This Action Guide describes the phases and steps that stakeholders can take to develop and sustain trusted LER ecosystems. It is based on Credential Engine’s widely and successfully used State Roadmap and Action Guide for Transparency
These questions are intended to help potential developer partners think about the various ways you might use Credential Engine’s Registry and the CTDL schema.
Credential Engine offers a suite of unique technologies and services to help many different types of organizations, agencies, and companies achieve their goals for credential and competency transparency. In addition to our open, freely available resources, we offer fee-based services for strategy, project management, and implementation support focused on using CTDL data effectively.
Credential Engine offers an annual services package for technology product developers.
This fact sheet contains sample language to help communicate institutional expectations for credential transparency.
Increase the relevance of the credentials and programs you offer by using the Credential Registry to publish linked open data about their value, transferability, alignments to occupational and industry frameworks (such as O*NET and NICE), job skills, and other relevant information.
Increase the relevance of the credentials and programs you offer by using the Credential Registry to publish linked open data about their value, transferability, alignments to occupational and industry frameworks (such as O*NET and NICE), job skills, and other relevant information.
This fact sheet concisely and effectively explains the importance of credential transparency and the need to advance and support it through timely policy.
Credential Engine, in partnership with the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, has produced a series of reports (“Counting U.S. Postsecondary and Secondary Credentials”) that have become the authoritative accounts of the rapidly changing credentialing landscape in the United States.
As states make progress towards their goals, a critical objective is to demonstrate the connections and pathways among credentials. In particular, states are looking to illustrate how education and training opportunities provided by high schools, career and technical education (CTE) programs, private training providers, and postsecondary institutions prepare individuals to successfully obtain industry certifications.
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Idaho partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Wyoming partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, West Virginia partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Association for Materials Performance and Protection (AMPP)
In addition to Credential Engine, Virginia partners with:
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) was a recipient of a 2025 subgrant from the Gates Foundation and AMPP is committed to improving its data landscape for trades members and employers. AMPP is adding Industry standards, occupational certification, assessments, new occupations, and LMI data to the registry.
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Utah partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Tennessee Board of Regents
In addition to Credential Engine, Tennessee partners with:
The Tennessee Board of Regents is pursuing large-scale implementation of a Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR). This system utilizes the Credential Engine Registry to support the housing of competencies associated with the credentials offered by the institutions.
Tennessee has published over 124 competency frameworks to the Credential Registry!
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, South Carolina partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Oregon partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Oklahoma partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, North Carolina partners with:
Credential transparency partnership in North Carolina began in 2021 with Forsyth Technical Community College’s Aligning the Workforce Education System for Manufacturing (AWESM) project, which aimed to implement the Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) model regionally.
North Carolina’s credential transparency partnerships have since expanded to include regional partners Land of Sky P20 Council and Our Future UNiSON! Utilizing Credential Engine’s Gates Grant, powered by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, both partners lead initiatives that aim to map their regional credential data to Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), making it robust, clear, and accessible to various stakeholders.
North Carolina has published over 2,754 credentials to the Credential Registry!
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, New Mexico partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Nevada Governor's Office of Workforce Innovation (GOWINN)
In addition to Credential Engine, Nevada partners with:
Credential Engine assisted Nevada in making credentials available through Project SANDI (Supporting and Advancing Nevada’s Dislocated Individuals), which helped dislocated and underemployed workers, along with new job seekers to access and get funding for workforce training programs in critical industry sectors, including advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology, and skilled trades.
Nevada published over 100 credentials in critical industry sectors, including advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology, and skilled trades.
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Nebraska partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Accelerate Montana
In addition to Credential Engine, Montana partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Missouri partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Mississippi partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Maryland partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Kentucky partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Hawaii partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Georgia partners with:
Credential Engine is partnering with the Metro Atlanta Chamber to improve credential transparency across Georgia.
Georgia has published over 7,000 credentials to the Credential Registry!
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Delaware partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Credential Engine is working with the California MAP Initiative to build a statewide Credential Registry aimed at increasing recognition of credit for prior learning. Credential Engine also has partnerships with Chaffey College and the Foothill-De Anza region, which have each published credentials, courses, and competencies.
In addition to Credential Engine, California partners with:
California has published over 2,500 credentials to the Registry!
Lead Partner: Arkansas Division of Information Systems (DIS)
In addition to Credential Engine, Arkansas partners with:
As part of the state’s new workforce development plan, leaders in Arkansas are creating a statewide registry to make critical information about credentials and their competencies available to learners, workers, and employers through online tools and learning and employment records.
