Non-degree Credentials on the Move: Resources for Funding

By George Lorenzo – originally published June 27, 2022 at Workforce Monitor

This is WFM’s fourth explainer of a session from the Non-degree Credentials Research Network (NCRN ) at George Washington University (GW) conference held on April 28-29, 2022 titled?Non-degree Credentials on the Move. NCRN is a group of more than 200 researchers and stakeholder representatives funded by Lumina Foundation. Here we synthesized some of the salient information shared at an informative conference session titled?Perspectives on Resources for Non-degree Credentials.

The session was moderated by Holly Zanville, research professor at the?GW Institute of Public Policy . The session’s five panelists, in alphabetical order by organizational name, were Maryann Rainey, program officer, Ascendium Education Group; Frank Essien, strategy officer for research, Lumina Foundation; John Finamore, chief statistician, National Science Foundation; Andrew Hanson, director of research, Strada Education Network; and Shannon Rowan, senior manager II, opportunity, Walmart.

Organizational Goals in Brief - Ascendium ?is a national philanthropy based in Madison, Wisconsin whose efforts focus on “elevating opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds” via four areas: removing structural barriers to success, expanding postsecondary education in prison settings, supporting rural communities in postsecondary education and workforce training, and streamlining learner transitions.

Lumina Foundation ?is a private, independent foundation committed to providing inclusive post high school learning for everyone through its national goal to get 60 percent of adults to have a college degree, certificate, industry-recognized certification, or other credential of value by 2025.

NCSES , NSF’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, tracks the science and engineering workforce, including how credentials influence employment outcomes.

Strada ?Education Network works to support socioeconomic mobility with a focus on labor market outcomes for individuals who face opportunity barriers. Strada advances its mission through research, grantmaking/investments, and the?Strada Collaborative .?

Walmart.org ?represents and combines both the business side of Walmart Inc. and the philanthropy efforts of the Walmart Foundation. Walmart.org operates within four pillars: creating opportunities, advancing sustainability, strengthening communities, and the Center for Racial Equity.?

Funding Examples & Goals Related to Education and Training -Ascendium: At end of 2021, Ascendium entered into a partnership with RAND Corporation to explore stackable credential pipelines that support equity and inclusive pathways for learners in Ohio and Colorado, Rainey said. This?study ?has set out to gather evidence on whether learners are actually stacking credentials that lead to positive employment outcomes for low-income learners. It will also provide information that will help states and institutions build stackable credential pipelines. Rainey also mentioned that Ascendium is working with the Education Design Lab’s Community College Growth Engine?Fund ?in the states of Colorado and Arizona.

Ascendium has three types of grants: 1) Exploratory grants that test out hypotheses and new ideas, 2) Validation grants that build on evidence, and 3) Scaling grants that produce research that informs policy and practice.

Diverse pathways, for instance fall under the category of scaling grants, and they include competency-based education; short-term, non-degree credentials; apprenticeships; and workforce training organizations. “We are committed to scaling the diverse pathways that show evidence of promoting economic mobility for learners from low-income backgrounds,” Rainey said, adding that Ascendium has also been working with?Merit America ?as well as with?Generation USA .

Lumina Foundation: Lumina’s research addresses gaps in the evidence-base within three concentrations: 1) Participation, meaning bringing new learners into the pipeline, 2) Student success, meaning making sure learners persist, and 3) Getting a better understanding of employment-aligned credentials. In short, “we try to understand what’s out there and where the gaps exist,” Essien said. Quality and equity are of utmost importance. Researchers also seek out evidence of non-degree credential currency in the labor market.

“We’re trying to really impact policy and practice,” Essien added. That includes effectively communicating. Grantees should think about communications upfront as opposed to an afterthought, Essien advised. So, potential grantees must lay out who they are trying to influence and be very clear about what they are trying to accomplish before finishing the work.?“It helps to bring efficiency to it so we don’t have any surprises,” Essien explained.

Entities who provide technical assistance as a helpful tool for partnering intermediaries and researchers to do more effective work is another important topic area for Lumina Foundation.

NSF & NCSES: NCSES collects and analyzes data through its surveys such as the?National Survey of College Graduates ?conducted biannually since 1993, with a focus on the science and engineering workforce. As noted on the survey website, “this survey is a unique source for examining the relationship of degree field and occupation in addition to other characteristics of college-educated individuals, including work activities, salary, and demographic information.” Data from the 2021 National Survey of College Graduates survey is slated to come out later this year.?

NSF recently started a new survey with the U.S. Census Bureau called the?National Training, Education, and Workforce Survey ?that features an expansion of the?Adult Training Education Survey ?conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The new survey, whose results are slated to be published by end of next year, will feature more data on skilled technical workers (STWs). STWs are individuals in engineering and science positions that do not require a bachelor’s degree. National information on the role of credentials in the skilled technical workforce and the general workforce will be included, Finamore said.

NSF and NCSES with Advanced Technical International (ATI) recently started?America’s Data Hub, ?which “covers the full range of using data, acquiring data, cleaning data, accessing the quality of data, analyzing data, and disseminating data,” Finamore explained. Another initiative on the drawing boards focuses on the foreign-born science and engineering workforce in the U.S. The Data Hub will explore that topic along with non-degree credentials, the skilled technical workforce, disability, and cybersecurity, Finamore added.

Strada Education Network: Strada continues to invest in survey instruments and building large databases that carry information on non-degree credentials and job training.?“We’ve done a number of early-stage innovation grants to nonprofit providers of non-degree training such as Merit America,?Code Nation ?and others we’ve supported in the past. We want to continue to learn and build out that portfolio with some of these non-traditional providers,” Hanson said. Strada also recently entered into a multi-year research and evaluation project with?MDRC ?and?Social Finance ?that is taking a close a look at income share agreements (ISAs) for non-degree job training programs.

Strada’s three areas of focus include: 1) Research and evaluation to promote promising models backed by evidence showing support for individuals and communities facing the greatest barriers, 2) Occupational wage records, and 3) Innovative providers that integrate non-degree credentials. Work-based learning; building social capital; credit for prior learning; and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion were also mentioned by Hanson.??

Walmart.org: Walmart.org is also involved with the Education Design Lab’s Community College Growth Engine Fund and is “keenly interested in the stackability of credentials and how they can lead to educational and job attainment,” Rowan said. For example, work is underway on how individuals can build careers and leverage job experiences via stackable industry credentials such as in Salesforce platform proficiency.?

Walmart.org has an overarching theme of leaning into systems change, Rowan added. Other focus areas include how learners pass in and out of earning credentials, digitizing learner records, and providing equitable education and training pathways.