"Today, alternative credentials are serving exactly what employers and workers need. At UPCEA, we are very excited about the transparency the registry brings to help elevate alternative credentials."
- Amy Heitzman, Deputy CEO and Chief Learning Officer, University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA)

Through an increasing array of credentials – degrees, certificates, industry certifications, licenses, badges, apprenticeships, and micro-credentials – job seekers, students, and workers have more options than ever to help them get ahead. But there has been no practical way to obtain relevant and comparable information about these diverse credentials. This information is of great interest to stakeholders in the credentialing marketplace.

To help solve this problem, Credential Engine is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to improve transparency in the credentialing marketplace by:

  1. Scaling and maintaining a web-based Credential Registry that – through software apps built on the registry’s data – enables job seekers, students, workers, and employers to search for and compare credentials, just as travel apps are used to compare flights, rental cars, and hotels. Learn more.
  2. Developing and maintaining WorkitTM – a prototype open-source credential search app to demonstrate the power of the registry. Learn more.
  3. Promoting an open applications marketplace to foster the development of additional software apps built on the registry to serve various stakeholder needs. Learn more.
  4. Guiding the future development and use of the registry through stakeholder advisory groups representing the higher education, business, certification and licensure, quality assurance, and technical communities. Learn more.
  5. Maintaining the open-licensed Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), which provides the common language for the metadata on the registry. Learn more.

Credential Engine is currently testing the registry for operational use. The Workit credential search app is expected to be publicly available in the fall of 2017.

Learn more about the Credential Registry with this brief video.

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