. Optional data items include a badge image with assertion data baked into it, evidence URL, expire date, and stored location in a hosted file or JSON Web signature.

Assessment

The process of evaluating or measuring an individual's skills, knowledge, or performance against predetermined criteria or standards. Assessment gathers information about what someone knows, understands, or can do to make informed decisions about their progress, abilities, or areas for improvement. Common methods:

• Written exams/tests that assess knowledge and understanding via questions or prompts presented in written form.
• Oral exams/presentations that assess verbal communication skills, comprehension, and ability to articulate ideas effectively, commonly taking the form of individual presentations, group discussions, or oral exams.
• Projects/assignments that require individuals to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world tasks or scenarios.
• Practical assessments that assess hands-on skills and abilities such as laboratory experiments, artistic performances, or technical demonstrations. They are common in science, art, engineering, and career and technical education.
• Portfolios compile samples of an individual's work to demonstrate achievement and competency in specific areas. They often include written essays, artwork, and design projects.
• Observations assess an individual's performance or behavior in real-life situations, such as classroom activities, clinical settings, or workplace tasks.
• Standardized tests assess knowledge, critical thinking, or other formal assessments with uniform administration and scoring procedures.

Assessments often vary within K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and the workplace.

• Elementary and secondary schools focus on foundational knowledge and skills across various subjects. They may include standardized tests mandated by state or national education authorities, as well as teacher-created assessments tailored to specific curriculum standards.
• Colleges and universities focus on more specialized, deeper understanding, critical thinking, and application of knowledge within specific disciplines or majors. Assessment methods include exams, research papers, presentations, and practical demonstrations.
• Employers focus on practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and job-specific competencies relevant to the position. Employers use a variety of methods such as job simulations, interviews, skills assessments, and performance evaluations to assess candidates during the hiring process, and evaluate employees' ongoing performance and development including assessment to guide upskilling/reskilling needs.

Assessment in Badging

Refers to an assessment conducted when a badge issuer captures an earner's applications for a badge through the issuer's website. The earner typically submits evidence in support of the application. The issuer then assesses by comparing the evidence to the badge criteria defined when the badge was created. If an application for a badge is successful, the issuer awards it to the earner, creating an assertion and typically contacting the earner.

Auto-award

With the advent of degree audit software, the software can be used to audit coursework students have completed and automatically award degrees and certificates if they have completed the required coursework. This is practiced as a method for increasing degree and certificate completion,

Badge Baking

The process of embedding assertion data into a badge image.

Badge, Skills Badge, Open Badge, Competency Badge

Badges are tools to represent someone’s achievements, certifications, or abilities. There are several types of badges such as digital badges, skills badges, open badges, and competency badges. A badge is usually digital and has underlying metadata that represents a shareable learner achievement and/or credential earned. Open Badges are digital badges that contain embedded metadata about skills and achievements. They are shareable across the web. Competency badges represent single or sets of competencies with defined market value in professional or academic settings. Competency badges are usually offered through microcredential or degree programs. A skill badge is earned through completion of a series of tasks or labs, and then a final assessment or challenge to test a learner's skills. A certification badge validates an individual's knowledge and understanding.

Blockchain

Blockchain is a shared, distributed ledger technology in which records are stored together as blocks of information connected to other similar blocks of information. Blockchain use in educational records rests on the premise that giving learners access to and control over their educational records enables the easier sharing of their knowledge, skills, and work experience with employers and educational providers. This opens avenues to start or further their careers and increase their economic and social mobility.

Blue Economy

In Europe, the fishing and aquaculture sectors are known as the "Blue Economy" with the recognition that food-related challenges are central to the planet's future and intersect many other aspects, such as environmental sustainability, health, workers' rights, and technologies to improve the supply chain. More than 20 million people are estimated to be employed in aquaculture, and that number is expected to grow significantly.

Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES)

Regional education service organizations in the United States, commonly found in Colorado and New York. These entities provide shared educational programs and services to multiple school districts within a defined geographic area. BOCES aim to enhance educational efficiency and effectiveness by offering specialized resources, such as career and technical education, special education, and professional development, which might be challenging for individual school districts to provide independently. BOCES operate as collaborative entities, fostering educational partnerships and resource-sharing among participating school districts to address a variety of academic and operational needs.

Bologna Process

Seeks to bring coherence to higher education systems across Europe. It established the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) to facilitate student and staff mobility, make higher education more inclusive and accessible, and make higher education in Europe more attractive and competitive worldwide. As part of the EHEA, participating countries agree to: introduce a 3-cycle higher education system consisting of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral studies; ensure mutual recognition of qualifications and learning periods abroad completed at other universities; and implement a system of quality assurance, to strengthen the quality and relevance of learning and teaching. Launched with the Bologna Declaration of 1999, the Bologna process is implemented in 49 countries, which define the EHEA. To become a member of the EHEA, countries have to be party to the European Cultural Convention and declare their willingness to pursue and implement the objectives of the Bologna Process in their own systems of higher education.

Boot Camp

In the learn-and-work ecosystem, refers to short-term, specialized and intensive training focused on technical skills, often in the Information Technology (IT) sector (for example, Coder, Web Developer, Software Development, Python Programming Skills). Boot camps are often offered by third-party providers as well as by colleges and universities that partner with third-party providers. Many bootcamps partner with major hiring companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon.

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Career and Technical Education, often abbreviated as CTE, refers to skills-based teaching at the middle school, high school, and postsecondary levels. CTE programs provide hands-on and realistic experience, where students learn technical and employable skills required for specific jobs or fields of work. CTE programs are typically developed with input from industry partners to be responsive to workforce needs. 

CTE is also referred to as work-based learning (WBL). 

Career Coaches

Career coaches are experts in career planning, resumé building, negotiation, and interviewing. A career coach helps working professionals and recent graduates make educated decisions about their careers. Career coaches focus on actions, results, and accountability, seeking to inspire and empower their clients to set and achieve career goals.

Career Counselors

Career counselors work mostly with college students and recent graduates. They are frequently found in community colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, and high schools.

Career Navigation

Career navigation services help individuals of all ages understand how their personal interests, abilities, and values can help shape their educational and career goals and contribute to their success. A range of providers offer career navigation services including school and college counselors, third-party career counselors (working in-person and online), military transition centers and recruiters, prison centers/offender rehabilitative services, immigration centers, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Career Networking (Job Seeking through Networking)

Career networking (also known as job seeking through networking) uses an individual’s networks (family contacts, professional colleagues, friends and other personal contacts) in career development.  Career development can include job searching such as learning about career fields, job opportunities, and companies an individual may be interested in working in; and ways to achieve career goals. Technology is increasingly important to career networking; for example, social networks like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Linkedin, and online job-matching platforms like ZipRecruiter, Monster, and Career Builder.

See Topic: Social Capital

Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education®

A framework used to categorize nearly 4,000 thousand higher education institutions in the United States.  Carnegie Classifications are used in the study of higher education, including in research study design to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students, and/or faculty. First published in 1973, the framework is updated every 3 years to reflect changes among colleges and universities.

There are two types of classifications: (1) Universal classifications are 6 types of organizational groupings and labels given to all degree-granting institutions in the U.S.:  Basic, Undergraduate Instructional Program, Graduate Instructional Program, Enrollment Profile, Undergraduate Profile, Size and Setting. Classifications are based on the data the institutions report to federal sources, including the National Center for Education Statistics and National Science Foundation. (2) Elective includes 2 types that institutions must apply for: Classification for Community Engagement and Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose. These require documentation of institutional policy and practices focusing on areas such as institutional culture and mission, curricular and co-curricular programming, continuous improvement activities, and the recruitment and reward of faculty, staff, and students.

In 2022, the American Council on Education (ACE) began a partnership with the Carnegie Foundation to take stewardship of both the Universal classifications (previously managed by Indiana University-Bloomington), and the Elective classifications. ACE and the Carnegie Foundation are collaborating on the vision and future of the framework including revising the methodology for the Basic classification, adding a Social and Economic Mobility Universal classification, and expanding the suite of Elective classifications.

CASE Network: Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange® (CASE®)

Refers to the 1EdTech standard that enables consistent format and exchange of information about learning and education competencies, skills, or academic standards in an open, machine-readable format. The CASE Network was launched by the 1EdTech community to enable all 50 U.S. states to use interoperable academic standards and national learning standards. Through CASE, it is possible to electronically exchange outcomes, skills, and competency definitions so that applications, tools, and platforms can access the data. This enables school districts, schools, and other users in the learn-and-work ecosystem to act upon this data and support instruction accurately. The Network has built a central repository of K-12 state academic standards and competencies frameworks (414), and other national learning standards. These are available in 11 categories: English Language Arts; Math; Science; Social Studies; World Languages; Computer Science; Fine Arts; Health; Physical Education; Career/Tech; Other.

Causal Research

In research, provides evidence of the effectiveness of a program, intervention, or policy change on one or more desired outcomes. Well-designed studies will provide a credible simulation of the program, intervention, or policy change ("solution") with an unbiased comparison group because it is not possible to observe the difference between outcomes for those receiving a solution, given concerns those outcomes would have happened had the same people not received this solution during the same timeframe.

Certificate

Type of award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education institution indicating the satisfactory completion of a non-degree program of study. Typically, the course requirements for earning a certificate are less than those for earning a degree. Most certificates require no more than one year of full-time academic effort. A certificate may be for-credit (academic certificate) or non-credit (continuing education certificate). They are not time limited and do not need to be renewed.

Certification

Awarded by certification bodies—typically nonprofit organizations, professional associations, industry and trade organizations, or businesses—based on an individual demonstrating, through an examination process, that she/he has acquired the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a specific occupation or job. Depending on the certification body, they may be called industry or professional certifications. Although training may be provided, certifications are not tied to completion of a program of study as are certificates. They are time limited and may be renewed through a re-certification process. Some certifications can be revoked for a violation of a code of ethics (if applicable) or proven incompetence after due process.

Challenge Exams

In credit for prior learning (also known as prior learning assessment, recognition of prior learning, lifelong learning credit, or experiential learning) refers to the assessment in which academic discipline faculty in colleges/universities administer locally developed examinations to determine whether a student can illustrate the learning outcomes of a course.  Challenge exams are known by terms such as institutional exams, credit by exam, departmental exams, or proficiency exams. The assessment process provides academic departments the flexibility to tailor exams to fit specific course curricula, give program faculty confidence the exams reflect an appropriate level of academic rigor, and provides faculty direct control of the assessment process.

Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)

The U.S. Department of Education developed a classification of instructional programs (CIP) in 1980 which is typically updated every 10 years.  The CIP provides a taxonomic scheme (some 60 fields of study) that supports the tracking and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity across the U.S.  The majority of CIP titles correspond to academic and occupational instructional programs offered for credit at the postsecondary level. These programs result in recognized completion points and awards, including degrees, certificates, and other formal awards. The CIP also includes instructional programs such as residency programs in various health professions that may lead to advanced professional certification; personal improvement and leisure programs; and programs taught in schools of continuing education and professional development (the majority of the latter group are non-credit). The CIP is the accepted federal government standard on instructional program classifications and is used in a variety of education information surveys and databases.

See Topic: Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) | Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (learnworkecosystemlibrary.com)

Common Job Description

A job description explains the tasks, duties, functions, and responsibilities of a position. A common job description outlines the expectations of a job in a way that is comparable to other similar positions.

Community College Baccalaureate

Community college baccalaureates are new forms of baccalaureate degrees conferred by community colleges, which have historically awarded the associate degree as their highest credential. About half of the states provide authorization for some or all of their community colleges to award baccalaureate degrees.

Compensation

Refers to all sources of employee earnings, including hourly wages, salaries, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and benefits. Benefits refer to options with monetary value including health insurance, dental insurance, disability insurance, and access/contributions to pensions and retirement savings accounts.

Competence Framework

Defines the competencies needed to identify, evaluate, and recognize effective performance attached to a job role or occupation, usually in the workplace. Frameworks are often used as a guide to design training and learning activities; evaluate individual and team performance; recognize achievements and issue records of achievement; and identify individual, organization and industry sector needs, career planning, and managing talent.

See: Skills Framework

Competency

A measurable, assessable capability of an individual that integrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions required to successfully perform tasks at a determined level in a defined setting.

Competency-based Education (CBE)

Competency-based learning, or competency-based education, often abbreviated as CBE, is a framework for instruction and assessment focused on students demonstrating defined learning objectives or competencies rather than content completion and curriculum schedules.  Students in such a framework typically work at their own pace, using learned knowledge and skills to demonstrate mastery of a subject. At some institutions of higher education, competency-based education courses begin and end throughout the year, independent of a traditional academic calendar.

Competency-based programs

Competency-based programs transparently communicate the learning objectives students must achieve to earn degrees and other credentials; enable students with existing knowledge and skills to personalize their educations and accelerate progress towards completion; use technology that enables students to learn anytime, anywhere, at prices they can afford’ and integrate support from faculty, mentors, and coaches that can build confidence needed for success, aimed at creating fair and just educational results.

Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs)

Seek to capture, record, and communicate learning when and where it happens in a student’s higher education experience. This includes learning from courses, programs, and degrees, as well as experience outside the classroom that helps students develop career-ready skills and abilities (often known as co-curricular learning). A growing list of colleges and universities and third-party intermediaries are working to make CLRs more widely adopted as a way to more accurately and fully validate individuals’ skills and competencies.

Concept Map

A diagram that shows the relationships among ideas to help users understand how ideas are connected. Concept maps are generally composed of two elements: concepts (usually represented by circles, ovals, or boxes and are called nodes); and relationships (usually represented by arrows that connect the concepts; the arrows often include a connecting word or verb and these arrows are called cross-links.  There are four types of common concept maps: (1) spider maps, (2) flowcharts, (2) hierarchy maps, and (3) system maps.

See Relational Mapping (used at Learn & Work Ecosystem Library)

Concurrent Enrollment (Dual Enrollment)

Concurrent or dual enrollment means taking college courses while still in high school. Dual-enrollment courses are taught by college-approved high school teachers in a secondary education environment. Students earn transcripted college credit when they pass the course, based on multiple and varied assessments throughout the course.

Course Articulation

Course articulation is the process of comparing the content of courses that are transferred between postsecondary institutions; i.e., . In course articulation, one institution matches its courses or requirements to coursework completed at another institution. Course articulation is distinct from the process of acceptance by one institution of earned credit from another institution, as applicable towards its degree requirements in transferring credit.

Credential

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. Credential is often viewed as an umbrella term that includes degrees, diplomas, licenses, certificates, badges, and professional and industry certifications. Some do not include degrees within the term, credentials, creating confusion as to whether degrees are credentials.

Credential As You Go

An initiative working toward a nationally recognized transferrable incremental credentialing system that increases the number of high-quality, post-high school credentials that lead to further education and employment. The system captures and verifies learning that is currently uncounted, enabling individuals to be recognized for what they know and can do as they acquire it; provides pathways for learners to continue their education, increasing their ability to gain higher credentials and better employment.

Credential Management System (CMS)

Credential Management System (CMS) is a broad term that refers to the software used for issuing and managing credentials. Governments and other enterprises employ CMS software to issue and manage credentials using an array of devices, including laptop computers, smart cards, smartphones, and USB keys. (Wikipedia)

In the higher education and third-party credentialing arena, the term is commonly used to refer to integrated Credential Management Systems (Credential As You Go, Playbook on Technology-Integrated Credential Management). Integrated CMS use a comprehensive solution for managing a variety of credentials. The system streamlines the entire life cycle of credentialing—from a credential’s proposal and development to its issuance and verification. CMS operations typically include: conducting academic program reviews and documenting approvals; creating catalogs and marketing materials; processing learner applications; managing scheduling and enrollment; handling finances/billing; tracking individual learners’ progress; providing counseling/advising; conducting audits; issuing credentials; managing learner transcripts; facilitating graduation communications; and generating internal and external reports.