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Arizona partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Alaska partners with:
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Alabama Department of Labor
Alabama Department of Commerce
Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways
Lead Partner: Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Pennsylvania partners with:
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Lead Partner: New England Board of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, New Hampshire partners with:
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a long-time supporter of credential and skill transparency and partner with Credential Engine. Additionally, through a strategic collaboration with the New England Board of Higher Education, New Hampshire has successfully published all credentials from the Community College System of New Hampshire to the Credential Registry.
Southern New Hampshire University has published extensive information to the Credential Registry, including credentials, learning opportunities, its competency framework, and support services.
The University of New Hampshire and seven community colleges have published over 600 credentials in the Credential Registry.
Lead Partner: Advance Vermont
In addition to Credential Engine, Vermont partners with:
Leading Partners like Advance Vermont, in collaboration with Credential Engine, is connecting Vermonters with clear, easy-to-access information about postsecondary education credentials available in the state. The effort is giving residents vital information about education and training programs across Vermont, allowing them to make informed decisions about where to gain the knowledge, skills, and training that lead to high-pay, high-demand jobs.
Through Vermont partners utilization of Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) for ongoing initiatives like the Vermont Credential Transparency Project (VCTP), for the first time, Vermonters have access to information about credentials in a format they can understand.
Vermont has published over 254 credentials to the Credential Registry!
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Lead Partner: New England Board of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Massachusetts partners with:
As a Gates Grant recipient, Bristol Community College is committed to improving its data landscape for curriculum, faculty, and staff.
Bristol has published over 120 credentials to the Credential Registry
Resources:
Lead Partner: New England Board of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Rhode Island partners with:
Through a strategic collaboration with the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE), we worked to build participation of Rhode Island’s public institutions and independent colleges in publishing their credentials to the Credential Registry.
Resources:
Lead Partner: New England Board of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Connecticut partners with:
In 2021, Connecticut passed legislation to create a statewide database of credentials, led by the Office of Higher Education and Office of Workforce Strategy in partnership with the New England Board of Higher Education and Credential Engine. The initiative is designed to make credential information transparent and accessible for students, job seekers, employers, and policymakers, supporting informed education and workforce decisions. As an early milestone, the state published community college credential data using the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), a national standard that enables meaningful comparisons and integrates labor market insights to highlight the content, quality, and value of credentials.
Connecticut has published over 3,000 credentials to the Registry!
Lead Partner: New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
In addition to Credential Engine, New Jersey partners with:
New Jersey Community Colleges Consortium (NJCCC)
Credential Engine’s partnership with New Jersey was formed because leaders at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) recognized that using linked open data would be critically important to meeting statewide goals like integration of New Jersey’s credentials with the national effort to make data about all credentials more transparent and to improve alignment and interoperability between state agencies through streamlined data sharing and communication.
New Jersey has published over 132 credentials to the Credential Registry!
Lead Partner: Ohio Department of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Ohio partners with:
Resources:
Lead Partner: Indiana Commission for Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Indiana partners with:
With over 4,000 credentials published to the Credential Registry, including all offered by the public two-year and four-year institutions, Indiana is using CTDL to power user tools that help Hoosiers make the most informed decisions on their education and career pathways.
Lead Partner: Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
In addition to Credential Engine, Michigan partners with:
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Employment and Training (LEO-E&T), together with Credential Engine, is making it easier for Michiganders to learn about credentials that lead to high-demand, high-paying jobs in the state.
Michigan has published more than 300 training providers and over 3,600 credentials to the Credential Registry.
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Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, Illinois partners with:
ProPath Illinois worked to enhance and align the data most important for career pathway decision-making. The project’s goal was to empower learners and workers of all ages with comprehensive and actionable information on learning opportunities and credentials to make optimal decisions about their education and career pathways.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has published over 3,000 all credentials, learning outcomes, and additional information.
Resources:
Lead Partner: University of Wisconsin System
In addition to Credential Engine, Wisconsin partners with:
Resources:
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, Iowa partners with:
Credential Engine worked with the Iowa Department of Education’s Community College and Workforce Preparation Division to inventory all credentials in the state and publish all credentials and their competencies in their jurisdiction to the Credential Registry.
Over 1,100 credentials from 14 community colleges have been published by the Iowa Department of Education’s Community College and Workforce Preparation Division.
