In today’s interconnected world, transparently and accurately representing qualifications across borders is vital for mobility. Qualifications frameworks provide a structured approach to defining and comparing different types and levels of credentials. They are essential for understanding the equivalence of education and training qualifications across different systems and jurisdictions, thereby enabling more opportunities for learners and workers.
The diversity of these national, regional and international frameworks provides an opportunity to improve understanding, increase adoption and use, and provide greater value for learner mobility. The role of qualifications frameworks is further enhanced when they are also structured as linked, open data. Benefits include:
- Enhanced Interoperability: Creating a unified linked open data model will enable seamless integration and comparison of qualifications across different jurisdictions.
- Increased Transparency: Providing clear, accessible, and standardized information about qualifications will help everyone make informed decisions.
- Supported Mobility: Standardizing a shared, open structure for qualifications data transparency will facilitate the modernization of credential recognition globally, supporting the movement of learners and workers and enhancing their opportunities.
- Enabled Alignment: Enabling the alignments between qualification frameworks will support a cohesive understanding of educational standards and outcomes across nations and regions.
- Facilitated Linking: Directly linking credentials and related programs to qualifications frameworks and other important information such as quality assurance.Â
- Improved AI analysis: Providing qualification frameworks as structured linked open data improves the accuracy and effectiveness of AI tools and processes that connect, combine, and compare data from numerous sources.
Short-Term Task Group: Credential Engine is hosting a targeted task group that is open to subject matter experts worldwide. The group aims to represent qualifications frameworks as linked, open data. By participating in the Qualifications Frameworks as Data Global Task Group, members will play a vital role in improving how linked, open and interoperable data meets the evolving needs of credentialing ecosystems. This is a short-term commitment with guaranteed outcomes.
Join the Qualifications Frameworks as Data Global Task Group
What to Expect:Â As a member of this task group, you’ll participate as a subject matter and/or technical expert. Together, we’ll define the task group’s charter, generate use cases, define a CTDL data model, and propose new terms to describe a wide range of qualification frameworks and their relationships to credentialing organizations, credentials, learning programs, assessments, quality assurance actions, and other relevant entities.Â
Who Should Join: We are looking for subject matter and technical experts across a wide spectrum of fields, including: education, training, policy, government, research, industry, and business. If you fall into any of the following categories, we invite you to be part of our dynamic group. We welcome individuals from various backgrounds and roles, and we encourage you to join this task group, regardless of your geographical location or prior CTDL knowledge.
- Subject Matter Experts have experience in developing, reviewing, implementing, and/or approving qualification frameworks.
- Users of Qualifications Frameworks actively use qualifications frameworks in their work, including evaluating credential equivalencies, designing and delivering curriculum and credentials, and conducting research.
- Education and Career Pathway Experts have a background in designing or implementing qualifications frameworks that support flexible learning pathways or in designing or implementing education and career pathways and using tools that include qualifications frameworks in their design.
- Technical Experts know existing standards or technical implementations for qualifications frameworks.
By bringing together individuals with diverse perspectives and experiences, we aim to create a collaborative environment that fosters innovation and inclusivity. At Credential Engine, we believe that diversity in knowledge and expertise is key to our mission’s success.
When and Where: The task group is anticipated to begin on Thursday, August 29, 2024 and will have approximately six, one-hour bi-weekly meetings via Zoom. The meeting schedule is as follows at 10:00 am Eastern Time. (See the World Clock for your local time.)
- Meeting 1: Thursday, 2024-August-29 (World Clock)
- Meeting 2: Thursday, 2024-September-12 (World Clock)
- Meeting 3: Thursday, 2024-September-26 (World Clock)
- Meeting 4: Thursday, 2024-October-10 (World Clock)
- Meeting 5: Thursday, 2024-October-24 (World Clock)
- Meeting 6: Thursday, 2024-November-7 (World Clock)
All meetings will be recorded, and materials will be shared with all participants.
Join the Qualifications Frameworks as Data Global Task Group
Resources:Â Credential Engine will create and provide all resources needed for this work, based on task group input, and share them for ongoing feedback between meetings. All feedback and materials are transparently available following an open development process.
Outcomes: The final products of this work include the expanded use cases, real-world data examples, and a CTDL domain model and terms with definitions. All outputs from the process are public information made available under open licenses.
Processes: The task group follows a defined process leading to specific deliverables and outcomes. The resultant outputs will be reviewed via an open webinar for Credential Engine’s task group members and other stakeholders, followed by a public 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 standards and handbook will be updated, along with the Credential Registry publishing and consuming tools. The Registry and related tools and resources are freely available for publishing data using CTDL.We develop the CTDL in alignment with other global data standards and projects to ensure mutual benefit. This approach allows CTDL to incorporate aspects of other standards and projects, while also enabling those standards and projects to utilize the work of this group, thus creating multiple benefits beyond CTDL itself.
Contact Credential Engine:Â If you have any questions about this task group, please email info@credentialengine.org . This mailbox is monitored during normal U.S. business hours. Learn more via the Credential Engine Website.