To support these operations, many credential providers rely on a variety of IT systems and applications. By leveraging systems effectively and ensuring their seamless integration, entities can streamline credential management processes, enhance data accuracy, and improve overall operational efficiency. The most commonly used systems and applications include:

• Student Information Systems (SIS): Platforms used to store and manage learner data, including enrollment, academic records, and personal information.
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): Platforms that facilitate online learning and course management, enabling institutions to deliver educational content, track learner progress, and assess performance.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: Systems that help credential providers manage interactions with current and prospective learners and other stakeholders, including tracking communication, managing inquiries, and supporting enrollment processes.
• Document Management Systems: Systems that provide a centralized repository for storing and organizing credential-related documents such as transcripts, certificates, and other supporting materials.
• Financial Management Systems: Systems that handle financial transactions related to credential offerings, including billing, payment processing, and financial reporting.
• Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS): Platforms that support employee management, including credential-related roles such as faculty and administrative staff.
• Reporting and Analytics Tools: Tools that enable credential providers to generate insights from credential data, track performance, and make informed decisions.
• Collaboration and Content Management System (CMS) tools: Tools that facilitate communication among stakeholders involved in the credentialing process, including websites, resources, email, messaging platforms, and project management software.

Credential Registry

The Credential Registry (Registry), operated by Credential Engine, is a public, cloud-based system available to anyone seeking information about a variety of credentials and skills in an easily-accessible format. Users can explore competencies, learning outcomes, up-to-date market values, and career pathways and reference data on credential attainment and quality assurance at schools, professional associations, certification organizations, and the military, to name a few. The Registry updates when a credential is no longer offered or an institution offering that credential closes, but the historical data still remains in the Registry.

Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL)

Credential Engine developed the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) to ensure that data related to credentials and skills speak a common language. The CTDL is a schema (a type of mini-language that people and systems can use to understand each other even if their data comes from different sources and that anyone can use to share information about credentialing data. The CTDL provides a common and unified way of describing information in the Credential Registry, and also an open language that can be used on the Web.

Credit Evaluation

Refers to the policies and practices conducted by a higher education institution when a student transfers to it from another institution. The receiving institution typically evaluates the student’s transcript and decides which courses will transfer and apply to the student’s degree or certificate completion, which courses will transfer as elective credits, and which courses will not transfer. These processes are carried out manually by many institutions and can create financial disincentives for awarding degree-applicable credit given the complexity of some transfer situations. The field is moving toward sharing digital credentials to speed up the process and reduce costs for institutions, however, progress is moving slowly.

Credit for Prior Learning

Prior learning assessment (aka recognition of prior learning) is a term used for various methods of valuing college-level learning that has taken place outside of formal educational institutions, that can be assessed to count toward degrees or other credentials. Common assessment methods: (1) Standardized examination such as students earning credit by successfully completing exams such as Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Excelsior exams (UExcel), DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST).(2) Faculty-developed challenge exam in which students take a comprehensive examination developed by campus faculty. (3) Portfolio-based and other individualized assessment in which students prepare a portfolio or demonstration of their learning from a variety of experiences and non-credit activities and faculty evaluate the portfolio and award credit as appropriate. (4) Evaluation of non-college programs in which students earn credit based on recommendations provided by the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) and the American Council on Education (ACE) that conduct evaluations of training offered by employers or the military. Institutions also conduct their own review of programs, including coordinating with workforce development agencies and other training providers to develop crosswalks that map between external training/credentials and existing degree programs.

Credit Mobility

Refers to the ability of learners to receive and carry with them verified college-level credit from a variety of high-quality learning experiences. These often include credit from dual enrollment (concurrent enrollment), work-based learning, military experience, digital badging, and prior learning assessment (recognition of prior learning).

Credit Pathways, Noncredit-to-Credit Articulation

Credit pathways are ways for learners to earn reputable or transferable credits for proven skills or work completed. Credit pathways include but are not limited to: credit/course articulation, credit for prior learning, and noncredit-to-credit bridges. Course articulation is the process of comparing the content of courses that are transferred between postsecondary institutions – one institution matches its courses or requirements to coursework completed at another institution. Noncredit education includes any course or program that did not go through the process to be approved for-credit at a community college or university. Many higher education institutions develop noncredit-to-credit bridge pathways to enable learners to earn credit for learning acquired through noncredit courses and programs.

Crosswalks

Refers to the direct evaluation of learning and credentials acquired in registered apprenticeship programs, industry-recognized credentials and assessments, and non-military training in the assessment of prior learning for college credit. The assessment involves subject matter experts examining the training directly (often in advance for commonly used training and credentials) and determining whether the outcomes of the training itself match the outcomes of a course (to create a “crosswalk” or “mapping”).  Learners who submit the proper documentation for the recognized training do not typically need to complete additional assessments in order to receive college credit; if insufficient documentation is provided, learners may be recommended to complete other forms of assessment in a credit for prior learning process.

Culture Add

Refers to the selection and hiring of employees who will bring diverse perspectives and specialized skills to an employer, often filling gaps in existing staff competencies and creating opportunities for growth into new markets. “Culture add” is seen as an improvement on the concept of “culture fit” which can stifle innovation and lock employers into a cycle of hiring only like-minded individuals.

Related term: Culture Fit

Culture Fit

A term originating in human resources that refers to an employee’s compatibility with the culture, goals, mission, and values of an employer, and their ability to quickly assimilate into a cohesive team. The concept of “culture add” has emerged as a preferred term and an improvement on the idea of “culture fit,” encouraging companies to seek new and different perspectives.

Related term: Culture Add

Data Literacy / Data Science

Data literacy and data science skills are important for jobs in fields in business, engineering mathematics, statistics, computer science, life sciences, social sciences, digital humanities, and others. They are also important skills for navigating an increasingly data-driven world. These terms are useful especially to education and training programs established to develop learners’ skills, K-12 through postsecondary education.

Data literacy refers to foundational knowledge about and the ability to read, understand, and communicate data or claims derived from data. Literacy includes knowing how to communicate and question data and representations of data critically, including limitations and potential biases. Areas of knowledge include understanding probability and randomness, ways to visualize data, the meaning of descriptive statistics, the concept of statistical significance, the concept of mathematical techniques called hypothesis tests, how data is collected, and the concept of control groups.

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that refers to applying the processes of working with data. Applications can include calculating means and medians, formatting and graphing data including with multiple variables, performing a scientific study which includes establishing framing questions and crafting the methods of data collection, and measuring variation among the data collected.

Degree

A degree is a title given by an institution (usually a college or university) that has been granted the authority by a state, recognized Native American tribe, or the federal government to confer such degrees. Generally, degrees are provided for accomplishment in academic, vocationally related, or religious studies, and the degree requirements differ within each of these three realms but are presumed to be comparable in accomplishment. A degree is granted by an institution to individuals who are presumed or who have been attested to have satisfactorily completed a course of study from which the individual can demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and ability commensurate with the degree requirements within the specific field of study. Degrees vary in the level of knowledge and skills that holders of the degree are presumed to have.

Degree Discrimination

Refers to the practice of employers using degree requirements to screen out otherwise qualified candidates in pursuit of hiring efficiencies.

Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP)

Document published in 2011 by Lumina Foundation that describes what degree recipients in the United States should know and be able to do at the associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees—regardless of a student’s field of specialization. The DQP does not attempt to “standardize” U.S. degrees—it recognizes the role and responsibility of faculty to determine both the content appropriate to different areas of study and the best ways to teach that content. The DQP describes generic forms of student performance appropriate for each degree level through reference points that indicate the incremental, integrative and cumulative nature of learning. The DQP focuses in five areas:

• Specialized/Industry Knowledge addresses what students in any specialization, major field of study, or career pathway should demonstrate with respect to that specialization.
• Broad and Integrative Knowledge asks students to bring together learning from industry knowledge, experience, and/or different fields of study to discover and explore the implications of concepts and questions that bridge essential areas of learning/practice as well as integrate their knowledge to advance solutions in support of a humane, just, and democratic society.
• Intellectual Skills include: analytic inquiry, use of information resources, engaging diverse perspectives, ethical reasoning, quantitative fluency and communicative fluency.
• Applied and Collaborative Learning emphasizes what students can do with what they know. Students are asked to demonstrate their learning by addressing unscripted problems in scholarly inquiry, at work and in other settings outside the classroom, individually and in teams.
• Civic/Democratic and Global Learning recognizes higher education’s responsibilities both to democracy and the global community. Students engage in integration of their knowledge and skills by addressing and responding to civic, social, environmental, economic, equity, inclusion, and social justice challenges at local, national, and global levels.

The DQP was updated in 2014, and again in 2021, with the assistance of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

See Topic on Qualifications Frameworks

Digital badge

A digital badge (aka e-badge) is a digital representations of individuals’ achievements, consisting of an image and metadata uniquely linked to the individual’s skills. Digital badges have an issuer (institution that testifies), an earner (learner), and a displayer (site that houses the badge) .Badges can be displayed, accessed, and verified online.

Digital Credential Ecosystem / Marketplace

Digital credentials are similar to digital badges in the sense that they create opportunities for learners and workers to demonstrate qualifications, skill sets, claims, or achievements through digital certificates or documents. Digital credentials are verified and awarded through the digital credential ecosystem. An ecosystem or marketplace of schools, training programs, institutions, industries, employers, and career pathways allows for the issuing, awarding, and verification of these digital credentials and gives them validity.

Digital Equity

The concept that every person should have equal access to digital technologies, including internet access. The concept aims to address the divide in access to digital infrastructure that gives some people advantages over others in education, work, and society.

An example at an institution is Bowdoin College’s Digital Excellence Commitment (DExC) that provides every current student and their future students with a 13-inch MacBook Pro, iPad mini, and Apple Pencil plus course-specific software designed to advance learning, inspire innovative teaching, and create digital equity across the student body in the use of tools essential for success in the twenty-first century.

Digital Platforms/Platforms

A digital platform is a technology-enabled software solution, an interactive online service that allows exchanges of information, tools, and resources. Three main types of platforms serve components of the learn-and-work ecosystem: (1) learning platforms, (2) business and workforce development platforms, and (3) career navigation platforms.

Digital Skills

Digital skills are the abilities to use technology including computer software and applications, digital devices (cell phones, tablets, computers), and other computer hardware. Digital literacy skills enable individuals to participate in a range of tasks including:

• searching and using information on the internet
• being safe and responsible online
• communicating and collaborating online or remotely (e.g., through email, audio and video conferencing)
• shopping, banking, accessing services, applying for a job online, participating in digital platforms
• searching for, exploring, organizing and sharing data and information appropriately.

Diploma Supplement

A tool of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) to support the recognition of academic qualifications and ensure that graduates' degrees are recognized by higher education institutions, public authorities, and employers in their home countries and abroad. Produced by higher education institutions according to standards agreed upon by the Commission, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it is also part of Europass framework transparency tools. The Diploma Supplement contains 8 sections providing information regarding the holder of the qualification, qualification type and its originating institution, qualification level, content of the course and results gained, and the function of the qualification. It does not represent a curriculum vitae or substitute for the original qualification.

Direct Admission

Refers to a streamlined college application process which results in immediate acceptance based on quantitative factors such as test scores.  Direct admission programs often eliminate many features of a traditional college application process, such as essay writing, letters of recommendation, and application fees. Direct admission applications can be evaluated more quickly, often using an automated process requiring less human oversight. Guaranteed admissions offered by some state colleges to residents who meet specific criteria are an example of direct admission. 

Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive innovation refers to innovations and technologies that make expensive or sophisticated products and services accessible and more affordable to a broader market. The term was coined in the early 1990s by Harvard University Business School professor Clayton Christensen.  The term is often misunderstood to describe breakthrough technologies that make good products better—rather it refers to innovations that make products and services more accessible and affordable, and therefore, more available to a larger population.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

In the learn-and-work ecosystem, a three-part framework used to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially groups historically underrepresented or subject to discrimination on the basis of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, etc.

• Diversity: the representation of people from a variety of at all levels in an organization, including the leadership level.
• Equity: fairness and justice, especially related to whether people are being paid or treated fairly in the workforce.
• Inclusion: the feeling of belonging, feeling heard or valued in an organization.

Durable Skills

Refer to an essential combination of 21st century skills also commonly known as soft skills, human skills, or power skills. The term emphasizes the lasting value and universal applicability of these skills. They include problem-solving, leadership, critical thinking and personal skills like teamwork, cognitive flexibility, adaptability, collaboration, creativity, negotiation, initiative, risk-taking, cognitive flexibility.  Several research studies have demonstrated that durable skills are increasingly in demand by employers. 

Durable skills differ from hard skills in that hard skills are more often traditionally taught by colleges and universities, and easily measured and credentialed. By contrast, durable skills are seldom directly taught by higher education institutions and are more challenging to measure. 

Durable skills are recognized for their lifelong durability, while hard skills often become outdated or irrelevant over a lifetime, depending on the industry group in which employees are applying their technical skills. Durable skills are transferable and relevant in any job, cannot be easily displaced by technology, and are critical to creating positive work environments. 

Edge Computing

Allows data to be processed and analyzed closer to the source of the data, rather than in a centralized data center. This can improve response times, reduce latency (amount of time it takes for a data packet to travel from one designated point to another), and reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred over connected networks.

Eligible Training Provider Lists (ETPLs)

Eligible training provider lists (ETPLs) are lists of pre-approved programs established by each state and territory under United States workforce development law, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA funds vouchers for unemployed or underemployed workers to enroll in job training services included on the lists. These are typically short-term, non-four-year-degree programs.

Eligible Training Provider Program

Eligible Training Provider programs are job training programs eligible for funding under United States workforce development law, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Under the law, each state and territory must maintain a list of pre-approved programs from which eligible individuals may select. Programs are pre=-approved on lists known as Eligible Training Provider lists.

Emerging Occupations

Advancements in the internet of things (IOT) and other technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality are spawning new occupations. These new occupations are emerging to create, sell, maintain, service, and grow technologies and their integration into teaching and service occupations. Tracking emerging occupations and their impact on the workforce is critical to preparing secondary, postsecondary, and other educational markets for changing workforce demands from employers.

Employability Skills Framework 

Developed in 2012 with funding from the U.S. Department of Education to advance a unifying set of employability skills, the Employability Skills Framework details a set of nine key skills that are organized in three broad categories: (1) Applied Knowledge, (2) Effective Relationships, and (3) Workplace Skills. The Framework is designed to support individuals seeking career advancement and to unify the workforce development and education sectors. It is based on an inventory of existing employability skills standards and assessments.  The associated Skills Checklist demonstrates ideas for integrating skills into instruction.

Employee Assessment Tools

Refers to tools or methods some companies use to assess the skills and abilities of prospective and current employees for hiring, promotion, training, and/or talent development decisions. A 2018 report (Saville and Holdsworth- SHL) found that about 60% of workforce managers use a tool for talent development, and about 93% of recruiters use a tool for hiring purposes. Examples of the various types of employee assessments include:

• 360-Degree Feedback: Gathers feedback from multiple sources including peers, subordinates, supervisors, and sometimes external stakeholders, to provide a comprehensive view of an employee's performance. It focuses on assessing interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, teamwork, and communication effectiveness.
• Psychometric Assessments: Assesses psychological traits and characteristics of individuals, such as cognitive abilities, personality traits, behavioral tendencies, and emotional intelligence; e.g., Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DISC assessment, and Hogan Personality Inventory.
• Performance Appraisals: Evaluating an employee's job performance against predetermined criteria and goals, typically occurring at regular intervals such as annually or semi-annually, and focusing on aspects like task completion, goal achievement, job knowledge, and contributions to the organization.
• Skill Tests and Simulations: Assess proficiency in specific job-related skills or tasks. These can include practical exercises, case studies, role-playing scenarios, or technical exams designed to measure competencies such as problem-solving abilities, technical expertise, decision-making skills, and attention to detail.
• Behavioral Interviews: Asking candidates to provide specific examples of past behaviors or experiences in various situations. Interviews are designed to predict future behavior based on past actions and assess competencies such as adaptability, conflict resolution skills, leadership potential, and problem-solving abilities.

Employer orientation and onboarding

The ways that new employees are welcomed to the organization, receive information about how the organization functions on a day-to-day basis, and are introduced to others who work for the organization.

Employer Tuition Assistance Program / Employee Tuition Reimbursement – Finance

Refers to a contractual arrangement between an employer and employee in which the employer covers the costs of some or all of an employee’s tuition for a program of study such as a college or university degree, or other forms of education. Employer tuition reimbursement programs are viewed as a win-win strategy—employers use the tuition assistance program as an employee retention and recruitment tool, and employees use the program as a form of financial aid to pursue their educational interests. Tuition assistance programs are supported by federal tax policies. Federal tax laws allow employees to receive up to $5,250 in tuition reimbursement tax-free annually from their employer.

