What is a Certification Worth? States Want to Know but Struggle to Find Out

While valued in many fields, industry certifications?are one of the most?elusive types of non-degree credentials to measure.? Job seekers, certification providers, and employers alike want to know: How many students receive them? How effective are they at boosting earnings and employment? A new survey from the Rutgers University Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) shows that, while many states are interested in capturing industry certification data, few are currently able to systematically collect it. States that want to make progress in this area may need to build partnerships or leverage state and federal funding mechanisms to motivate key stakeholders.

Industry certifications are time-limited nondegree credentials earned by passing a performance-based assessment that demonstrates a specific set of skills – like CompTIA for IT professionals, or a Certified Medical Assistant certification for healthcare workers. These certifications are not issued by higher education institutions, but rather through industry or professional groups. While the close ties to industry help to ensure that certifications are often valued by employers, their issuance by third parties also complicates data collection efforts. ?

EERC Survey of State Practices Around Industry Certification Data

Findings from a recent survey shine light on data that states collect on industry certifications, how they collect it, and what they hope to collect in the future. EERC manages the State Noncredit Data Project (SNDP), a learning community comprised of members from over 30 states and more than 72 organizations across the country. From December 2023 to January 2024, EERC conducted a survey of the SNDP’s 122 members, as well as 18 noncredit data leaders from other states. EERC received 40 responses from 30 states, for a respectable 29% response rate.

Survey responses provide a valuable snapshot of state policy and practice around industry certification data. What they show is that state agencies and related influencers in most states want to capture industry certification data, but for the most part are not capable of consistently doing so.

Just one in four respondents reported that their organization currently collects information on which noncredit programs were associated with industry certifications. Many respondents reported that their state is still developing processes for collecting industry certification data. “The state is in the infancy stage of complying with a legislative mandate to document industry credential attainment,” reported one respondent. Beyond the inherent issue of needing to rely on third party providers for reliable information about industry certification earners, respondents described several other challenges to collecting industry certification data, such as siloed state agencies, strong local control of institutions, and a lack of centralized strategy. “We are in the process of trying to answer this question as we speak, but I think we have a wholly disjointed effort that doesn't lend itself to an answer like this,” said a respondent, “We appear to have random instances of data reporting but no overarching strategy.”

Almost two-thirds of the thirty respondents who answered a question about outcomes data reported that their state was actively collecting data on industry certification outcomes at the time the survey was conducted. These respondents reported at least three different approaches to collection, in order of popularity: self-reported from students, directly from credential issuers, and employer surveys. Many respondents to this question reported using two or more of these processes for collecting outcomes data. However, each method has its drawbacks, particularly self-reported data, which have validity problems.

Drivers of? Industry Certification Data Collection

Three key factors drive innovation in data collection around certifications: partnerships, federal and state funding mandates, and state funding formulas.

• Partnerships with industry organizations, across state agencies, as well as other stakeholders, enable states to capture data that they would not otherwise be able to access.
• Reporting requirements for federal programs like Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, guidelines for inclusion on the state’s Eligible Training Providers List, or specific state mandates influence states’ industry certification data collection efforts.
• State funding formulas also shape industry certification data collection efforts in some respondents’ states. “For noncredit programs,” said one respondent, “reimbursement is now based on certifications.”

Almost half of respondents sought to develop a deeper understanding of industry certification outcomes such as completion rates and in-field employment, as well as completer wages, earnings, and upward mobility. “It is crucial to be able to tell the story of the value of industry credentials,” said a respondent. “To me, documenting attainment is just the start.? We need to be able to show matriculation to degree programs and degree attainment as well as employment outcomes and the impact credentials have on wages.”

Many respondents highlighted a desire to determine the return on investment (ROI) of industry certification-connected programs. Some respondents explicitly highlighted the connection between program ROI and future funding requests. Others expressed excitement over the value of outcomes data in planning and growing these programs, such as the respondent who declared that certification data would allow their state to “construct a more robust supply and demand model, identify areas that need more education and training opportunities, [and] attract industry.”

Several respondents volunteered types of industry credentials their states most wanted to capture in their datasets. Of the 16 respondents who shared information on their states’ priorities for industry certification data collection, 5 wanted to focus on high-demand credentials, or those on the state’s approved credentials list. Other respondents flagged specific industries such as healthcare, renewable energy, or information technology.

Data on industry certifications are challenging to capture. While many states desire these industry certification data, they are highly decentralized and difficult to systematically collect. Respondents reported being especially interested in collecting outcomes data, which helps to inform program design decisions and demonstrate the value of industry certification-affiliated programs to state legislators and system leaders.

The survey’s findings illuminate strategies that stakeholders can use to promote industry certification collection efforts and the noncredit data infrastructure more broadly. State noncredit leaders can work to develop data sharing relationships between state agencies, institutions, and third-party providers. Policymakers can support these efforts by providing resources for the collection and analysis of industry certification and other types of noncredit data.

Industry certification data collection still sits on the launch pad in most states, but hopefully more states will be able to get these efforts off the ground, as interest around non-degree credentials grows.

Eliza Peterson is a Research Analyst at the Rutgers University Education and Employment Research Center.

We thank Strada Education Foundation for their support of this report, and members of the State Noncredit Data Project who participated in the survey. ?