With more non-degree credentials than degrees in the U.S. – and often little public information about their quality or outcomes – students and learners need access to comprehensive data to understand which credentials and skills lead to in-demand jobs and future career and education pathways.
Lumina’s FutureReady States Initiative supports 12 states in aligning education and workforce systems to identify, improve, and scale credentials of value, helping more adults gain meaningful opportunities in a fast-changing economy.
To complement this work, Credential Engine will focus on gathering and publishing consistent data on non-degree credentials in three states, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Texas. By working with state partners and leveraging tools like our AI-supported CTDL xTRA, we’ll create detailed state-level collections of non-degree information, covering providers, costs, skills, and quality assurance. This work will not only support learners, workers, and employers in navigating the credential marketplace in these states, it will also provide the most complete picture of all non-degree credentials to best inform state policy and practice. And, of course, it will significantly strengthen the availability and value of open credential data nationwide.
Use Lumina’s Future Ready States Initiative as a catalyst for action.
The Future Ready States initiative remains an ideal opportunity for state leaders to curate lists of non-degree credentials, their economic value, and outcomes so all stakeholders can get comparable information about available credentials from a single source. No matter where your state or institution stands in cataloging the value of non-degree credentials, you can take meaningful steps toward greater transparency connected with this transformative initiative. Here are some starting points to consider:
- Do you have access to comparable information on all non-degree credentials, like their cost, time to completion, connection to in-demand jobs, and skills? (We are especially interested in non-degree credentials offered within private companies or between private companies that are not already captured in compendia of publicly-funded credentials.)
- How are non-degree credential data stored?
- Are lists of quality non-degree credentials publicly available for learners to explore or sitting in spreadsheets?
- Do your education, training or workforce bills have language that ensures that essential information on non-degree credentials is made public as structured, open, linked and interoperable data for the purposes of transparency and use in modern tools, services, and platforms, including those using AI?
If these questions resonate, we can help! Credential Engine is a non-profit on a mission to map the credentials, qualifications, and skills landscape with clear information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to discover and pursue the learning and career pathways that are best for them.
The Credential Registry is an open resource designed to make credential information widely available to everyone using the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL). Thanks to the dedication of government agencies, industry groups, certification bodies, and funders (like Lumina) the importance of credential transparency has expanded to 36 states and is growing globally.
→ Explore the credential transparency landscape in our State Credential Transparency Toolkit.
Credential Engine is pleased to offer the following support to meet your Future Ready States goals:
- Connect to information on non-degree credentials offered by national certification bodies.
- Provide guidance for how you can publish your non-degree credentials to the Credential Registry.
- Discuss how you can make a library of quality non-degree credentials available in your state.
- Learn how CTDL and the Credential Registry can support your state’s or institution’s Learning and Employment Records (LERs), Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs) or achievement wallets.
- Support for policy development and implementation that help take the inefficiencies out of the labor marketplace and prioritize credential and skill transparency.
Across the country, state policymakers are advancing legislation that strengthens transparency, alignment, and quality in credential data. These efforts underscore the importance of open, connected data systems — and publishing to the Credential Registry is a powerful way to align with this movement.
→ Explore sample legislative language to support credential transparency in your state!
By joining this movement, you help build a more transparent system that enables students, employers, and institutions to better understand and connect credentials.
→ Ready to get started?
To learn more about how Credential Engine can support you, fill out this short form. Keep in touch by subscribing to our monthly newsletter and “The Credential Connection” on LinkedIn.
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Our team of experts is ready to help you embark your credential transparency journey. Whether you have questions about our technologies, services, or don’t know how to get started, we’re here to assist.