See Topic: Employer Tuition Assistance Program / Employe Tuition Reimbursement - Finance

Equity, equality

Equity means that no matter what a student’s background, language, race, economic profile, gender, learning capability, disability or family history, each student has the opportunity to get the support and resources they need to achieve their educational goals. While the terms equity and equality are often used interchangeably, there are differences between the two. Equality focuses on ensuring students are presented with the same educational opportunities throughout their scholastic career; however, this approach doesn’t take into consideration that even with those opportunities, different students will have different needs in order to succeed. Equity focuses on taking those opportunities presented to students and infusing them with support and resources to turn the education system into a level playing field. This means that disadvantaged students will get the support they need to become equal to students who are not disadvantaged.

Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs)

Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) define the knowledge and skills gained from a liberal education. ELOs provide a framework to guide learner's cumulative progress in higher education institutions.

Ethical Standards/Integrity in Credentialing

Ethics and integrity are crucial to the learn-and-work ecosystem, particular in four areas:

• Acquiring Credentials. Credentials such as diplomas, degrees, certifications, certificates of accomplishment, licenses, and badges represent an individual's qualifications and expertise in various fields. Credential earners are expected to adhere to ethical behavior; i.e., adhering to the rules and regulations of educational institutions, certification bodies, and licensing authorities. This typically means engaging in honest practices, including completing required coursework, exams, and practical experiences without resorting to plagiarism, cheating, or misrepresentation. Ethical conduct ensures that credentials are earned through genuine effort and knowledge, upholding the integrity of the educational and professional systems.
• Representing Credentials. Maintaining integrity in the use of credentials is critical. This means individuals accurately represent their qualifications and expertise, without falsification and exaggeration.
• Awarding Credentials. Credential providers (educational institutions, third-party organizations) are expected to issue credentials that adhere to ethical practices in credential development, assessment and verification, and evaluation. Upholding professional ethics and ethical standards, maintaining confidentiality, and avoiding conflicts of interest are crucial to establishing and preserving trust and reliability in the system of credentialing.
• Employer / Others' Use of Credentials. Employers, professional organizations, and the general public rely on the accuracy and authenticity of credentials to make informed decisions. Upholding integrity means using credentials truthfully and responsibly, respecting the trust placed in the system and ensuring that individuals are qualified for the roles they undertake.

Europass

A key action in the European Skills Agenda designed to help people plan their learning and careers.  Europass offers a range of free, multilingual tools to help support individuals who are learning and working across Europe:

• Europass Profile allows users to describe their skills, discover interesting job and learning opportunities, manage their applications, and create curriculum vitae and cover letters.
• Individuals can store their Europass Mobility from experiences abroad in their Europass Library.
• Information resources on working and learning in different European Union (EU) countries.
• Digitally signed credentials: free tools and software for institutions to issue digital, tamper-proof qualifications and other learning credentials.
• Interoperability: this feature allows users to correspond with employment and learning services, to connect with them and make applications.
• Diploma Supplement is issued by higher education institutions and offers helpful information on higher education qualifications (such as grades, achievements and institutions) in a standard format.
• Europass Certificate Supplement is issued by vocational education and training (VET) institutions and offers helpful information on your vocational qualifications (such as grades, achievements and institutions) in a standard format.

Family-sustaining Wage

Refers to the income a family needs to cover minimum necessary expenses such as food, childcare, medical care, housing, and transportation, in a given geographical area.  The related term, living wage, generally refers to the income for a single individual to live on, but not necessarily sufficient to support a family.

File Formats

Are used to store and transport data. Many open data standards are expressed in one or more of the following:

• JSON - a lightweight data-exchange and file format easily understood by computers and humans.
• JSON-LD - Linked Data (LD). enabling a network of standards-based, machine-readable data across the web.
• RDF-Resource Description Framework which includes a subject, object, and their relationship. Each piece has a URL. RDF is commonly expressed in Turtle format (compact, stackable, human-friendly) and can be expressed (serialized) in JSON-LD, among other formats.
• OWL-Web Ontology Language, a complex language for taxonomies/classifications built on RDF.
• XML - Extensible Markup Language, a language and file format similar to HTML that describes data with tags that the developer defines.
• SKOS - Simple Knowledge Organization System, built on RDF/RDFS.
• YAML - Yet Another Markup Language, which can parse other formats into a human-friendlier layout.
• EDI-based standards - Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), a format to transport business documents between organizations and across industries.
• CSV-Comma-separate Values, a text file that has a specific format that allows data to be saved in a table structured format.

First-Generation Students

Refers to a spectrum of learners who meet different combinations of parents and caregivers, whether they attended college or graduated, what degree they completed, and more factors. Because there are significant differences in knowledge and other resources between students with one parent who earned a bachelor’s degree and students whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents went to college, multiple definitions are often used to identify first-generation students:

• Neither parent earned a bachelor’s degree (federal definition)
• One parent earned a bachelor’s degree
• No bachelor’s degrees among living parents (focus on those who can provide support to the student)
• No bachelor’s degrees among caregivers (considers others in the household beyond biological parents such as stepparent)
• No domestic bachelor’s degree among caregivers (degrees from other countries may be less relevant in helping students in the U.S. higher education system)
• No bachelor’s degrees earned by caregivers before the student was born (excludes those who earned degrees more recently and may not yet have received some of the more socioeconomic benefits of a college degree)
• No associate degrees by either parent
• No college attendance by either parent

First-year Success

In higher education, refers to the achievement and positive outcomes of learners during their first year at a college or university. This includes their academic performance, social integration, emotional well-being, and retention rates. Students who experience first-year success are more likely to feel confident in their abilities, develop a sense of belonging to the academic community, and persist in their educational journey. Examples of efforts that promote first-year success:

• Freshman Orientation Programs: Some institutions offer comprehensive orientation programs (workshops, social activities) to familiarize incoming learners with campus resources, academic expectations, and support services.
• First-Year Experience Courses: Some institutions offer courses specifically tailored to the needs of first-year learners. These typically focus on improving core academic skills (e.g., computer literacy, study skills, library skills), time management techniques, seeking learner supports (career and academic advising, childcare, financial aid assistance, tutoring), and fostering a sense of community among faculty and peers (e.g., use of freshmen learning communities/cohort models). They often provide personalized support and guidance to help learners thrive academically and socially in their first year.

For-Profit / Proprietary Institutions

For-profit postsecondary institutions (also known as proprietary institutions) rely on investors and students who pay the costs of educational and training programs. The institution makes a profit in the delivery of its services. Many vocational and technical schools, career colleges, and online universities are for-profit institutions; they typically offer career-oriented programs such as business, technology and coding boot camps, culinary arts, health care, and visual arts. The growth of for-profit education has been fueled by government funding as well as corporate investment, including private equity.

Fraudulent Credentials

Refers to forged, altered, fake, or misrepresented credentials such as degree, diploma, certification, or other official documentation. Examples include:

• Presenting a credential from a recognized institution that has been falsified.
• Presenting a credential from an unrecognized institution (one that may be made up or a diploma mill).
• Falsely claiming having earned a credential on a letter of application, resume, e-portfolio, and/or during an interview.
• Falsely indicating the level or outcome of a credential.
• Presenting an expired credential such as an industry certification or license.

Fraud in the credentialing marketplace can undermine the credibility of educational and professional institutions, lead to unqualified individuals being hired, and create an unfair advantage for those involved in the deception. To address issues of fraud, governmental entities, employers, higher education institutions, and others are implementing measures such as improving verification processes; increasing awareness about the problem; establishing networks and databases to share known instances of credential fraud; and instituting laws and regulations to penalize the use of fraudulent credentials.

See Topic: Fraudulent Credentials

Free Application for Federal Student Aid – FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the U.S. to determine their eligibility for student financial aid. Completing FAFSA is a critical step in accessing federal and state financial aid programs. Both traditional-age and adults are required to complete the FAFSA if they are applying for financial aid assistance.

Frontloaded Embedded Non-Degree Pathways

Frontloading embedded non-degree pathways is a method to address workers and learners who are looking to re- or upskill quickly to transition jobs. It entails reordering degree pathways to frontload embedded non-degree credentials.

Funding Models for Public Two & Four-Year Institutions (Finance)

Funding models refer to the ways in which higher education institutions acquire revenue to operate. As described by Ithaka S+R, there are significant differences between funding models for public two- and four-year institutions in the United States. The three largest revenue sources for four-year institutions are tuition and fees (20%); government appropriations (18%), and sales and services from hospitals (15%). Community colleges receive nearly half of their revenue from government appropriations, the majority from state governments. Non-operating grants and contracts, including revenue from Pell grants, represent 18% of total revenues, and tuition and fees comprise an additional 16% of revenue. Funding models from state governments for public higher education institutions typically include Incremental Funding, Formula Funding, Performance-based Funding (PBF), and State Financial Aid Programs.

Future of Work

Refers to the projection of how work will get done in the future, often viewed over a ten-year timeline. “FOW” thinking typically incorporates the impact of technological advances, changing demography, increasing globalization, and market forces on the work we do and how we do it. Most FOW studies note the proliferation of low wage work, the digital divide, workforce shortages, and increased workforce transitions as likely characteristics of the work of the future, for which solutions will be needed.

Gainful Employment

An employment situation in which a person receives steady work and payment from the employer that allows for self-sufficiency.

Gainful Employment Rule

The Higher Education Act (HEA) requires that all career education programs receiving federal student aid “prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.”

On May 19, 2023, the US Department of Education Secretary published proposed new regulations to promote transparency, competence, stability, and effective outcomes for students in the provision of postsecondary education – and invited comments to the proposed regulations (comment period closes June 20, 2023).  The regulations would make improvements in six areas of gainful employment (GE); financial value transparency; financial responsibility; administrative capability; certification procedures; and Ability to Benefit (ATB). (Federal Register)

Gateway Course

A gateway course is the first credit-bearing college-level course in a program of study. These courses commonly refer to the requirements of a degree program and may be called introductory courses or prerequisites. Each student majoring in a given discipline generally passes through gateway courses. Examples include introductory courses or prerequisite courses required to complete before moving forward in majors like Business, Chemistry, and Psychology. Where colleges have particular mathematics and/or foreign language requirements for graduation, gateway courses may also include Algebra, English Composition, or Spanish I or other foreign languages.

Research has found that underrepresented college students are disproportionately held back by gateway courses, and this leads to lower graduation rates.

GED – General Educational Development Test

GED or General Educational Development Test (also can mean General Educational Diploma, Graduate Equivalency Degree, or General Equivalency Diploma) is an alternative to a high school diploma for people who did not complete high school or do not possess a high school completion credential. The GED is obtained by passing a series of standardized tests that an individual takes to assess whether or not the individual has a high school level of education.

The GED Testing Service, in partnership with the American Council on Education, began offering the GED exam nationwide in the early 1940s.  As the Official GED website, GED Testing Service offers a variety of online GED test prep materials available in various formats: online, in-print, and in Spanish or English.

Several services provide products to prepare for GED testing. Products typically include courses or guides for studying for the Language Arts, Reading, and Math sections of the GED exam; tutoring; practice tests, and personalized learning plan.

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Refers to AI (artificial intelligence) able to generate text, images, or other media in response to prompts. Generative AI models process large data sets of natural language, code language, and images to create new content in these forms (natural language, code language, images) and other data forms. Examples include ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Bard. Many applications use generative AI in the fields of art, marketing, writing, software development, product design, healthcare, finance, gaming, fashion, and education. In education, uses are increasing in teaching, learning, student support services, and administrative supports.

Related terms include machine learning (ML) and deep learning.

Good Jobs

Good jobs are defined as those that provide family-sustaining pay, adequate benefits, and equal access to opportunity.

GRADPlus Loans

GradPLUS loans are offered by the federal government to make it more accessible and affordable for people to seek graduate-level education. To receive a loan, students must be a graduate or professional student enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school in a program leading to a graduate or professional degree or certificate; not have an adverse credit history; and meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student aid. The maximum loan amount a student can borrow is the cost of attendance (determined by the higher education institution) minus any other financial assistance the student receives.

See Topic: GradPLUS Loans

Graduate & Professional Education

Refers to in-depth training and specialized instruction after the undergraduate level of education. Studying and learning are usually more self-directed at the graduate level than the undergraduate level. The main credentials are academic certificates, degrees (e.g., master's degrees, doctoral degrees) and professional degrees (e.g., medical school, law school, business school, and other institutions of specialized fields such as nursing, speech–language pathology, engineering, and architecture). Producing original research is a significant component of graduate studies in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. This research typically leads to the writing and defense of a thesis or dissertation. In professional graduate training, the degrees (e.g., MPA, MBA, JD, MD), may consist of coursework without a research or thesis component.

Grant

A sum of money or other assistance provided by a government, private organization, or charitable institution to support research, education, or other public services. Grants are used to fund specific projects or activities and are often targeted toward a particular research area, population, or location. The amount and scope of a grant are usually determined by the funding entity and may be granted over a certain period of time. Grants may be awarded based on competitive proposals or through other mechanisms. Many initiatives in the learn-and-work ecosystem are grant funded.

Green Economy

Refers to an economy which balances environmental stability with economic growth. The focus is on environmentally friendly private and public investment, governmental policy/regulations, and socially responsible consumerism. Examples: Circular Economy (recycling, reusing, reducing waste); Conservation/Restoration (protect ecosystems, restore degraded lands, preserve biodiversity); Eco-Tourism (travel that supports local communities and protects natural habitats); Energy Efficiency (reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions); Environmental Policies (regulation/policy to incentivize sustainable practices, disincentivize harmful ones); Green Building (energy-efficient, environmentally friendly buildings); Green Finance (green bonds, sustainable funds, ethical banking); Public Transportation (public transportation systems that reduce reliance on private cars and decrease air pollution); Renewable Energy resources that are sustainable and have lower environmental impact (transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal power); Sustainable Agriculture (organic farming, crop rotation, and agroforestry to minimize chemical inputs, protect soil health, conserve biodiversity).

Guaranteed Admission

Also referred to as automatic admission or assured admission, this term refers to a policy in place at many state public institutions of higher education which provides a direct path into college for state residents who meet specific criteria.  Criteria can include having earned a high school diploma or GED, satisfying a set grade point average threshold or other academic achievement metric, and additional requirements unique to each state and institution.  These direct admission policies are intended to boost enrollment while encouraging residents to remain in-state for their continued education.  Students are still expected to submit applications and complete required documentation for the institution they wish to attend. 

Guided pathways

Guided Pathways is a movement that seeks to streamline a student’s journey through college by providing structured choice, revamped support, and clear learning outcomes—ultimately helping more students achieve their college completion goals. The reform recognizes that the current self-service model of community colleges leads many students to unintended dead ends or unforeseen detours in the form of excess or out-of-sequence credit. There are four pillars of guided pathways: (1) clarify pathways to end goals, (2) help students choose and enter pathways, (3) help students stay on path, and (4) ensure students are learning.

Higher Education & Employer Partnerships

Partnerships between higher education institutions and employers are increasingly useful in addressing talent development in key job categories. Partnership agreements are especially prevalent in areas such as data science, digital technologies, nursing, programming, and renewable energy.

Employers partner with higher education institutions often as a strategy for recruiting talent in different geographic areas of the country, and recruiting talent to diversify their workforce, especially focused on race/ethnicity, gender, age, and disability diversity.

Agreements are typically struck between higher education institutions and employers through a formal partnership.  Employers may commit to hiring a certain percentage of graduates in one or more disciplines while institutions commit to increasing their number of graduates in various disciplines.

According to the Boston Consulting Group, three prevalent types of partnerships include:

• Workforce Planning. The partnership forecast talent baselines —the number of expected graduates in various disciplines and the number employers expect to hire in those disciplines. The partnership identify and prioritize the “hard and soft skills” that these graduates need.
• Academic Program Design. The partnership codesigns the curriculum and jointly appoint faculty for programs of interest. They also determine the number and purpose of employer-sponsored internships and applied training programs; the facilities, labs, faculty, and support services needed to accommodate increasing numbers of students; and joint research and innovation hubs that involve students.
• Student Recruitment. The partnership outlines the steps needed to increase the number of graduates; e.g., conducting market research on targeted student populations, securing funding for student financial assistance, and recruiting students.

Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)

Refers to an institution of higher education where Hispanic students constitute at least 25% of the total fulltime undergraduate enrollment. HSIs are designated by the U.S. Department of Education based on specific enrollment criteria related to Hispanic student populations. These institutions receive certain federal funding and resources to support their mission of serving Hispanic students and promoting their success in higher education. There are approximately 600 HSIs located in numerous states across the country including California, Texas, Florida, and New York. The number of states with HSIs vary over time as new institutions receive HSI designation and demographic shifts occur within states.

Emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions (EHSIs) have Hispanic student populations constituting more than 15% but less than 25% of the total fulltime undergraduate enrollment. These institutions are recognized for providing support to Hispanic student populations and often become eligible for full HSI designation in the future.

Historically Black College & University (HCBU)

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.” HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents. There are currently 107 HBCUs serving more than 200,00 students in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. HBCUs can be either public or private colleges. While HBCUs historically only served Black students, nearly a quarter of students enrolled in HBCUs as of 2019 were non-Black.

Human Capability Framework (HCF)

Refers to a structured model or system that outlines the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attributes needed to perform effectively within an organization or industry. The HCF is commonly used in talent management, recruitment, performance evaluation, and career development processes. Features of an HCF typically focus on:

• Human/talent (human capital, employees, workforce, people, competence)
• Capability/organization (the team, workplace, culture)
• Leadership (bridges talent and organization, refers to individual leaders and collective leadership)
• Human resources (HR department, practices, people)

HCFs commonly include a focus on five personality traits – the labels for these "five big factors" use the acronym "OCEAN:"

• Openness to experience (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)
• Conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless)
• Extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)
• Agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. critical/judgmental)
• Neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. resilient/confident)

Incorporating the five personality traits into an HCF allows organizations to better understand and leverage individuals' strengths, preferences, and potential areas for development— alongside the other elements of the HCF (e.g., skills, knowledge, and behaviors).

Improvement Science

Improvement science is used to accelerate how a field learns to improve.  In the field of education, it is a user- and problem-centered approach to improving teaching and learning. It deploys rapid tests of change to guide the development, revision, and continued fine-tuning of tools, processes, work roles, and relationships—with the goal of improving how the field learns to improve.

Income-Sharing Agreement (ISA)

A student loan in which students receive money to fund their education or training. Students agree via a contract agreement to pay the ISA provider a fixed percentage of their income for a set period of time after they finish school and pass a specific income threshold. They may repay more or less than the amount received, depending on the agreement's terms. If the student later loses his/her job, the terms typically permit the individual to stop making payments. Although ISA providers often advertise their products as an alternative to loans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (a federal regulatory agency) has found that ISAs are student loans.

Incremental credential

Incremental credentials capture learning as it is acquired along the learning pathway and formally recognizes and connects that learning to a larger context. Incremental credentials can be non-credit or credit-bearing; undergraduate or graduate level; of any size, from small units of learning up through degrees. The purpose of incremental credentials is to ensure learners are recognized for what they know and can do as they acquire the learning and not leave learners without formal documentation of that learning.

Incremental credentialing

Incremental credentialing is the overall design and process used to develop and connect credentials to further learning and employment.

Incremental Credentialing Framework

The Incremental Credential Framework was developed through a 2019-2021 planning, research, and testing project in a Lumina Foundation grant to SUNY Empire State College (Credential As You Go, Phase I). The Framework was developed from an environmental scan, prototyping, and feedback from national leaders. The Framework includes six approaches of credentialing that can be used to design incremental credentials and auto-awarding of credentials to reduce the additional step students typically go through to apply for a credential or graduation, plus a focus on prior learning assessment.

Industry / Industry Sector

Industry refers to a group of companies operating within a particular field which share common characteristics.

Industry sectors refer to a large economic segment that contains multiple industries. The economy has traditionally been divided for purposes of study into sectors to enable analysis of how the various sectors of the economy are functioning.  In the U.S., industry sectors are often classified within 5 categories:

1. Primary (extraction and production of raw materials such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining).
2. Secondary (manufacturing and construction such as factories, construction).
3. Tertiary (services such as retail, banking, transportation, tourism, healthcare, education).
4. Quaternary (knowledge-based activities / intellectual development such as research, Information Technology, academic institutions, government, libraries).
5. Quinary (industries that have a major impact on society's organization and efficacy such as key decision-makers in major corporations and domestic businesses that help keep society functioning including executives in the government, science and academic fields, public services like fire and police departments, domestic endeavors like childcare and housekeeping).

The largest industry sectors are automotive; chemical; electronics; machinery; steel; aerospace; textile; and metalworking. Other large sectors based on their contributions to the national gross domestic product (GDP) include: real estate rental and leasing; utilities; state and local; administrative/waste management services; healthcare and social assistance; professional, scientific and technical services; educational services; management of companies and enterprises; durable goods and manufacturing; arts, entertainment and recreation; construction.

Integrated Credential Management System

A comprehensive technology solution for managing a variety of credentials. The system streamlines the entire life cycle of credentialing—from a credential’s proposal and development to its issuance and verification.

Interest Free (Zero-Interest) Loans

Refer to interest-free (zero-interest) working capital loans for training providers that enable support for wraparound services and other services. An example is the Colorado Pay It Forward Fund, operated by the nonprofit Social Finance with funds from a collection of philanthropies. The fund also offers interest-free loans for learners to cover living expenses so they can work fewer hours and spend that time on training.

See Outcomes-based Loans

Intergenerational Poverty

Occurs when children who grow up in families with incomes below the poverty line are themselves poor as adults. Rates of intergenerational poverty in the United States are significantly higher for Black (37%) and Native American (46%) children than other children. Intergenerational poverty affects the overall economic output of the nation and individuals, and particularly burdens educational, criminal justice, and healthcare systems.

Intergenerational Well-Being

Refers to the financial well-being of generations as well as the broader societal implications including race/ethnicity gaps, social and economic mobility, geographical disparities, and the well-being of future generations. Examining the conditions experienced by the generations within society typically include studying economic wealth, educational and employment opportunities, and outcomes across generations. Studies of Intergenerational Economic Mobility typically compare parents’ income and their children’s income in the next generation. Studies of Intergenerational Equity examine the fair distribution of economic, social, and environmental well-being among generations, with a focus on racial gaps in upward mobility. Studies of Geographical Disparities examine mobility impacts based on where children grow up in America.

Intermediaries

Intermediary organizations are often viewed as a distinct class of third-party entities. They tend to support the provision of services by another organization rather than providing direct services. They tend to be technical assistance providers or capacity-building organizations. They include nonprofit and for-profit entities, governmental and quasi-governmental entities, and membership organizations. Some are global in focus; others focus within nations, states, or cities. Some focus on the research and policy arena while others are subject- or discipline-specific. An intermediary organization can function in one or many capacities: It can be both a think tank and advocacy organization or both a technology company and consultancy. Intermediaries can also be networks or coalitions of organizations working toward a similar goal.

International Classification for Standards (ICS)

An international classification system developed and maintained by the International Organization for Standardization.  ICS are used to catalog and classify standards,  often for use in databases and libraries.  ICS currently includes 40 fields. Standards are organized according to:

• sectors of the economy (e.g., agriculture, mining construction, packaging industry)
• technologies (e.g., telecommunications, food processing)
• activities (e.g., environmental protection , safety assurance and protection of public health)
• fields of science (e.g., mathematics, astronomy)

The latest editions of the ICS are downloadable free of charge from the ISO website. Anyone may propose revisions or additions to the ICS.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

An international nongovernmental organization founded in 1947 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It works in 168 countries (as of 2023). Official languages are English, French and Russian. Membership is open to only national standards institutes or similar organizations that represent standardization in their country (one member per country). Individuals or businesses cannot join ISO.

Comprised of various national standards bodies, ISO develops and publishes proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards.  The ISO standards are internationally agreed upon by experts in the relevant fields, and describe the best way of doing something. Examples of ISO Standards:

• calibration of thermometers
• food safety regulations
• manufacturing of wine glasses
• shoe sizes
• security management
• environmental management.

In addition to producing standards, ISO also publishes technical reports, frameworks, guidelines, and various types of specifications. It has published more than 24,500 international standards covering almost all aspects of technology and manufacturing. It has more than 800 Technical committees and subcommittees working on standards development.

The ISO helps to facilitate international trade by providing common standards among different countries.

ISO is not an acronym; it derives from the ancient Greek word ísos, meaning equal or equivalent. Because the organization would have different acronyms in different languages, the founders of the organization decided to call it by the short form ISO.

A related organization is European Committee for Standardization (CEN/CENELEC), which publishes some standards in parallel with ISO. Standards with the designation EN are mandatory for CEN members. An agreement is in place (Vienna Agreement) between ISO and CEN to share information, attend each other's meetings, and collaborate on standards at international and European levels.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Refers to a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other physical objects that use sensors, software, and network connectivity to collect and exchange data over the internet or other communications networks.  IoT devices are often known as “smart objects” because they have interconnection capacity to share data. Such devices typically include sensors and actuators; connectivity technologies; cloud computing; big data analytics; and security and privacy technologies. IoT applications are prevalent in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and transportation.

Interoperability

Interoperability is the ability of different information systems, devices or applications to connect, in a coordinated manner, within and across organizational boundaries to access, exchange and cooperatively use data amongst stakeholders.

Interstate Regional Higher Education Compacts

Four higher education interstate compacts in the United States facilitate cooperation among their member states to address common challenges, leverage resources, and improve educational opportunities for students within their respective regions. The compacts are nonpartisan, non-profit organizations that were established in 1948, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB); 1953, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE); 1955, New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE); and 1991, Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC). Established by either Congress or by agreements among the states themselves, the compacts together represent 47 states and territories and 6 state affiliate partners.

Job Aggregators

Search engines that gather job postings from job boards, employer websites, industry and professional association websites,  and other internet sites. Postings are consolidated into a single searchable interface.  Job Aggregators typically sort job listings by various categories such as part-time/fulltime; hourly/salary; start date; and location. Examples include: Indeed,  SimplyHired,  CareerJet, LinkedIn Jobs, Linkup.

Job Board / Platform

A website where employers list job vacancies and job seekers apply for positions in field(s) they are interested in.  Examples include: JazzHR, SmartJobBoard, Manatal, JBoard, VIVAHR, ZipRecruiter, Zoho Recruit, Fountain, Workable, TalentReef.

A related term is a career site, which is an online platform where organizations and companies provide information to enable job seekers to learn more about job openings and the company (e.g., employee benefits, salary structure, policies, job location).  This is helpful information before job seekers apply for a position with an organization or company.

See:  Job Aggregator

Job Structures

Refers to the ways jobs are classified such as part-time and full-time, exempt and non-exempt, employees and contractor, and permanent/temporary employees. Job structures refer to when people work, where they work, expectations for how much they work, and the extent to which they have some choice over when/where/how much they work.

Learn-and-Work Ecosystem

The learn-and-work ecosystem is a connected system of formal and informal learning (education and training) and work. The ecosystem is composed of many building blocks. When all the building blocks are working together, individuals are able to move more seamlessly through the marketplace using a variety of credentials to communicate the skills and knowledge acquired in multiple settings (e.g., school, work, service, self-study). Employers have more detailed and externally-validated information during their hiring and upskilling processes. Schools are better able to count learning obtained outside of academic settings toward a degree or other credential. And the public is informed about our learn and work ecosystem. For the ecosystem to function effectively, all parts of the system must be connected and coordinated.

Learner

An inclusive term that encompasses many types of learners; for example, those taking part in the educational process whether a degree program or microcredential. Learners acquire new competencies and skills as enrolled students at a school or postsecondary institution, and as those seeking to enhance their knowledge and skills to secure employment opportunities or advance their careers. Many learners are also working learners. The ACT Foundation defines “working learners” as individuals who are both working for pay and enrolled in formal learning programs that lead to a recognized credential. They are the majority of part-time students and more than a third of the full-time student population.

Learner (Student) Success

Learner/student success can be defined in many ways — one that is learner-centric and one that is institution- and policymaker-centric.

• A general definition that is learner-centric — a determination of goals and personal situations as measured by each individual learner (student). Success by learners is often viewed as being able to support themselves after completing the educational process.
• A definition which is higher education- and policymaker-centric — graduation rates, course completion, retention rates, academic achievement, degree attainment, credits completed, student advancement.

Learner (Student) Supports

Learner/student success can be defined in many ways — one that is learner-centric and one that is institution- and policymaker-centric.

• A general definition that is learner-centric — a determination of goals and personal situations as measured by each individual learner (student). Success by learners is often viewed as being able to support themselves after completing the educational process.
• A definition which is higher education- and policymaker-centric — graduation rates, course completion, retention rates, academic achievement, degree attainment, credits completed, student advancement.

Learner Credential Wallet

An open-source mobile wallet designed to hold verifiable credentials of learning achievement (diplomas, certificates, badges, and other credentials). It was developed by the Digital Credentials Consortium, a network of leading international universities designing an open infrastructure for academic credentials.

See: Achievement Wallet

Learning and Employment Records (LERs)

Comprehensive digital records of an individual’s skills, competencies, credentials, and employment history that may be able to show a complete picture of an individual’s education and work experiences. They have the potential to highlight verified skills, reduce hiring biases, and match people to employment opportunities. An LER can document learning wherever it occurs.

Learning Frameworks

Learning frameworks are tools that specify learning outcomes and/or competencies that define, classify, and recognize educational, learner, and industry expectations of knowledge, skills, and abilities at increasing levels of complexity and difficulty. They are not standards, and they are not limited to academia, but they do allow for alignment, translation, and mapping of learning through various spaces in order to capture learning that can be valued and recognized by education, industry, and the military. These frameworks can support quality assurance mechanisms for reviewing aligned curriculum and training, provide guideposts for awarding credentials, and serve as end points from which learning experiences can be backward-designed. In addition, learning frameworks enable consistency; provide a common language within their user group(s); and assist in transferability within and across education providers, alternative learning pathways, military learning, and industries (including employer-developed industry expectations and career readiness skills).

Alternate Term: Framework

Learning Mobility Targets

In European education, the term refers to setting an objective of a specific percentage of learners from particular age groups and from particular levels of education, having been engaged in learning mobilities during their studies.

Learning Mobility—in Europe

Learning (learner) mobility is a key objective in education in Europe. The term refers to the process of enabling learners throughout their lifetime to access their right to education founded on the belief that education is a public good, which includes the experience of learning mobility also as a public good. It is addressed in policy through the European Union (EU) Strategic Framework for Cooperation 2021-2030, which includes lifelong learning and learning mobility as priorities.

The Lifelong Learning Platform is an umbrella that gathers 44 European organizations from education, training and youth, representing more than 50 000 educational institutions and associations covering all sectors of formal, non-formal and informal learning. Members work together on education and training to harmonize their work over the next decade.  No benchmark has been established to measure the EU’s progress in “making learning mobility a reality for all” though learner mobility is a key objective of the Framework and the European Education Area, and one of the main requests by citizens through the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). This topic is critical because a key target of the previous strategy – 20% of mobile higher education graduates – was not reached. The current Lifelong Learning Platform presents recommendations from its members to address shortcomings and to widen access to learning mobilities across the EU.

See: LEARNING MOBILITY FOR ALL: A LIFELONG LEARNING APPROACH TO TARGETS, PROCESS AND MONITORING - Lifelong Learning Platform | LLLP (lllplatform.eu)

Learning Mobility—in the United States 

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), defines learning mobility as ensuring equitable and accessible programs and opportunities that prepare all learners for the workforce and beyond. In December 2021, AACRAO, the American Council on Education (ACE), and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) issued a Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit directed to college and universities about the award of academic credit for learning acquired elsewhere. The statement recognizes that in a rapidly evolving higher education landscape and increase in student mobility and extra-institutional learning, it is critical that higher education institutions support credit award policies based on equity-minded practice and principles. Institutions are encouraged to conduct an audit of their credit award policies and practices, including surveying transfer students to learn about their experiences navigating policies at their institutions; then use that information and a framework outlined in the Statement to help learners who increasingly rely on nonlinear paths to earn a college credential.

An AACRAO 2023 study found that a majority of the higher education institutions in their membership consider innovative credentialing of some type and learning mobility as priorities. This confirms AACRAO’s focus on facilitating seamless evaluation and documentation of learning, since AACRAO members play a key role in implementing policies and practices aimed at alleviating issues related to transfer, credit mobility, and the recognition of learning – the main indicators of learning mobility.

