Overview

The Western Interstate Commission  for Higher Education (WICHE) announced the Short-Term Credentials Communities of Practice initiative (24 months duration) in Fall 2026.  The initiative created two opportunities for the states, territories, and freely associated states in the WICHE region to launch two communities of practice focused on advancing policy and practice related to short-term credentials. This work is supported within The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Quality Skills and Education Pathways project and the Education and Employment Research Center.

This work supports states and Pacific jurisdictions in developing a more comprehensive understanding of their short-term credential investments.

• Aligning Investments Community of Practice
  • 3-5 states/Pacific jurisdictions to examine which short-term credentials they are currently subsidizing and explore how these investments align with their economic goals.
  • The community of practice is designed to support inter-agency collaboration, deepen employer engagement, foster cross-state learning, and enhance data-informed decision making.
• Assessing Private Providers Community of Practice
  • 3-5 states/Pacific jurisdictions to review, assess, and enhance their current regulatory approaches to short-term credentials offered by private providers, with a focus on data collection and use.
  • The community of practice is designed to support inter-agency collaboration, foster cross-state learning, contribute to the field’s research base, and enhance data-informed decision making.

Oversight mechanisms:

• Technical assistance from WICHE staff and national experts
• $15,000 subawards for participating states and Pacific jurisdictions
• Funded travel to two annual in-person meetings

Proposals for submission are due to WICHE by October 22.

The RFPs are open to all WICHE states and Pacific jurisdictions: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, the U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and American Samoa), Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Background

Short-term credentials are taking on an increasingly important role in the postsecondary sector, with growing student demand, new state and federal investments, and a groundswell of offerings from non-institutional providers entering the marketplace. Yet many unanswered questions remain about the impact of these credentials on student outcomes and their efficacy as workforce and economic development tools. Especially when offered by private providers, these credentials often fall outside the scope of traditional regulatory structures for postsecondary education, and data on their nature and outcomes is extremely limited. This project is founded in the need to support states/Pacific jurisdictions in developing a more comprehensive understanding of how their short-term credential investments and oversight are impacting students and economies.

Partners

• WICHE
• Pew Charitable Trusts
• Education and Employment Research Center

Funder

Pew Charitable Trusts

Resources

Application: https://lnkd.in/gVZzn6mb.

 Website: Short-term Credentials Communities of Practice - WICHE