Overview

The LER Accelerator launched in 2024 with support from Walmart. The effort boosts the adoption of Learning and Employment Records (LERs) in postsecondary education by focusing on (1) overcoming implementation delays, (2) raising awareness, and (3) fostering collaboration among educational associations who represent the important campus stakeholders responsible for this work.

Work focuses on the following key areas:

1. Raising awareness of LERs and innovative credentials among learners, educators (e.g., faculty, co-curricular professionals) employers, and institutions
2. Advocating for policy changes that will support the development and use of LERs
3. Integrating LERs into courses and curricula, including general education programs
4. Developing resources and guidelines for institutions
5. Measuring the impact of LERs on student learning, retention, graduation, and post-graduation career success outcomes

Background

A coalition of national associations that represent stakeholders on college campuses are collaborating to address a common challenge postsecondary institutions face in adapting learning and preparing learners for employment: slow adoption of digital credentials. Many institutions are not yet poised to respond to the increasing demand for microcredentials, badges, and other digital credentials that learners can use as clear evidence to prospective employers of their skills, knowledge, and abilities. The adoption and acceleration of LERs are viewed as a way to modernize the dated U.S., recognizing that research still finds that employers trust credentials of any type from colleges and universities the most. Areas needing most attention include unclear market demand for skill and competency recognition, perceived high administrative and technical barriers, disparate enterprise data systems, and current business models that do not support LER development.

Partners

The following organizations comprise the national coalition:

• 1EdTech Consortium
• American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
• American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
• American Council on Education (ACE)
• Association for Institutional Research (AIR)
• Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN)
• Digital Credentials Consortium (DCC)
• Educause
• National Academic Advising Association (NACADA)
• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
• NASPA
• UPCEA

The LER includes the Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR), representing the skills and competencies achieved by students during their academic career.

Funders

Past Lumina Foundation grants, current grant from the Gates Foundation, and current grant from the Walmart Foundation.

LER Accelerator Coalition Resources

Resources and deliverables will be accessible through the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (see: Special Project: LER Accelerator).

• Inventory
• LER Accelerator Principles Statement
• LER Accelerator Terms & Definitions
• Cohort Projects to Advance Learner-Centered, Interoperable Digital Credentialing
• LER Accelerator Cohort Project Descriptions
• Playbooks – Coming Soon
• Case Studies – Coming Soon