See:

• https://www.aacrao.org/signature-initiatives/learning-mobility
• https://www.aacrao.org/docs/default-source/statements-and-letters/2021-joint-statement-award-of-credit0c480d4a6f724decbf3433f190b42ee8.pdf?sfvrsn=dccf29d8_1

Learning Outcomes

Descriptions of what students will learn in a course, program, or training, and how that learning will be assessed. Creating clear and measurable learning outcomes are necessary for assessment and evaluation.  Well-stated learning outcomes include a verb to describe an observable action, a description of what the learner will be able to do and under which conditions, and the performance level the learner should be able to reach. Learning outcomes is a general term for what students will learn and how that learning will be assessed, and includes goals and objectives. Related terms include:

• Learning goals - often used to describe the general outcomes for a course or program.
• Learning objectives  - refer to the more focused outcomes for specific learning lessons or activities.
• Learning taxonomies - describe how a learner’s understanding develops from simple to complex when learning different subjects or tasks.

Two taxonomies are commonly used in developing learning outcomes:

• Bloom’s Taxonomy - model describing how learning occurs hierarchically, as each skill builds on previous skills towards increasingly sophisticated learning. It includes three domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective.
• Finks Taxonomy of Significant Learning - model describing learning as holistic and extending beyond the course or training.  The right-hand side of the taxonomy refers to the same kinds of cognitive learning described in Bloom taxonomy but the left-hand side goes beyond cognitive learning to include six intersecting domains (foundational knowledge, application  skills, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn.

Learning Pathway

Refers to a structured sequence of educational experiences that are designed to enable learners to acquire a set of skills or competencies. Each step is intentionally designed to build upon prior learning experiences and often validated through assessments resulting in the award of a microcredential. Some individual sequences are known as a "micro-pathways."

Legacy Admissions

Refers to the practice of giving preference in the college admission selection process to alumni relatives such as a parent, grandparent, or sibling. Many highly selective and prestigious higher education use legacy admissions as a factor in their selection process because they place a value on the connections and loyalty that come with having generations of families associated with their institution.

Alternative terms: legacy preferences, alumni connections

License

A license is a credential awarded by a government agency that constitutes legal authority to do a specific job. Licenses are based on some combination of degree or certificate attainment, certifications, assessments, or work experience; are time-limited, and must be renewed periodically.

Lightcast Skills Taxonomy

Open-source library of 32,000+ skills gathered from hundreds of millions of online job postings, profiles, and resumes—updated every two weeks. The Skills Taxonomy collects real-time data from over 40,000 sources every day, contributing to a database with over 1 billion job postings and billions of other data points. These data are combined with curated input from other statistical sources, like government agencies, to provide the most complete view possible of the fast-changing labor market.  This information is used in businesses, communities, and education providers who need the granular details and big-picture trends for their planning and improvement efforts. The Taxonomy focuses in three areas: specialized skills, common skills, and software skills. These are broken down into 30 categories and multiple sub-categories.

Marketing Communications (Marcomm)

Refers to the use of marketing channels and tools in combination that are commonly used by businesses including higher education institutions to message to their markets. Channels and tools include:

• Advertising: messaging target audiences including developing awareness of brand and customer participation in products/services
• Personal Selling: direct interactions between sales representatives/potential customers
• Direct Marketing: personalized communications aimed at specific individuals
• Sponsorship: associating a brand with events, causes, other
• Public Relations: managing organization’s image, reputation/risk management through media relations, press releases, and other communications
• Social Media: engaging audiences through platforms like websites, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Customer Journey: mapping the touchpoints where customers interact with a brand
• Promotion: various activities to boost engagement, sales, and brand visibility

Micro-pathway

A micro-pathway is two or more stackable credentials that can be packaged as a validated market signal connecting learners to employment in high-growth careers.

Microcredentials

Microcredentials are a record of focused learning achievement verifying what the learner knows, understands, or can do. They include an assessment based on clearly defined standards and are awarded by a trusted provider. They have stand-alone value and may also contribute to or complement other micro-credentials or macro-credentials, including through recognition of prior learning. They meet the standards required by relevant quality assurance.

Middle Skills Jobs

Refer to jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree and pay over $15 per hour. Jobs that currently require only a high school diploma are projected to experience negative job growth in the coming years and be replaced by middle-skill jobs.

Mind Map

Diagram that shows the relationships among ideas to help users better understand, remember, and communicate information. Mind maps generally organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. A central concept or idea is usually placed in the middle of a spider diagram, with associated concepts/ideas that are connected branching out from the center (key words are called nodes).

See Relational Map (used at Learn & Work Ecosystem Library)

Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI)

Refers to a broad category of types of institutions that serve minority populations. This includes Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). Each of these institutions serves a particular minority population.  There are approximately 700 MSIs in the U.S.

Mixed Methods Research

Refers to a quantitative study that incorporates qualitative research methods in order to provide a richer understanding of a program’s implementation and effectiveness (e.g., interviews, focus groups, case studies, observations).

Modular Learning

Modular learning unbundles the traditional learning “packages”—Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees—into more manageable learning chunks that are also tied to real career and life outcomes. Modular learning enables working professionals to learn new skills in shorter amounts of time, even while they work, and those seeking a degree are able to do so in a much more attainable way. They also earn credentials for the smaller modules of learning, thereby garnering value and positive feedback early in the process of advancing towards full degrees.

NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) Competencies

Eight competencies for career readiness: (1) Critical Thinking/Problem Solving (exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, overcome problems); (2) Oral/Written Communications (articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization); (3) Teamwork/Collaboration (build collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, viewpoints); (4) Digital Technology (leverage existing digital technologies ethically and efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks, accomplish goals); (5) Leadership (leverage strengths of others to achieve common goals, and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others; (6) Professionalism/Work Ethic (demonstrate personal accountability and effective work habits, e.g., punctuality, working productively with others, time workload management, understand the impact of non-verbal communication on professional work image); (7) Career Management (identify and articulate one's skills, strengths, knowledge, experiences relevant to the position desired and career goals, identify areas necessary for professional growth;  Global/Intercultural Fluency (value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, religions).

Net Price Calculators

Since 2011, each postsecondary institution participating in Title IV federal student aid programs (enrolling fulltime, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students) has been required to post a net price calculator on its website, in accordance with the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended on October 29, 2011.  The calculator uses institutional data to provide estimated net price information to current and prospective students and their families based on a student’s individual circumstances.  The calculator also allows students to calculate an estimated net price of attendance at the institution (defined as cost of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid) based on what similar students paid in a previous year. Both input and output elements are included in the calculator:

• Input elements include data elements to approximate the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC), such as income, number in family, and dependency status or factors that estimate dependency status.
• Output elements include:  Estimated total cost of attendance; Estimated tuition and fees; Estimated room and board; Estimated books and supplies; Estimated other expenses (personal expenses, transportation, etc.); Estimated total grant aid; Estimated net price; Percent of the cohort (full-time, first-time students) that received grant aid; and Caveats and disclaimers, as indicated in the HEA.

New Multiversity

A term coined by the Institute for the Future (IFTF) in 2021 referring to a wholesale reimagining of higher education and how it functions with and within a larger regional system to improve social mobility and equity for all its citizens. IFTF interviewed a cross-section of California learners at different stages of their learning journeys to explore the successes and challenges learners encounter in pursuing a higher education degree. The key findings determined to positively or negatively directly impact higher education in the future: 1) expected increase in demand for degrees, 2) ongoing seismic reorganization of work, and 3) widening inequality and racial wealth gap. The study determined a new model is needed: a place-based higher education system (A New Multiversity) to serve as an engine of community wealth-building and socio-economic mobility.

Ninety-Ten Rule (90/10)

Refers to federal regulation (90/10 rule) overseen by the U.S. Department of Education that governs for-profit higher education institutions. The rule is a proxy for measuring educational value at proprietary institutions with the intent to ensure that schools do not overly rely on federal aid and to encourage diversification of funding. Through a cap on federal funding, a proprietary school can receive a maximum of 90% of its revenue from federal financial aid sources such as Pell Grants and federal loans. The remaining 10% of revenue a proprietary school can receive must come from alternative sources, excluding federal funds. Federal policy subsequently updated the 90/10 rule to require proprietary institutions to receive at least 10% of their revenue from nonfederal educational assistance sources every fiscal year. This change was made to enhance financial stability and accountability within the for-profit education sector.

Non-Compete Clause

A specification in a contract between an employer and employee that prevents the employee from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business after the worker's employment ends. The restriction typically applies to a stated time period and geographical area.  On April 24, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to ban new non-compete agreements with all employees, including senior executives.  Existing non-compete agreements with senior executives remain enforceable but all other workers with non-compete agreements are unenforceable. Non-compete agreements have been designed historically to protect company secrets and intellectual property and encourage investment in employee training.  The new FTC rule affects workers employed by for-profit businesses; it does not apply to non-profit organizations. The rule goes into effect 120 days following publication in the Federal Register, however, it may be subject to court challenges.

Non-degree Credentials

Non-degree credentials include certificates, industry certifications, apprenticeships, educational certificates, occupational licenses, and digital badges.

Noncredit Education

Non-credit education includes any course or program that did not go through the process to be for-credit at a community college or university. They typically include personal enrichment classes, customized training for employers, English as a second language classes, and adult basic education. Many higher education institutions develop noncredit to credit bridge pathways to enable learners to earn credit for learning acquired through noncredit courses and programs.

Noncredit Mobility

Refers to economic mobility for learners who start their education and career journeys in noncredit programs. Noncredit programs are typically shorter-term training opportunities that enable learners to gain specific workforce skills and qualifications; however, they usually do not count toward Associate or Bachelor’s degree requirements and this raises concern about the economic mobility learners experience who have completed noncredit programs. Factors often studied in determining noncredit mobility are (1) access to family-wage jobs and (2) access to further educational opportunities, especially noncredit to credit pathways.

Noncredit to Credit Bridges

Noncredit courses are designed for students who wish to advance their educational and career goals. There are a variety of bridge tools institutions can use to strengthen how noncredit courses translate to academic credits. Some schools will create formalized articulation agreements or internal equivalency agreements to illustrate how a noncredit course, industry certification, and credited course articulate. Another method is to cross-list courses within a learning management system and standardize learning outcomes, performance expectations, and faculty qualifications between credit and noncredit courses. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is also a common method for providing credit to students who can demonstrate competency based on work or noncredit course experience and education.

North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS)

The standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

O*NET

O*NET Standard Occupation Codes (O*NET SOC) define the set of occupations across the world of work. Based on the Standard Occupational Classification, the taxonomy includes more than 900 occupations which currently have, or are scheduled to have, data collected from job incumbents or occupation experts. Information in the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET database includes information on skills, abilities, knowledge, work activities, and interests associated with occupations. This information can be used to facilitate career exploration, vocational counseling, and a variety of human resources functions, such as developing job orders and position descriptions and aligning training with current workplace needs.

Occupational Skills Profile

Describes essential characteristics required for a given job, to include the level of education and training required; field of education and training required; and other requirements in terms of knowledge, skills, competence, occupational interests and work values.

See: Glossary - Skills Profiling/Skills Profile; Topic: Skills Profiling/Skills Profile 

Older Workers

Generally refers to individuals who are aged 50 and above and still actively participating in the workforce. They may include individuals who are approaching retirement age, retirees who have chosen to re-enter the workforce, or those who have continued to work past the traditional retirement age for various reasons.

Dynamic shifts in the nation’s economy, shifting perceptions of retirement, increased workplace flexibility, aging of the "baby boom" generation, and an increasing number of centenarians are contributing to people working longer. By 2028, it is projected that workers aged 55 or older will represent more than 25% of the U.S. labor force, yet only 4% of firms have committed to programs that help integrate older workers into their talent pool.

In the rapidly changing learn-and-work ecosystem, postsecondary education is increasingly important for older job seekers' reemployment. They often face challenges in accessing and completing education and training, sometimes due to their greater likelihood of having acquired age-related disabilities.

Alternate terms: 50+, 55+, experienced workers, returning workers (have retired and later return to the workforce), older jobseekers

See Topic: Older Workers in the Workforce | Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (learnworkecosystemlibrary.com)

Open Assessment

Refers to an evaluation process that assesses individuals' skills, knowledge, and/or performance using openly available modes that allow for scrutiny, feedback, and participation from various sources. The term is often used in educational contexts in which the assessments are designed to be fair, equitable, and conducive to learning. Open assessment methods may include open-book exams, peer assessments, self-assessments, project-based assessments, portfolios, and simulators (e.g., in aeronautical fields, the military, and health education) to assess skills, knowledge, and/or performance in occupational contexts.

Alternative terms: transparent assessment, inclusive assessment, participatory assessment, collaborative assessment

Open Badges

Refer to a digital credentials data standard that recognizes and verifies learning and achievements. Open Badges contain metadata that describe an achievement, the individual who achieved it, and the issuer of the credential.

Open Badges Infrastructure (OBI)

Technical infrastructure supporting badge issuers and display sites to ensure interoperability across open badge systems, established by Mozilla Foundation in 2012 and currently maintained by 1EdTech Consortium (formerly IMS Global)

Open Data

Refers to a set of practices for publishing structured data on the Web. The concept behind open data is to use standards for the representation and access to data on the Web. Data are fostered to set hyperlinks among data from different sources, so that hyperlinks connect all linked data into a single global data graph, similar to the way hyperlinks on the Web connect all HTML documents into a single global information space.

Open Data Standard 

Refers to reusable agreements that make it easier for people and organizations to publish, access, share, and use better quality data. The standards are a set of specifications or requirements for how some sets of data should be made publicly available. The standards often incorporate specifications around cost (free/low cost), consistency, portability, open governance, interoperability, and structure. The data is typically made open on the web for the public to use. Examples: government data like anonymized census information, building permits, public facilities, real-time transit, road construction, service requests, zoning.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

OER are publically accessible teaching, learning, and research resources created and licensed to be free for end users to own, share, and in some cases modify.  Modify could include re-mixing, improving, and redistributing under some licenses.

UNESCO's 2019 definition: "Learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others. Stakeholders in the formal, non-formal and informal sectors (where appropriate) include: teachers, educators, learners, governmental bodies, parents, educational providers and institutions, education support personnel, teacher trainers, educational policy makers, cultural institutions (such as libraries, archives and museums) and their users, information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure providers, researchers, research institutions, civil society organizations (including professional and student associations), publishers, the public and private sectors, intergovernmental organizations, copyright holders and authors, media and broadcasting groups and funding bodies."

Open Science Principles

Refers to goals to share research findings broadly and encourage transparency in education research. Transparency can be supported by:

• All key personnel for federally funded grant projects obtaining a PID (Persistent Identifiers) such as ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor Identification prior to a grant award. (Open science policies must be aligned with policies for federal funding agencies that protect national security.)
• Where appropriate, incorporate open science practices including pre-registration of projects, planning and budgeting to support curation of data and analysis codes to facilitate ease of data sharing, and budgeting for publication of findings in open access journals.
• For some federal grant programs, including a plan in grant proposal that describes how project data will be managed and how final research data set will be shared.

Open Standards Principles

According to 1EdTech, refers to 5 principles for published specifications that are: 1) freely available to all with no implementation restrictions; 2) licensed for free with no restrictions on software implementations; 3) created, endorsed, governed, owned, and maintained by a substantial representation from across the community asked to abide by the standards;  4) governed via transparent neutral processes that provide for equitable participation by members of the community (not controlled by a limited set of market participants); and 5) transparent with respect to intellectual property claims that may hinder market adoption. These principles are useful to edtech suppliers in reducing the cost of many integrations they are required to support, because standards have a cost of implementation to suppliers even if distributed and licensed for free. Many leading suppliers choose to implement open standards because the cost is often returned to them many times over in savings in dealing with their partners.

Operational requirements

The detailed specifications in a credential management system shows how a technical system meets the needs of users and stakeholders. These typically describe how the system should work, what features and functions it should provide, and how it should integrate with other systems and tools.

Opportunity Populations

Opportunity populations refer to people in America who have had limited access to educational and professional opportunities and who face barriers to employment and career advancement. They may include: opportunity youth: young adults age 17–24 who are out of school or out of work; members of the LGBTQ community; members of the immigrant or refugee populations; formerly incarcerated individuals; members of Indigenous communities; people with disabilities (physical and/or cognitive); people without a high school diploma; people with limited English proficiency; people who are (or who have been) homeless. Not all members of these groups experience barriers to employment; individual circumstances including family background, race, geography, and other factors play a significant role in one’s access to opportunity.

