Credential Engine and State Partnerships:
Clear Data Powers Better Decisions

State agencies play a vital role in ensuring their residents and employers have the information they need to make well-informed decisions. States are tasked with meeting multiple, often competing, goals to efficiently and effectively identify, fund, and deliver education and training services. However, the tools and approaches typically used to make these determinations involve data that are often kept in silos and on incompatible systems, leading to confusion and frustration. There are hundreds of thousands of education and training opportunities in the U.S., and transparency about credentials and their competencies and efficient data practices are essential to many of the key decisions states must make. With Credential Engine’s infrastructure – including the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) and open-source Credential Registry – states can provide short-term solutions to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy—and make key contributions to long-term structural change and innovation.

Roadmap to Credential Transparency for States

State leaders can make progress towards credential transparency in a number of ways:

Make the Case:

  1. Communicate clear use cases to benefit students, workers, employers, educators, programs, and key policy goals
  2. Identify what data about credentials is necessary to be transparent and publicly available.

Align with Existing Education and Workforce Data Commitments:

  1. Ensure that this roadmap is integrated with, complements, and extends ongoing P-20-W data efforts underway to ensure continuity and effectiveness

Catalog and Publish the Credentials Offered and Sought at Local, State, and Federal Scale:

  1. Inventory all credentials in your jurisdiction
  2. Publish all credentials and their competencies to the Credential Registry and the Open Web in CTDL and CTDL-ASN

Turn these Data into Actionable Information:

  1. Link and align credential data with other essential data
  2. Support the creation of user-end tools, services, and systems with robust navigation and guidance capabilities
  3. Ensure sustainability of credential transparency through legislative, agency, and institution policies that continuously improve credential transparency for the benefits of its citizens and markets.
  4. Establish the necessary infrastructure for enduring data transparencyExplore the map below to see how states are approaching the work.

State & Regional Partnerships

The work is already underway in 18 states and regions. Use the map to learn more about how each partner has approached the work and to explore state and regional specific resources.

Alabama

Key Partners

  • Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation (Lead)
  • Alabama Commission on Higher Education
  • Alabama Department of Labor
  • Alabama Department of Commerce
  • Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways

Resources

Colorado

Resources

Illinois

Resources

Indiana

Resources

Kansas

Resources

Los Angeles

Resources

Louisiana

Resources

Maine

Resources

Massachusetts

Resources

Michigan

Resources

Minnesota

Resources

New England

Resources

New Hampshire

Resources

New Jersey

Resources

New York

Resources

Ohio

Key Partners

  • Ohio Department of Higher Education

Resources

Rhode Island

Key Partners

Resources

South Dakota

Resources

Washington

Key Partners

  • Partner 1
  • Partner 2
  • Partner 3

Resources

What is the Value of the Registry for States and their Residents?

State leaders are cataloging their credentials with a common language and making this information easily accessible and actionable. Across these states, the use of a common language and connected data is creating greater efficiency. For example:

  • Agencies can use the Credential Registry for approving functions. A few state partners including New Jersey and Washington are integrating the Credential Registry with their Eligible Training Providers Lists (ETPLs).
  • Statewide attainment goals can be supported by credential transparency. Michigan is leveraging its work with Credential Engine to support a statewide goal to increase the number of Michiganders with a high-quality postsecondary credential from 45 to 60 percent by 2030.
  • Data systems and strategies can be better connected across the state. Alabama will use Credential Registry data to identify and promote high-value, high-demand, and fast-growing career pathways and credentials of value. That same information will also be connected to the statewide longitudinal data system to ensure richer descriptions of student achievement.

Take Action in Your State

Access The Toolkit Success Stories

Contact

  1. Emilie Rafal
  2. 434-409-8646
  3. erafal@credentialengine.org

Join the Movement

States can take action now by implementing policy and publishing plans using the roadmap above. States that partner with Credential Engine can more effectively harness the power of credential data, better promote and implement credential transparency, and build new solutions that innovate the education and workforce space. Explore the resources in the Toolkit, or contact us to learn more.