State and Federal government agencies and other organizations are tasked with approving credentials and their associated education and training programs for funding and inclusion on lists such as Eligible Training Provider Lists, Approved GI Bill, industry-recognized credential, or high-quality credentials lists, and others. Currently, that work is siloed within and across state lines but can be better streamlined using a common data infrastructure. Credential Engine technologies already support describing credentials and associated data using a common language as Linked Open Data, publishing that data to the Registry, and allowing multiple states and agencies to reference and show quality assurance processes. The next step in the evolution of the CTDL is to identify any gaps in functionality to support state and federal requirements and to include information that communicates why a credential is on the list and recognizes that credentials can come off the list once criteria are no longer met.
Credential Engine follows a clearly defined, open process to make significant updates to develop the CTDL. This process includes subject matter and technical experts forming short-term task groups to provide valuable input (typically 8-12 weeks). You are invited to join our new Credential Approval Lists Task Group. The work of this task group supports the goals of Credential Engine’s state partners and other agencies and organizations who are working to improve the education and training data ecosystem.
The CALTG will:
- Identify real-world use cases for approving functions.
- Provide real examples of how approving functions and data are currently used and how they could be improved.
- Provide input to expand the CTDL domain model and create additional CTDL terms where necessary to address
Who: The CALTG is for subject matter experts who oversee, regulate, review, use, report on, or apply for state education and training funding. For example, ETPL administrators, training providers who are approved or want to be approved for state funding, state leaders who develop “Industry Recognized Credentials” lists, and others. We also welcome federal representatives who oversee relevant federal regulations. Prior knowledge of CTDL is appreciated by not required.
When and Where: The CALTG will hold its first meeting on October 27, 2021, and meet no more than six times, every other week for one hour, and conclude in January 2022. The one-hour meetings will be held via Zoom.
Resources: Credential Engine will create and provide all resources needed for this work, based on CALTG input, and share them for ongoing feedback between meetings. All feedback and materials are transparently available following an open process.
Outcomes: The final products of this work include the use cases, real-world examples as instance data, CTDL domain model and terms with definitions, and usage guidance. The products are all public information made available via the Credential Engine technical site and where appropriate, on GitHub and available under open licenses. All subsequent updates to the CTDL will follow the Significant Update Policy. The policy requires the formation of the Task Group, input by the Credential Engine Technical Advisory Group and other advisory group members and stakeholders, and a comment period. This efficient process ensures orderly changes that support and expand the durable, persistent value of CTDL Linked Open Data. Once this process is completed, the CTDL family of specifications will be updated along with the Credential Registry publishing and consuming tools. The tools include the open-source Competency and Skills System (CaSS). The Registry and related tools and resources are freely available for stakeholders to publish competencies and skills, competency frameworks, and related data.