Opportunity Youth

Refers to young people between the ages of 16 - 24 who are not enrolled in school or participating in the labor market. There are 5-6  million, or one in nine members of this age group in the U.S. Despite many young people’s aspirations to advance and secure family wage jobs, make connections in civic engagement, and improve their communities, once they have experienced disconnection from school and work, research indicates it is unlikely they will be able to meet these aspirations, as only 1% of youth who have been disconnected will ever earn an associate's degree or higher, compared to 36% of the general population.

Outcomes-based Loans

Refers to interest-free loans to students to cover tuition and sometimes living expenses. Learners are required to pay back the loans only if they complete their program and hit a certain income threshold. These loans are more commonly used for short-term training programs that are offered by higher education institutions or alternative providers that are not eligible for federal financial aid.

An example is the State of New Jersey’s fund established to offer outcomes-based loans to learners in certificate and other non-degree programs in high-demand fields. The program is called a “Pay it Forward Fund,” which is a reference to the fact that graduates’ loan payments are recycled back into the fund and used to support the next round of learners.

The nonprofit Social Finance has used this form of lending as part of its mix of investments since launching in 2011. The organization’s investment approach is dependent on improving measurable outcomes in education, economic mobility, health, and housing.

See Interest-free Loans

ParentPLUS Loans

ParentPLUS loans are offered by the federal government to make it more accessible and affordable for eligible parents to seek a college-level education.  To receive a loan, a parent borrower must (1) have a child who has filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA^®; (2) be the biological or adoptive parent (or in some cases, the stepparent) of a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school; (3) not have an adverse credit history; (4) meet general eligibility requirements for federal student aid. Grandparents (unless they have legally adopted the dependent student) and legal guardians are not eligible to receive parent PLUS loans, even if they have had primary responsibility for raising the student.

See Topic: ParentPLUS Loans

Pay for Skills Programs

Some private and public sector employers are adopting internal Pay for Skills programs. A key element of these programs is to incentivize skill development among employees through internal training. Such systems typically provide pay raises for mastering new skills which are determined based on the needs of the company.  Employees are often required to pass a series of written and hands-on tests that cover a set of skills and training related to quality, safety, company policy, and technical aspects of their job. If an employee scores above a specified level established by the company, they may earn a designated pay raise and move to the next level. Many companies develop their internal training and promotion systems and partner with local educational institutions.

Pay Transparency

Refers to the practice of employers providing jobseekers and workers with open access to potential salary earnings and benefits directly. More than 10 states have passed pay transparency legislation which typically requires employers to disclose salary ranges and benefits for open positions. Given the many employment disparities permeating our economy, pay transparency is a tool to help address gender and minority wage gaps. It is also a tool to enable workers to compare potential earnings and benefits directly, facilitating strategic career choices that align with their skills and financial goals.

Pell Grant

The Pell Grant is a need-based federal financial aid program managed by the U.S. Department of Education to help eligible low-income undergraduate students pay for college costs. Funds may be used for tuition, fees, room and board, and other educational expenses. Federal Pell Grants usually are awarded only to students who have not earned a bachelor's, graduate, or professional degree.  In some cases, a student who enrolls in a postbaccalaureate teacher certification program may be eligible to receive a Pell Grant.

Pell grant money comes from the Pell Grant program, which is the federal government’s largest grant program.  The program is named after former US Senator Claiborne Pell, who was the main sponsor of the legislation that created the program. Pell grants were formerly called Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOGs). [See CFDA Number: 84.063]

To receive a Pell grant, an individual must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Unlike a loan, a Pell grant does not have to be repaid. The amount of the grant depends on an individual’s financial need, costs to attend school, status as a full-time or part-time student, and plans to attend school for a full academic year or less. The federal government sets the range of funding permissible for Pell Grants.

See Topic: Pell Grant, Short-Term Pell, Workforce Pell

Policy

Policy encompasses laws, regulations, procedures, administrative rules and actions, incentives, and voluntary practices of governments and other institutions. Many entities issue policies germane to the learn-and-work ecosystem: governments—federal, state, regional/local; state systems of higher education, state coordinating boards; accrediting organizations; higher education boards of regents; employer program policies affecting tuition assistance programs; apprenticeships, internships, and work-and-learn programs; requirements related to upskilling and reskilling; Union program policies, particularly those governing company-led and union-guided apprenticeship programs; community-based such as libraries and local initiatives that support immigrant centers, Goodwill centers, and others.

Pooled Hiring

Refers to the practice of centralized coordination of federal government-wide hiring. Pooled hiring works when large numbers of applicants for an employment position apply but only 1 or 2 are selected, leaving qualified applicants still available in the pool. Agencies can leverage the hiring pool as the default course of business, working together within an agency and across Departments on shared hiring actions. Hiring managers have incentive to work collaboratively with their Human Resources (HR) partners, resulting in more strategic and innovative recruiting and efficient use of appropriate hiring authorities, assessments, and technologies available to reach top candidates. Pooled hiring at scale can maximize efficiency and enable agencies to quickly hire applicants who are highly qualified, saving time and resources and enhancing the applicant experience via centralized coordination of hiring.

Qualifications Frameworks (QFs)

Refer to structures designed at the national, regional (groups of nations), and/or international levels to guide planning, implementation, and maintenance of education and training systems, particularly higher education systems. The term, qualifications, refers to the categories and descriptions of the levels of educational and vocational qualifications (the quality or accomplishment that makes someone suitable for a particular job or activity). When combined into a framework, the qualifications enable understanding and comparisons among the different qualifications. Levels within Qualifications Frameworks are often described by learning outcomes, skills, and knowledge that are aligned with the levels.

Qualifications Frameworks are used to:

• Help create the conditions for consistency and transparency in educational and training systems operated within a nation, region, and/or globally.
• Enable employers and educational institutions to assess and recognize qualifications, which in turn facilitate mobility and transferability across education and training pathways.
• Enable individuals to learn the various levels of education and training which may be pertinent to their interests and plan their education and career pathways.
• Create quality assurance indicators used by third-party groups established by governments and industries to provide checks and balances to educational and training systems. These may include reviewing the levels of Qualifications Frameworks, the learning outcomes at each level, the standards-setting approaches, and evidence of learner outcomes. Key to checks and balances is the determination of each qualification level (for example, what is a level 1, 2, 3 or 4 and why?)

See Qualifications Frameworks (Topic)

Quality Assurance

In traditional higher education institutions, quality has been viewed broadly, involving all institutional functions and activities to include teaching and academic programs, research and scholarship, staffing, students, building, facilities, equipment, services to the community and the academic environment. Quality assurance (QA) focuses on the process to achieve quality. It seeks to convince internal and external constituents that a credential provider has processes that consistently produce high-quality outcomes. QA also makes accountability for quality explicit at various points within an institution since quality is the responsibility of everyone in the organization. QA is a continuous, active, and responsive process which includes strong evaluation and feedback loops. At its core, QA asks the question, “How does an institution know that it is achieving the desired results? "The characteristics of quality are primarily expressed in the language of the employers who hire institutions’ graduates: (1) Technical knowledge or competence in a major field; (2) Literacy (communication and computational skills, technological skills); (3) “Just-in-time” learning ability that enables graduates to learn and apply new knowledge and skills as needed—often referred to as lifelong learning skills; (4) Ability to make informed judgments and decisions (correctly define problems, gather and analyze relevant information, and develop and implement appropriate solutions);(5) Ability to function in a global community, including knowledge of different cultures and contexts as well as foreign language skills; (6) A range of characteristics and attitudes needed for success in the workplace (flexibility and adaptability; ease with diversity; motivation and persistence; high ethical standards; creativity and resourcefulness; ability to work with others, especially in groups; and demonstrated ability to apply these skills to complex problems in real-world settings). Key institutional characteristics and behaviors to increase the likelihood that the above outcomes will be realized include: (1) Clear statement of intended learning outcomes that provides explicit direction for assessment; (2) Satisfactory performance in graduate education and on relevant licensing and certification examinations; (3) Direct assessments of exiting students’ abilities that are consistent with institutional goals and demonstrate the “value added” by the institution, given students’ starting points; and (4) Students’ satisfaction with the institution’s contribution to the attainment of their goals, relative to the costs incurred.

Quality Non-Degree Credential

Quality non-degree credentials provide workers and learners with the means to successfully achieve their employment and educational goals.  In order to qualify, there must be valid, reliable, and transparent evidence that the credential constitutes quality. Quality non-degree credentials have substantial job opportunities associated with them, have affiliated competencies, and are part of educational or training pathways.

Recognition/Reputation in Credentialing

A quality, trusted, and valuable credential is widely recognized and respected by employers, professional organizations, and other relevant stakeholders. Recognition and reputation are built over time through consistent delivery of high-quality education, training, and assessment. Employers often value credentials from reputable institutions and/or certification bodies that have a proven track record of producing competent professionals. A credential's reputation is often influenced by (1) faculty expertise, (2) research output, (3) alumni success, and (4) industry partnerships.

Relational Mapping / Relational Map

A relational map visually presents connections among entities within an ecosystem, such as organizations and initiatives. Relational maps help users understand the overall structure or domain of an area of interest.

In 2024, the Learn-& Work Ecosystem Library will use relational maps to complement it is narrative descriptions of key searchable artefacts such as Key Components of the learn-and-work ecosystem, Topics, Initiatives, and Organizations. The Library's relational maps are depicted at the end of a narrative artefact. The map depicts how a particular Initiative is related to various Organizations working in that space, is related to Glossary Terms, is related to other Initiatives, and is related to other Topics. Live links to the items on the map are provided.  See examples in prototype maps.

The maps are developed by integrating manual data tagging with inferred AI-driven relations. This work includes a unique collaboration with ChatGPT’s API under an open licensing agreement that allows the Library to train and continuously refine the AI model.

Related Terms in Mapping

Concept Map: Diagram that shows the relationships among ideas to help users understand how ideas are connected. Concept maps are generally composed of two elements: concepts (usually represented by circles, ovals, or boxes and are called nodes); and relationships (usually represented by arrows that connect the concepts; the arrows often include a connecting word or verb and these arrows are called cross-links.  There are four types of common concept maps: (1) spider maps, (2) flowcharts, (2) hierarchy maps, and (3) system maps.

Mind Map: Diagram that shows the relationships among ideas to help users better understand, remember, and communicate information. Mind maps generally organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. A central concept or idea is usually placed in the middle of a spider diagram, with associated concepts/ideas that are connected branching out from the center (key words are called nodes).

Relevance/Currency in Credentialing

Demonstrates relevance to the current needs and trends of the industry or field, reflecting the knowledge and skills that are in demand, aligning with the evolving requirements of employers and stakeholders. Regular updates and revisions to the credential's content and curriculum help ensure currency and maintain trust over time.

Remedial Education (Developmental Education)

Remedial education (aka developmental education) is required instruction and support for students who are assessed by their institution of choice as being academically underprepared for postsecondary education. The intent of is to educate students in the skills required to complete gateway courses, and enter and complete a program of study. Remediation at the postsecondary level is delivered at both community college and university campuses although some states have established policy to limit public university provision of remedial education. The bulk of remedial courses focus on advancing underprepared students’ literacy (English and reading) skills or math skills. Students are often placed into remedial courses through placement tests such as the ACT, ACCUPLACER, or COMPASS assessments. Typically, each college or university sets its own score thresholds for determining whether a student must enroll in remedial courses. Some states are moving toward a uniform standard for remedial placement cut scores.

Reskill

The process of acquiring new skills or knowledge, particularly in the context of transitioning into a new career or vocation. The term is often associated with a career transition or employment training program aimed at preparing individuals for a new, higher-skilled profession. The process of reskilling may involve the development of hard skills, soft skills, or knowledge of a particular industry, but the goal is to enable a change of career or profession for the individual. Reskilling is different from Upskilling, which involves continuous development of skills within an individual's current job or career.

Return on Investment (ROI) in Higher Education

Often refers to evaluating what students will earn professionally based on their investment in an undergraduate or graduate degree, to determine if there is a positive return on their investment. The concept of ROI is that the upfront investment in acquiring the credential is offset by the increased earning potential and career advancement opportunities it provides. Indicators typically are economic and may include obtaining a job (employability), wage level, job mobility, and benefits acquired through employment. Economic ROI is just one measure of ROI in higher education.

Another important ROI is the maturation process students go through during their college experience (research finds that college serves as a capstone course for life by helping students mature and develop socially in order to become well-rounded and productive adults).

New ROI models are under exploration. One proposes a three-way model to measure the value of credentials which include short-term credentials: (1) Economic Value – value ascribed to credentials that directly connect to high-wage good jobs, and/or high-demand jobs. (2) Mobility – value ascribed to credentials that directly connect to academic (educational) and workforce advancement. (3) Engagement – value ascribed to credentials that directly connect to continued postsecondary investment by learners, such as credentials that increase the confidence of learners that future education is indeed for them -- that they can pursue an educational journey and career journey.

Reverse Transfer

Reverse transfer is the process by which a student is awarded an associate degree after transferring and completing degree requirements at a four-year institution. Through reverse transfer, students can combine the credits they earn at their four-year school with those they had previously earned at community college and retroactively be awarded an associate degree.

Rich Skills Descriptors (RSDs)

A detailed, machine-readable, standardized representation of skills used in education and in employer hiring processes. RSDs allow educational institutions to design curricula aligned with employer needs to ensure that learners acquire relevant and marketable skills. RSDs allow employers to create job descriptions that attract candidates with the specific competencies needed for a role. This level of specificity can expedite the hiring process and enhance quality matches between job seekers and employers. RSDs typically have the following components:

• Name: Short, clear, and concise.
• Skill statement:  Sufficient context to determine how skill is in alignment with Lightcast labor market skills.
• Category: Skill statement describes how it may be applied for a specific task, occupation, or need.
• Keywords/Detailed Occupations: Provides information that connects the skill to collections, keywords, employers, alignment to the Standard Occupational Classification system, professional standards and certifications, and/or alignment to Lightcast Open Skills Taxonomy

RSDs build on Credential Engine's Credential Transparency Description Language or CTDL-ASN that enables skill authors to publish definitions that can be referenced from digital credentials, pathways, and job profiles.

RSDs are authored by the owners (providers) of skills.

Rural Area & Rural Serving Institution (RSI)

A rural area is typically characterized by a low population density and distance from urban centers. Rural areas often have a strong economic base in agriculture, natural resource management, and small-scale industries. The definition of a rural area can vary depending on factors such as location, government policies, and cultural perceptions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) classifies each of the 3,142 counties in the U.S. into 9 rurality categories.  These Rural-Urban Continuum Codes are based on whether a county is located in a metropolitan or non-metropolitan area (using Office of Management and Budget's 2013 statistical definitions). After differentiating counties by metropolitan/non-metropolitan areas, the Codes define counties by population size and proximity to urban areas. A "rural" county is one with a code of 4 or higher. The 3,142 counties also cluster into 625 distinct "commuting zones." Recognizing that people often cross county lines to live, work, and commute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ERS uses U.S. Census Bureau's journey-to-work data to measure the integration of social and economic activity between counties.

A Rural-Serving Institutions (RSI) is a postsecondary institution primarily located in a rural area. RSIs are typically the main or even sole access point for postsecondary education in their community and often the largest employer. RSIs contribute to the educational and economic well-being of rural regions, providing educational opportunities, support services, and outreach programs tailored to meet the needs of rural learners, families, businesses, and the community.  In 2021, the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges developed a tool to more accurately define RSIs. The tool measures “rural indicators” (e.g., institution’s county rural classification, population size, distance from a metro area). A resulting score above a specific level classifies the institution as an RSI. Using this method, AARC identified 1,087 RSIs in the U.S.— 33% of all private, four-year institutions; 46% of all public, four-year institutions, and more than half of all public, two-year colleges. Roughly one-third of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are RSIs, 18% are High Hispanic-enrolling institutions, 93% are Tribal Colleges and Universities, and 94% are High Native-enrolling (nontribal) institutions.

Second Chance Employment

Refers to the practice of hiring individuals with a criminal record (arrest or conviction records). Second chance programs provide employment opportunities to individuals with a criminal record, supporting their reentry into the workforce, upward mobility once employed, and improving equity in employment.

Alternate terms: Second chance hiring, second chance programs

Second-year Persistence

In higher education, refers to the ability of learners to continue their academic journey and remain enrolled in their chosen program during their second year of study. It involves overcoming challenges, maintaining motivation, and staying on track toward completing their degree.  Examples of efforts that promote second-year persistence:

• Sophomore Success Programs: Some institutions offer support programs (e.g., courses, workshops) to help learners complete the general education core and recognize completion of this learning (some institutions offer a certificate or microcredential for completion of the gen core). Support services often include advising services, peer mentoring, academic workshops, and career exploration activities tailored to the needs of second-year students.
• Academic Support Centers: Some institutions provide academic support centers where students can access tutoring, writing assistance, study skills workshops, and other resources to help them succeed academically.