Lead Partner: Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
In addition to Credential Engine, Minnesota partners with:
Resources:
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, South Dakota partners with:
The South Dakota Board of Technical Education received a grant from the Lumina Foundation to modernize and expand its program inventory, develop a quality framework, and adopt aligned program approval and review policies. In order to meet these goals, they utilized CTDL to map their new program inventory.
Resources:
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, North Dakota partners with:
North Dakota University System
North Dakota Statewide Longitudinal Data System
Resources:
Lead Partner: Florida Department of Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Florida partners with:
To implement a statewide vision for workforce and education data integration, the Florida Department of Education directed a multi-agency coalition to standardize information on credentials, which powers the Education Meets Opportunity Platform (EMOP). EMOP provides Florida agencies and leaders with consistent data on all Florida credential programs aligned to the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL).
Florida has published over 10,000 credentials to the Credential Registry offered by public colleges and universities and WIOA Eligible Training Providers.
Lead Partner: Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation
In addition to Credential Engine, Alabama partners with:
Credential Engine has partnered with the Alabama State Department of Education, Career Technical Education and Vendor EBSCO in the creation of an Alabama Credential Registry – The Alabama Talent Triad.
Alabama has published over 1530 credentials to the Registry!
Lead Partner: Louisiana Community and Technical College System
In addition to Credential Engine, Louisiana partners with:
Through a project to publish credentials offered by Louisiana community and technical colleges to the Credential Registry, it will allow students to search for and understand education and career options as they transition to continued education and training or the workforce.
Louisiana community and technical colleges have published over 800 credentials to the Credential Registry.
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, Texas partners with:
Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative:
Credential Engine is supporting the development of the Texas Credential Library with the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative – which brings together the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) – to establish the state’s first credential library where all available credentials delivered, issued, funded, or governed by the state will be housed and made transparently available to all Texans.
The Texas Credential Library includes more than 16,000 credentials, as well as learning opportunities, occupations, and outcomes.
Lead Partner: Kansas Board of Regents
In addition to Credential Engine, Kansas partners with:
The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) which serves as the coordinating board for all public institutions in the state is committed to advancing credential transparency statewide because they believe deeply in its value. The availability of credential information in a common, consistent language has significantly enhanced KBOR’s ability to share data with other state agencies and contributed to their larger goal of increasing visibility and comparability across state lines. State leaders are using linked open data as a catalyst to make more intentional connections–not just within their own state, but also across the entire Midwest region.
Kansas has published over 2,500 credentials and learning opportunities and nearly 3,000 transfer values for the public colleges and universities.
Lead Partner: Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC)
In addition to Credential Engine, Colorado partners with:
Colorado state agencies work with Credential Engine to apply the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) to the state’s Credential of Value Framework (COV) for use with the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), Career Development Incentive Program (CDIP), and other credential lists, as applicable.
Colorado has published over 3,400 credentials to the Registry!
Lead Partner | Midwestern Higher Education Compact
Resources:
Lead Partner | Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
In addition to Credential Engine, Kansas City partners with:
Resources:
Lead Partner: Washington Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board
In addition to Credential Engine, Washington partners with:
Resources:
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, New York partners with:
New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals
Future Skills Exchange (FSX)
New York Department of Labor
Resources:
Lead Partner: New England Board of Higher Education
In addition to Credential Engine, Maine partners with:
The University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System, together with the New England Board of Higher Education, are providing Mainers with transparent, comparable information about credentials available in the state.
The university and community colleges in Maine have published over 500 credentials.
Lead Partner: Forsyth Technical Community College (North Carolina)
In addition to Credential Engine, Forsyth County partners with:
A consortium of 8 community colleges across the Piedmont Triad region is making credentials and competencies available as linked open data to strengthen the advanced manufacturing sector, as part of its Aligning the Workforce Education System for Manufacturing (AWESM) project.
Resources:
A consortium of 8 community colleges across the Piedmont Triad region is making credentials and competencies available as linked open data to strengthen the advanced manufacturing sector, as part of its Aligning the Workforce Education System for Manufacturing (AWESM) project.
Lead Partner: UNITE-LA
In addition to Credential Engine, Los Angeles partners with:
Resources:
Lead Partner: Dallas College
In addition to Credential Engine, Dallas partners with:
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Lead Partner: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
In addition to Credential Engine, Kansas City partners with:
Kansas Board of Regents
Resources:
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, The New England Region partners with:
New England Board of Higher Education
Lead Partner:
In addition to Credential Engine, The Midwest Region partners with:
Midwestern Higher Education Compact