Choosing Credentials

It's 2040... Julia Muller (not her real name) looks back at the 10th anniversary of her startup Choosing Credentials related to academic credentials.

It started as a wild idea on the sidelines of a higher education conference in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. More specifically, in one of these evening cocktails, Julia chatted with a range of other attendees about the takeaways from the day.

What drove the conversation?

During the conference, one speaker forecasted that higher education (as it was known back then) would be disintegrated into bits and pieces. He used the term "credentialized". The idea was not too new as courses were already defined in credits, credit hours, and ECTS, depending on the education system but not into what we know as degrees:

When Julia addressed the credentialization of degrees, the discussion became heated... By then, everybody in that group discussion was working at traditional universities where any form of short-form credentials was ridiculed for not being "education".

Julia floated an intriguing idea: universities could collaborate with industry stakeholders to create career-ready credentials that seamlessly integrate into existing degree programs, ultimately enhancing graduate outcomes. While some attendees departed after her suggestion, a few others remained, their minds ignited with possibilities.

Far from expecting it, Julia found herself building a thriving business (and forging lifelong friendships) with those she had casually met. Little did she know, their idea would become one of the decade's most celebrated innovations in the higher education industry.

Alternative Credentials, Skills Gap and Degrees

Back then, alternative credentials were already present, albeit playing a marginal role within the established system of post-secondary education. The vast potential of this market may have been lost on some attendees, contributing to their departure from the conversation that evening...

Credential Engine is working to identify and classify available credentials in the US. According to their research, there are more than

1,000,000,000 different credentials

in the US alone, which includes diplomas, badges, certificates, apprenticeships, certifications, licenses, and degrees of all types and levels. These credentials are offered by

60,000 different providers.

There is no doubt that both credentials and providers will grow as demand is accelerating. And... it's only a fraction of what is available globally.

Alternative Credentials in whatever form and shape are short-form learning interventions that showcase the acquisition of certain skills, knowledge, or experiences. Their success can be attributed to the voiced "skills gap" (HBR, Forbes): Industry claims that universities are not doing enough to get graduates "work-ready" as those lack relevant digital, IT, and communication skills when they start their professional careers.

Some universities...

... are starting to add industry credentials to their programs as add-ons. YEAH! However, those are anecdotical and lack the consistency of an institutional strategy for the entire academic portfolio.

Julia's Gamechanger

After her trip to KL, and as the Head of Institutional Strategy, Julia was in the right position to kick off conversations on Credentialization. She saw various angles:

1. Building Elective Courses as certifiable credentials. Every credential would address the knowledge area covered, the skills acquired, and the industries covered throughout the course. This was an amazing innovation in itself.
2. Reaching out to industry stakeholders to build joint career-focussed credentials. Those could be offered as electives or as stand-alone credentials marketed to other universities or the public.
3. Institutionalize a Trust Network among their closest academic partners. This would allow the interchange of credentials across their network without the need to duplicate efforts in creating the same courses multiple times. As member of the Trust Network, all credentials would be automatically recognized.

... and the winner is?

Traditions! Higher Education is a very slow-moving industry and every change is embraced with skepticism. After 1 year, Julia got the approval of only one certified elective course...

She was frustrated and reached out to her "KL Wild Idea Group" with whom she stayed in touch regularly. They tried to push with similar ideas, however, didn't receive welcoming engagement either.

Eduardo as Catalyst

When one of the team members told her about the conversation with Eduardo

and his frustrations on the education choices to take, the idea became crystal clear: creating THE marketplace for credentials.

The marketplace would be the centerpiece of a trust network with a broad range of academic partners and other education providers. The marketplace would actively build career-focused credentials with leading industry partners and promote those to students but also as bulk solution to universities.

The strength of their network allows them to push for standards around alternative credentials even beyond the network:

1. Transferability
2. Blockchain Verification for Data Security
3. Content Classification

... and the rest is history...

As established higher education professionals, building a trust network around the marketplace was not a challenge. Creating own credentials with industry partners became an immense success as there was hunger in the industry. The uptake from individuals created a beautiful growth story.

Just only the adoption from universities is still slow... as kind of expected.

Back to 2040: The marketplace is now known to be the largest credential marketplace. Thanks to the standardization and AI, it creates:

• Personalized skills maps for professionals when they share their professional and education portfolio identifying their gaps and making credential suggestions.
• Institutional skills gap analysis for universities, that allows identifying courses that provide the skills for the degree to be market-relevant.
• Talent Search for organizations to find the talent with the right skills set, validated by the marketplace.

Looking at her previous university, Julia realized with satisfaction that they finally embraced her decade-old suggestions and go beyond Bachelor's and Master Degrees. It took them a while...