Self-Issued Credentials

Self-issued credentials refer to self-asserted claims about an individual’s skills, knowledge, and experience which are separate from the verifiable credentials issued by recognized authorities. Such credentials can be aligned with existing standards and include documentation to bolster the credibility of the claim (e.g. a letter from a supervisor, a sample of completed work). In the context of the learn-and-work ecosystem, this term is distinct from the self-issued credentials used for online identity verification and refers instead to demonstrated competencies which lack credentials issued by a third party. 

Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)

A digital identity model which gives individual users complete control and ownership of their personal data, empowering them to manage their persistent accounts (accounts that continue to exist or exist for a long time) and digital identities across the web without reliance on intermediaries such as educational institutions.

Short Term Credential Programs

Short-term credential programs typically run from 8-15 weeks at a postsecondary education institution. Short-term credentials may include licenses issued by state or federal governments, certificates awarded by postsecondary institutions, and certifications awarded by industry organizations.

Skilled Trades

Refers to careers that require experience-based skills and knowledge. They typically rely on on-the-job training programs and apprenticeships to teach entry-level professionals how to succeed in their trade roles. Skilled trades are often broken down into three categories: (1) skilled industrial trades, such as welders and machinists; (2) skilled construction trades, such as plumbers and carpenters; and (3) skilled service trades, such as nurses.

The skilled trades are growing in importance in the learn-and-work ecosystem. This has been fueled by a shortage of jobs in the trades, rising pay, and new technologies. Fields such as plumbing, welding, machine tooling, HVAC, solar, construction, and the electrical occupations are increasingly appealing to the youngest generation of American workers (often called “Gen-Z”), many of whom are deciding to skip a traditional college path after high school graduation in favor of seeking well-paying employment in the trades.

See Topic: Skilled Trades | Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (learnworkecosystemlibrary.com) 

Skills and Competencies

Skills define specific learned activities, and they range widely in terms of complexity. Knowing which skills a person possesses helps to determine whether their training and experience has prepared them for a specific type of workplace activity. Competencies identify the observable behaviors that successful performers demonstrate on the job. Those behaviors are the result of various abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations, and traits an employee may possess. Competencies take “skills” and incorporate them into on-the-job behaviors. Those behaviors demonstrate the ability to perform the job requirements competently.

Skills Classifications

A skill set refers to the various types of abilities and knowledge that allows someone to successfully perform a job or accomplish specific tasks. A person’s skill set may include specific technical skills as well as a variety of general types of skills.

Skills classifications systems identify the combination of skills needed to successfully perform a job or accomplish specific tasks. There are many types of skills classification systems. Most include some variation of skills that are classified as:

• Job-specific:  skills needed to complete certain tasks within a position.
• Soft skills:  the behaviors and abilities that allow someone to work successfully with others such as the ability to communicate with others, resolve problems, and share ideas in the workplace.
• Hard skills:  the technical knowledge and abilities needed to perform specific tasks.

An example is the Australian Skills Classification, led by Jobs & Skills Australia. The Classification explores connections between skills and jobs and is intended to be a “common language” for core skills. The Classification identifies three categories of skills for Australian occupations: (1) 10 core competencies common to all jobs to varying degrees of proficiency; (2) specialist tasks that describe the day-to-day work within an occupation; (3) technology tools – software and hardware that are used in an occupation. The Classification groups similar skills into skills clusters. This enables the Classification to be explored by similar skills as well as occupations.

Skills Cloud

Skills are increasingly viewed as a valuable currency for employers to consider when managing talent. To better understand and leverage talent pools, it is important for employers to identify the skills needed to achieve their organization’s mission, and to identify those skills possessed by their organization’s existing work force.

A skills cloud refers to an inventory or comprehensive overview of the capabilities of a workforce, allowing organizations to understand the skills and competencies which exist among their employees. Skills clouds can be developed from surveys or from analyzing existing data sets. Skills clouds can be useful for workforce planning, talent management, and identifying areas for employee development.

Alternate terms: Skills Registry, Talent Cloud, Competency Cloud, Ability Index

Skills Clusters

Are a new way of looking at the labor market than occupational classifications or degree qualifications, as described by the National Skills Commission of the Australian Government. Skills clusters contain similar specialist tasks that are broadly transferable (if you can do one task in the cluster, you can likely do the others). Clusters show how skills are related and connected to one another without consideration to occupations they are connected to.  Skills cluster approaches offer a new way to explore skills transferability; however, skills clusters are not a measure of overall similarity or direct transferability between occupations that use these skills, nor do they take into account degree qualifications, registration, or licensing that is required to undertake certain tasks.

Skills Ecosystem

The skills ecosystem is a term popularized with the advent of skills-based hiring. Skills-based hiring is hiring for skills required for a particular job role. Employers are trying to match their existing employee talent to new job positions and fill them with new employees. In the past, many employers used the college degree as a proxy for the ability to do the job—for perceived skills that have been achieved. Increasingly, the degree is not a very precise way of hiring so the skills ecosystem has been gaining attention as a new currency for hiring.

Skills Framework

A structure that allows organizations to develop strategy on how to acquire necessary skills. It provides key sector information, occupations/job roles, and the required existing and emerging skills. The Frameworks are typically co-created by employers, industry associations, educational institutions, unions, and government for use in workforce development. Uses of Skills Frameworks include: (1) creating a common skills language for individuals, employers, and training providers; (2) facilitating the recognition of skills; and (3) supporting the design of training programs for skills and career development.

Skills Library

A centralized and structured compiling of skills data, qualifications, and attributes that helps to create a unified understanding of skills for an organization in areas of employment need, curriculum development, job architecture, or competency grouping.  Other names for a skills library include skills inventory, skills taxonomy, skills framework, skills catalog, and skill ontology.

Skills Mapping

Graphic depiction of the abilities that an individual employee possesses. The mapping  process assesses the employee's proficiency with a specific skill, particularly those associated with certain projects, positions and duties. This process is often known as competency mapping, even though the latter term includes more than just skills. A skill is a single capacity to do a task effectively, whereas a competency is a collection of the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and characteristics necessary to complete a task.

Skills Profiling / Skills Profile

Skills profiling is a way to measure an individual’s strengths and is often used to track career progression and communicate the skills an individual possesses to employers. Companies also use profiling tools to identify skills possessed in their teams, how best to build teams based on skills, and how to inform individual employees of areas for professional development (reskilling, upskilling). Skills profiling is commonly used in the career advising field.

Examples of Skills Profile Tests: DISC test; Holland Code (RIASEC) Test; Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^®(MBTI^®) assessment; OECD Skills Profiling Tool; O*NET Interest Profiler; Skills Matcher:

See Topic: Skills Profiling / Skills Profile

Skills Taxonomy

A system of classification that categorizes and organizes skills into groups or skill clusters. The process of developing a skills taxonomy involves identifying the skills and competencies required for a particular job position.  Skills taxonomies can be used by employers, workforce development organizations, and educational institutions to create a framework for conducting skills gap analyses and prioritizing which gaps to address within companies, industry sectors, and education and training programs.

Skills Validation

The process by which an assertion that 'I have a skill' is substantiated.  The assertion is typically conducted by qualified 3rd party to create trust that the individual possesses a skill. The process is based on a shared understanding of meaning of a skill, it indicates the level and context of a skill, and can be conducted through various methods.

Skills-based Hiring

Skills-based hiring focuses on skills, not degrees. Skills-based hiring emphasizes practical, working knowledge; it prioritizes what an applicant can do, rather than the education they have. To succeed at a job, an employee needs the skills to perform their role and duties; this is the foundation of skills-based hiring. The prevailing hiring mode is for companies to prioritize degrees and academic achievements over practical skills in looking at job applicants’ qualifications. The recent global pandemic has forced companies to re-evaluate their hiring methods and shift to skills-based hiring.

See: Skills-first hiring

Skills-based Incremental Credentialing

Incremental credentials, frequently known as microcredentials, are an evolving concept in postsecondary education and training. Less comprehensive than a degree, they represent the attainment of a specific competency or set of skills. The case for skills-based incremental credentialing posits four key uses: (1) retention (helps promote persistence and completion among current students); (2) recruitment (smaller, standalone credentials are more attractive to adult learners, a large and growing market); (3) equity (helps students whose life circumstances and finances force delays to see if they're accumulating more than debt); (4) workforce development (partners with businesses to help employees upskill, reskill, and adapt to a dynamic economy.

Skills-based Promotion

As the workplace changes, some private and public sector employers are turning to skills-based promotion.  A skills- or merit-based promotion is based on an analysis of the employee's performance. Skills-based promotion systems take into account ability, behaviors, experience, strengths, and technical skills. These systems are a strategy to keep high-achieving, high-quality employees engaged and motivated. This approach contrasts with traditional tenure-based systems that promote or reward workers based on seniority and service within the organization.

Skills-First Hiring

Refers to employer hiring that puts skills at the forefront of hiring strategies.  Individuals seeking employment are recognized for their skills and capabilities, and these are aligned with the roles requiring specific skills and competencies needed to perform these roles well.

Skills-first hiring does not exclude traditional hiring systems that focus on college degrees and other credentials; rather, this newer evolving approach enables employers to widen opportunities to hiring a more diverse workforce, specifically to expand the talent pool, democratize access to jobs, and make the labor market and workforce more resilient.

LinkedIn has studied the benefits of skills-first hiring and reports in Skills-First: Reimagining the Labor Market and Breaking Down Barriers (2023) that this approach can:

• Add up to 20 times more eligible workers to employer talent pools.
• On average, globally increase the talent pool of workers without bachelor’s degrees by 9% more than for workers with degrees.
• Increase the proportion of women in the talent pool 24% more than it would for men in jobs where women are underrepresented.
• Increase the talent pool for Gen X workers by 8.5 times, 9 times for Millennial workers, and 10.3 times for Gen Z workers.

Social Network Analysis (SNA)

Refers to visual and mathematical analyses that display how people interact, exchange information, learn, and influence each other. SNAs are often used in regional industry ecosystem maps to depict networks of companies, higher education institutions, and other organizations working to coordinate information sharing, seek collaborative opportunities, and maximize and expand the workforce in various industry sectors (e.g., the automotive sector).

Specialist Tasks

Refer to day-to-day work within an occupation.  Specialist tasks are useful for differentiating occupations. They can be transferable across occupations and industry sectors, but they are not viewed as universal.

Stackable Credentials

Stacking credentials is part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual’s qualifications and help them to move along a career pathway or up a career ladder to different and potentially higher-paying jobs. Stackable credentials can be viewed as building blocks where each short-term credential that a person earns builds into a higher-level credential. There are 4 types of stackable credentials: (1) Traditional or progressive stackable credentials follow a linear path where a student earns a short-term credential (e.g., certificate) and continues their education by pursuing a higher-level credential (e.g., associate’s and/or bachelor’s degree). (2) Supplemental or value-add stackable credentials do not follow a linear path, but still allow a student to enter and exit the higher education system as needed. A ‘supplemental’ stackable credential is when an individual may have already earned a bachelor’s degree, then attends a bootcamp to learn additional skills to supplement their degree. (3) Independent stackable credential is when an individual accumulates multiple credentials but does not pursue a degree. In this case, an individual’s certifications build on one another and the individual acquires skills that craft a path forward in their career, but they do not ‘ladder’ into a singular degree pathway. (4) Work-based learning, apprenticeships, and employer-sponsored training combine on-the-job training with formal educational instruction. For example, stacked apprenticeships are shorter-term programs where individuals pursue a series of related apprenticeships to build on their skill set. An individual participating in an industrial manufacturing technician apprenticeship program could learn how to operate production equipment, and then pursue additional manufacturing opportunities to learn more related skills.

Stand-alone Academic Certificates

Consist of free-standing body of knowledge with organized, graded higher education courses, and are often offered in an interdisciplinary manner. Generally, learners are certificate-seeking students although some may choose to apply to be degree-seeking learners and enroll subsequently into academic degree programs.

STARS—Skilled Through Alternative Routes

opportunity@work defines STARS as individuals who may not have a four-year college degree but possess the skills for higher-wage work. They are typically at least 25 years old, active in the workforce, and have a high school diploma but not a bachelor’s degree. They have developed valuable skills on the job, through military service, in community college, or through other alternative routes. Research has found that millions of STARs have demonstrated skills for roles with salaries at least 50% higher than their current job. There are estimated to be more than 70 million workers in this category, and they constitute a major, large, and overlooked talent pool.

State Financial Aid Programs

Refers to the processes when states provide significant funding directly to students through state financial aid programs.  These programs are often separate line items from appropriations and they result in a significant source of revenue for state institutions.  Additionally, some states provide funding for promise programs, vouchers, differential funding, and public-private partnerships.

State Formula Funding

Refers to the process in which a state funds for variation in inputs across higher education institutions and enrollment changes annually. States calculate appropriations using a formula that accounts for specific inputs (e.g., number and characteristics of students enrolled, the level or field of study). States often codify allocation formulas through legislation, so legislators and governing boards have fewer opportunities to intervene.

State Incremental Funding

Refers to the process in which States set the level of appropriations in a given year and increase or decrease the amount by a fixed percentage annually. Appropriation levels are not calibrated to achieve specified outcomes, nor to incentivize the efficient use of institutional resources or reward specific performance indicators. Many states combine incremental funding with performance-based funding to enable attention to outcomes-based funding.

State longitudinal data systems (SLDS) or P-20W data systems

State-level data infrastructures in the U.S. that securely bring together specific data on early childhood, K-12, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Data from these sectors enable leaders, practitioners, and community members to better understand the progress, predictors, and performance of learners throughout their educational and employment pathways.

State Performance-based Funding (PBF)

Refers to state funding appropriations based on the outcomes of the higher education institution (e.g., number of degrees conferred). PBG accounts for a small portion of state appropriations (usually less than 25% of state funding). PDF is often paired with either formula or incremental funding (the formula or incremental approach provides a base level of funding and PBF provides variable funding that is based on performance).

State Systems of Higher Education / Coordinating Boards

Governance structures established in most states in the U.S. to develop and implement postsecondary education policy so that it aligns with state and federal statutes; administer academic, financial aid, and workforce programs to include the review and approval of academic programs and research centers; commission and conduct research and analysis and complete data reports; and set tuition rates, administer funding formulas, and allocate funds. Governors often appoint their Chief Operating Officers (CEOs).

State Systems of Higher Education occur in states which centralize governance under boards that oversee multiple institutions within the stat). Functions include managing campus systems and individual institutions; and making decisions related to funding, policies, and overall coordination. Coordinating Boards serve as a liaison between state government and the governing boards of individual higher education institutions. Functions include fostering collaboration and alignment among individual institutions.

Stop-Out

Refers to a learner temporarily withdrawing from enrollment at a college or university, or choosing not to re-enroll in an ongoing degree program, often to pursue another activity or due to competing obligations. Stop-out is distinct from the concept of drop-out, because the pursuit of education is delayed rather than abandoned.

Stranded Credits (Transcript Holds)

Stranded credits refer to academic college credit that students have earned but cannot access because their former higher education institution is holding their transcript as collateral for an unpaid balance to the institution. The unpaid balance, often referred to as student debt, can refer to unpaid tuition, unpaid room and board, unpaid parking tickets, and library fees. The outstanding debt often incurs interest, increasing the amount owed by a student over time if unresolved. Students who leave their higher education institution without graduating but owing the institution money are often unaware of the hold on their transcript. They may encounter the hold years later when they request an official transcript for a job, or the debt comes up on a credit report. Holds on transcripts may also result in lost credits for students trying to re-enroll at a different institution.  Students cannot access the credits earned at the prior institution until the debt is paid off.  Some students then start over, and their prior credits are lost. Policies on transcript holds have been found to disproportionately affect students of color and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Structured & Unstructured Data

Structured data is organized and easily searchable, making it suitable for analysis and decision-making. Structured data typically has a pre-defined data model or fixed schema, such as structured rows and columns that can be sorted. Examples: Excel files; SQL databases; Web form results; Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tags; product directories; reservation systems.

Unstructured Data does not have a pre-defined data model or fixed schema, making it more difficult to organize and process using traditional data management tools. Examples: PDF; Word files; printed/scanned documents; Image, video, audio.

