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This chapter focuses on the overall themes, priorities, and 'calls to action' that emerged from a discussion and reflection among community college leaders on the the chapters in this volume, which focus on the emerging market for new credentials. Community college leaders and policymakers see the new era of work and learning as a time characterized by growing student and employer demand for new types of professionally aligned credentials, including certificates, industry certifications, and digital badges, that are shorter than degree programs, competency-based, and focused on the employability of their holders. They also note that such credentials are both alternatives to degrees and supplements to them. Community college leaders are excited by the opportunities brought on by the new era of work and learning, but they also note a number of important challenges, many of which are structural in nature. Many of the challenges faced in responding to the dynamics created by the new credentialing market cannot be addressed by community colleges alone. Instead, these issues require a coordinated response across multiple groups of stakeholders external to the colleges, including different levels of government, local employers, and community partners, as well as different groups within the community college such as faculty, boards, and unions.

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This chapter discusses the process Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida used to embed certifications from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals into its associate and bachelor degree programs. Included is an overview of the process followed as well as challenges encountered. The chapter concludes with recommendations for institutions that are looking to embed third‐party industry certifications into their academic programs.

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Changes in the credentialing market have produced a complex, multilayered ecosystem with a demand for shorter credentials that are focused around job market competencies. Community colleges are well positioned to lead this emerging market for three reasons. (1) Their dual mission to offer both traditional degrees and workforce development programs provides a competitive advantage in piloting and implementing many of the new types of credentials, especially those that can be embedded into traditional degree programs. (2) They have a long history in awarding certificates, one type of shorter work-aligned credential that is experiencing a new emphasis in today's market. (3) They have an established infrastructure, content knowledge experts, and employer relationships that can support a broad array of shorter credentials with a solid level of quality assurance. To play a central, even leading role, in the new credentialing market, community colleges must build credentials that respond to four growing trends and imperatives: building competency and market-oriented programs, structuring credentials to facilitate lifelong learning, unbundling learning in traditional degrees, and recognizing the need for quality assurance. This working paper describes the new credentialing market and discusses the potential for community colleges to be key players in it.

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Today, opportunities abound for greater use of technology in assessment and credentialing to enhance the impact of [technical and vocational education and training] TVET on economic and social development programmes. In the past, it has often been observed that the impact of TVET on social and economic measures was impaired by complexities and costs, especially in projects that had not utilized technology. Nowadays, there is even scepticism towards TVET's track record. So, the case for it needs to be remade, but this time showing how assessment and credentialing technologies can eliminate impairments and magnify impact.

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One of the most challenging aspects of the new market for credentials lies in communicating how the characteristics of credentials differ from degrees. Interviews with twenty-six credentialing experts and providers suggested that the 'Wild West' feel to the new era of work and learning is created, in part, because of credentialing providers using their own terms, definitions, and requirements, and with few common quality assurance standards being applied that could help standardize the words used. One implication of such an environment is the need to develop a glossary of terms to ensure clear communication and continued, productive dialogue. This chapter proposes a glossary of terms related to the market for new credentials, based on established and emerging consensus definitions. Many of the definitions provided in the glossary were developed from existing sources, although we sometimes modified the wording to ensure consistency and thoroughness across sources. These definitions were largely compiled from Lumina Foundation (2016), Maxwell et al. (2017), the National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.), and American Council on Education and Blackboard (n.d.).

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Postsecondary education is entering a new era of increasingly work-integrated learning that is shaped by growing student and employer demand for new types of credentials that are aligned with the knowledge and skills that employers need. These shorter, workforce-oriented credentials are often referred to as microcredentials, defined as a specialized credential that shows a mastery of one or more job competencies. Microcredentials are seen as both an alternative to traditional degrees (such as associate or bachelor degrees) and supplements to them because they help ensure that applicants have developed the competencies sought by employers. Such credentials include certificates, industry certifications, and digital badges (an indicator of a skill or accomplishment that can be displayed, accessed, and verified online). Community colleges are well positioned to become leaders in providing credentials in this new era of work and learning.

This chapter introduces the drivers for change in the credentialing market that has arisen in the new era of work and learning. It analyzes the factors that are driving interest in shorter competency-based credentials, and identifies emerging trends that community colleges might consider when structuring their credentials.

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