Student / Learner Mobility—in K-12

In K-12 education, refers to any time a student changes schools for reasons other than grade promotion, to include students changing schools during a school year voluntarily (to participate in a new program) or involuntary (being expelled or escaping from bullying). Student mobility is often related to residential mobility, when a family becomes homeless or moves due to changes in a parent’s job.

Alternative Terms

• Churn
• Transience

Summer Bridge Program

Many high school graduates are admitted to college and indicate intention to matriculate in the fall term, but do not show up on campus—this is known as “summer melt.”  One approach to addressing summer melt and boosting matriculation are summer bridge programs offered by higher education institutions. These programs vary among institutions but typically offer the opportunity for learners to enhance their academic skills, foster a sense of belonging among peers (social networking), and navigate the array of resources on campus—before the start of the academic year. The aim of bridge programs is to improve learners’ access and success.

Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks (SRS RN)

The National Science Foundation’s Systems Research Networks and Smart and Connected Communities Programs are part of NSF's portfolio of investments in interdisciplinary research that advance fundamental knowledge about urban, rural, and other communities and systems.

SRS Programs define sustainable regional systems as connected urban and rural systems, including all systems in between, designed with the goal of measurably advancing the equitable well-being of people and the planet. Regions are defined as networks of urban, rural, and all systems in between, that make up a dynamic, symbiotic system with complex social and physical interactions. Urban systems are geographical areas with a high concentration of human activity and interactions, embedded within multi-scale interdependent social, engineered, and natural systems. Rural systems are any settlements with population, housing, economic activity, or areas not in an urban geographical area.

S&CC Program defines a smart and connected community as a community that synergistically integrates intelligent technologies with the natural and built environments, including infrastructure, to improve the social, economic, and environmental well-being of those who live, work, or travel within it. Communities are defined as having geographically-delineated boundaries – such as towns, cities, counties, neighborhoods, community districts, rural areas, and tribal regions – consisting of various populations, with the structure and ability to engage in meaningful ways with proposed research activities.

Systemness

Refers to a concept promulgated by the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH), on behalf of its network of 51 higher education systems working collaboratively to address critical issues in higher education. The concept is founded in the recognition that systems working together are greater than the sum of their parts.  The core of their commitment is to leverage their power to convene and facilitate, along with their governing and policy-making authority, to build collaborations to support students and campuses—rather than trying to mediate competitive actions.

Target School

Can refer to a specific school or learning institution in which an employer invests in order to create a pipeline for the training and preparation of that employer's future workers.

Technology Tools & Systems

Technology tools and systems are hardware tools which include computers, mobile devices, servers, networks, printers, and other physical components that enable technologies; and operating systems which include software that manages computing resources and runs applications.

Technology-based Economic Development (TBED)

A term that describes approaches that grow ecosystems in which entrepreneurs build and scale technology-driven businesses, which in turn create high-skill and high-wage jobs, economic opportunity, and the industries of the future. Examples of TBEDs in the U.S. include Silicon Valley (California); Research Triangle (North Carolina); and Route 128 (Massachusetts). TBED components typically require:

• Research: research base and capacity to generate knowledge
• Commercializing research: mechanisms to transfer knowledge to the marketplace
• Entrepreneurship: building and sustaining entrepreneurship culture
• Investment Capital: investment and risk capital, including leveraging private investment funds with public funds, to support startups and emerging companies
• Workforce: availability of technically skilled workforce, especially workers in STEM fields

Three-year / Accelerated Degrees

Refers to undergraduate college degrees that typically can be completed in 3 years instead of the traditional 4 years. They are also referred to as accelerated or fast-track programs. They often combine Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and/or dual-credit college courses in high school; attending classes in the summer or during inter-semester (winter) sessions; and completing more than 15 credits per semester.

See Topic: Three-year degree programs (Accelerated or Fast Track Degree Programs) – Finance

Today’s Students

Refers to a term defined by Higher Learning Advocates. "Today’s students are more diverse in age, race, and income level than any previous generation of college students. They’re more mobile and may not live on campus. Most participate in the workforce, either full-time or part-time. Work and family responsibilities beyond the classroom—whether learning on campus or online—often influence students’ educational goals. Competing priorities and added responsibilities also mean many students struggle to meet their basic needs."

Toolkit Generation

Refers to a trend that the skilled trades are newly appealing to the youngest generation of American workers (often called “Gen-Z”), many of whom are skipping a traditional college path after high school graduation in favor of the trades. Gen Z’s embrace of trades and vocational education reflects a pragmatic approach to career readiness—one which emphasizes skills over traditional college degrees. This trend is fueled by a shortage of jobs in the trades, rising pay, and new technologies in fields such as plumbing, welding, machine tooling, HVAAC, solar, construction, and the electrical occupations. These are all leading to new perspectives on the benefits of working in the trades. Educational paths to the trades are changing as well. At the high school level, this has resulted in many locations to acceleration of a three-track system that allows students to explore their interests in the trades and gain practical skills: (1) students take 2 years of foundational courses including math, science, history, and language (General Education); (1) in junior year, students choose two potential career tracks (Career Tracks); and (3) senior year focuses on a particular area of study related to a chosen career path (Specialization).

Transcript Holds (Stranded Credits)

Transcript holds occur at many higher education institutions when a student incurs unpaid balances for unpaid tuition, room and board, parking tickets, and library fees. The unpaid balance, often referred to as student debt, can additionally incur interest, increasing the amount owed by a student over time if unresolved. Students who leave their higher education institution without graduating but owing the institution money are often unaware of the hold on their transcript. They may encounter the hold years later when they request an official transcript for a job, or the debt comes up on a credit report. Holds on transcripts may also result in lost credits for students trying to re-enroll at a different institution.  Students cannot access the credits earned at the prior institution until the debt is paid off.  Some students then start over, and their prior credits are lost. Policies on transcript holds have been found to disproportionately affect students of color and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

The related term, "stranded credits" refers to the academic college credit that students have earned but cannot access because their former higher education institution is holding their transcript as collateral for an unpaid balance to the institution.

Transfer & Credit Mobility Technology

Refers to types of technology that support student transfer and credit mobility. Many aim to automate and speed credit evaluation and verification processes for learners and reduce biases introduced by evaluators:

• Transfer portals that provide students one-stop baseline transfer information (e.g., credit equivalencies and information on programs, admissions, cost, financial aid, academic advising)
• Sharing machine-readable electronic transcripts by postsecondary, K-12, employers, and community organizations
• Course equivalency and automated credit evaluation tools
• Degree audit and planning tools that allow students and academic and career advisors to map evaluated credits to credentials of interest.
• Dynamic credit mobility+ portals that access transcripts to combine credit evaluation and identification of optimal degree pathways with determination of time and estimated costs to completion; career supports and labor market alignment; credit for prior learning; eligibility for Pell grants, military aid, and scholarships
• Comprehensive learning and employment records in electronic wallets that students carry with them and that document learning from a variety of academic and non-academic settings
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning advances that automate course equivalencies through algorithms rather than applying a limited set of transfer rules

Transfer Shock

Refers to the problem of adjustment – especially accompanied by a temporary drop in grade point average – sometimes encountered during the 1-2 academic terms at a college or university to which a student has transferred. Research has found that a subsequent recovery in grade point average is common.

Tribal College

Refers to an institution of higher education in the United States that is established and operated by a federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native community. These colleges primarily serve Native American populations and often focus on preserving and promoting indigenous cultures. There are 35 Tribal colleges and universities in the U.S. They are located in 14 states, primarily in areas with significant Native American populations.

Trust in Credentialing

Refers to the confidence and reliability attributed to a credential by various stakeholders, including employers, educational institutions, professional organizations, and individuals themselves. It involves the belief that the credential accurately represents an individual's qualifications, knowledge, and skills; and that it has been earned through a legitimate and credible process. Many elements help ensure trust in credentials: (1) accreditation, (2) recognition, (3) transparency, (4) accountability, (5) rigorous assessment, (6) relevance, (7) ethical standards, and (8) proven track record.

Trusted Issuer List

A machine-readable registry of issuers of credentials that meet a specific set of quality, accreditation, or licensing criteria.

Tuition Equity Law

Refers to legislation allowing all students in a state, regardless of immigration status, to access in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, and state financial aid at both public and private institutions. These laws recognize the pivotal role colleges and universities can play in advancing policy change locally, as well as implementing legislation to ensure the safety and support of DACA, undocumented, refugee, international, and other immigrant-origin students and staff. Nearly half the states in America have some kind of tuition equity law. A report by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration partnered with the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the American Immigration Council (AIC) found that immigrant-origin students account for nearly one-third of all domestic students in U.S. higher education. The Higher Ed Immigration Portal offers comprehensive guides and resources at the federal and state levels.

Two-Generation Approach

Refers to whole-family approaches educational institutions take to intentionally provide processes, policies, and support systems designed to boost retention and accelerate completion of educational programs for students who are parents. Examples of approaches:

• Braid and blend federal and state funding streams; e.g., Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG).
• Provide wraparound and bundled services; e.g., health services, benefits access, affordable childcare on campus and single-stop family resource centers.
• Enforce Title IX protections pertaining to pregnant and parenting students.
• Build faculty and staff capacity for approaches that support the needs of students who are parents.
• Provide summer programs for students who are parents and their children to boost retention, accelerate completion, and reduce loss of learning over the summer (“summer slide”) for school-age children.
• Sponsor Summer Food Services Program (SFSP) which provides summer meals and reduces food insecurity children of eligible students.
• Increase flexible hours or self-service options through online access to help parenting students more easily obtain public service benefits and avoid missing classes due to hours spent in lines at government agency offices.
• Offer FASFA and other financial aid preparation workshops to help students who are parents access financial aid and offer financial literacy workshops to educate students about debt prevention and post-graduation financial success.

Unbundling

Unbundling is the process of disaggregating educational provision into its component parts, very often with external actors. Rebundling is the reaggregation of those parts into new components and models. Both are happening in different parts of college and university education, and in different parts of the degree path, in every dimension and aspect—creating an extraordinarily complicated environment in an educational sector that is already in a state of disequilibrium.

Underemployment

Refers to a measure of the number of individuals in an economy who are unwillingly working in lower-skill and/or lower-paying jobs, or who are employed part-time because they cannot obtain full-time jobs that use their skills. Both underemployment and unemployment are counted in U.S. government reports in order to provide a truer picture of the health of the job market. The causes of underemployment include economic recessions, rapidly changing workforce needs, lack of alignment between employer needs and education credentialing programs, impacts on hiring that occurred with COVID, and demographic impacts broadly and in specific industry sectors (equal opportunity for many populations – race/ethnicity, gender, age, disability).

There are three types of underemployment:

• Visible underemployment in which an individual works fewer hours than necessary for a full-time job in their chosen field. Due to the reduced hours, they may work two or more part-time jobs to make ends meet.
• Invisible underemployment in which an individual is unable to find a job in their chosen field. They work as a result in a job that is not commensurate with their skill set and, in most cases, pays much below their customary wage.
• Dropping/stopping out: individuals unable to find work in their chosen field have quit the workforce altogether (they have not looked for a job in the last four weeks, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics' definition of "not in the labor force").

Underserved Community

The federal government uses this term to refer to populations that share a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the government's definition of “equity.”  The term “equity” means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Upskill

The process of gaining new skills or knowledge, particularly in the context of adapting to economic and technological changes in the workplace. Upskilling can be achieved through traditional education, on-the-job training, or through professional development, and may include acquiring skills such as leadership and emotional intelligence in addition to more specialized technical or professional skills. Upskilling can also involve the use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain to enhance and deepen existing skill sets. Upskilling is different from Reskilling, which involves acquiring new skills and knowledge to transition into different jobs or fields. 

Validity

In a research study, refers to the extent to which the study accurately measures what it claims to measure. Validity refers to both the accuracy of the entire study as well as each step of the study. There are four types of validity:

• Statistical conclusion validity asks if a finding is accurate. Is there adequate power, sample size? Are assumptions of statistical tests violated? Are measures reliable?
• Construct validity asks how well the inferences made about higher level constructs represented in the study match (1) what was implemented and (2) what was measured as an outcome.
• External validity asks whether a cause-effect relationship holds under variations in people, settings, treatment variables, and measurement variables.
• Internal validity asks whether changes in the treatment condition impact changes in the outcome. Did something other than the treatment explain variation(s) in the measured outcome?

Value in Credentialing

Refers to the worth, usefulness, and tangible benefits that a credential provides to individuals, employers, educational institutions, and society as a whole. Many elements help ensure value in credentials: (1) employability, (2) career advancement/mobility, (3) wage levels, (4) industry recognition and relevance, (5) personal and professional development, (6) credibility and trustworthiness, (7) access to further education, and (8) contribution to society and community.

Verifications & Recordkeeping

Verifying learning and recording that learning on a portable record is the main way learners communicate their readiness for further education and work. Most job seekers rely on resumés, job applications, and credentials to communicate their skills and work experience to prospective employers. These traditional methods do not capture the full range of a job seeker’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. These documents cannot be combined easily into a single profile that represents the entirety of an individual’s abilities. They have other drawbacks as well: they typically fail to represent skills in a manner that is universally understood, do not allow for easy verification that a specific skill was demonstrated by the learner, and do not indicate if and when the skill becomes outdated or needs to be renewed. While most institutions continue to use the traditional college and university transcript, many reforms are underway related to student learning records: (1) Comprehensive Learning Records; (2) Learning and Employment Records; (3) Comprehensive Navigator; (4) Digital Wallets; 5) Blockchain.

Work Colleges

Refer to a higher education institution approved by the U.S. Department of Education that meets the federal regulatory requirements to integrate work experience into their academic programs, fostering a unique and holistic approach to education. Guided by statute, Work Colleges must meet the requirement that all their resident students participate in a comprehensive work-learning-service program for all years of enrollment.

Work-based Learning

Work-based learning refers to education and training carried out by students or employees while working. This approach contrasts with traditional methods of learning, which tend to take place in a classroom, laboratory setting. or even in the home via remote learning methods. Work-based learning includes: apprenticeships, internships, cooperative education, service learning, and career and technical education. Three components typically occur in work-based learning: (1) alignment of classroom and workplace learning; (2) application of academic, technical, and employability skills in a work setting; and (3) support from classroom or workplace mentors.

Workforce Development

Workforce development refers to the broad range of initiatives offered by government offices and agencies to help create, sustain, and retain a viable workforce. The objective of workforce development is to create economic prosperity for individuals, businesses, and communities. Workforce development focuses on an individual’s ability to grow his/her skills and develop the tools needed for career success. Workforce development typically includes education, training, and career navigation and employability services.

Workforce Equity

Workforce equity means the elimination of racial gaps in employment and income such that the workforce – both public and private – is racially representative of the general population, at all different levels of skill and pay, across occupational groups and sectors.  (National Fund for Workforce Solutions)

Working Learner

Individuals who are both working for pay and enrolled in formal learning programs that lead to a recognized credential. They are the majority of part-time students and more than a third of the fulltime student population in the United States.

Workplace Equity

Equity at the workplace refers to the fairness of organizational systems and the absence of systematic and persistent disparities in the opportunities and resources available to employees, regardless of their demographic and social identities.

World of Work

Refers to all enterprises, the public sector, and civil society organizations -- a holistic term that refers to learning integrated with work, and the integration and relationship between work, society, and personal life. Employment is a related term which is work done for employers.

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The main international standards organization for the World Wide Web. The Consortium was founded in 1994 and composed of member organizations that work together to develop standards for the W3C. In March 2023, W3C had 462 members. W3C also engages in education and outreach, develops software, and provides an open forum for discussion about the Web. It provides critical digital infrastructure for the global learn-and-work ecosystem.

Wraparound Learner (Student) Support Services

A term used to describe a package of services found in the research literature to support learner success. Tutoring, counseling, childcare, transportation and other non-instructional services can help learners at community colleges and universities complete their credentials. These services may include full or partial payment of tuition expenses, full or partial payment for books and materials, frequent contacts with a career counselor, mentoring, academic advising, tutoring, childcare voucher for hours spent in classes for students actively enrolled at the institution, transportation assistance (e.g., local bus passes), and one-time emergency assistance with rent or other expenses on a case-by-case basis.

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)

Refers to reducing or eliminating the financial burden on learners by offering educational materials, including textbooks, at no cost. This can involve utilizing open educational resources (OER), library resources, or other freely accessible materials.