​   
​        

Join the dialogue on credentialing Dear Colleague:

Initial co-sponsors  

Hi, all, This update from Lumina Foundation came through to the NCL e-mail account and may be of interest to you... they are looking for stakeholder input on this topic. Margaret Margaret Patterson, PhD Senior Researcher R-ALLY: Research Allies for Lifelong Learning Vienna, VA 703-399-5948 www.researchallies.org --------- Original Message --------- Subject: Join the dialogue on credentialing From: "Jamie P. Merisotis" <credentials@skilledwork.org> Date: 6/11/15 3:44 pm To: ncl@ncladvocacy.org No images? View this email as a web page &raquo; ​ ​ Join the dialogue on credentialing Dear Colleague: Lumina Foundation and the undersigned organizations are pleased to invite your organization to join us in a national dialogue on ways to transform our nation's highly diverse and fragmented credentialing system into one that is student-centered and learning-based. We are convinced that such a system is needed for several reasons: to ensure educational quality, increase access, multiply the benefits of increased attainment, reduce social inequity and foster individual progress. You can engage in the dialogue in a number of ways, as described below. We want - and need - a broad base of stakeholders to join us in a frank discussion about the problems posed by our current system and in identifying and acting on changes that improve how credentialing works in the U.S. A learning-based credentialing system would recognize and reward the learning inherent in all high-quality credentials - from badges and certifications to apprenticeships and certificate programs, all the way through degree programs and post-doctoral studies. Such a system would reduce the barriers that students and workers face as they seek to gain the skills and credentials they need to succeed in the workplace and in life. It would build employers' trust in credentials as they seek the skilled employees they need to compete globally. Also, in such a system, individuals would have to demonstrate achievement of clear, concrete and well-conceived learning outcomes to earn a quality credential. Between now and the end of the year, we plan to conduct a mix of conversations - within constituency groups, with national policy organizations, in specific regions where interest in reimagined credentialing is growing, and with other interested stakeholders about important issues affecting credentialing - to identify concrete solutions for addressing the challenges in our existing system. No top-down strategy can achieve the transformation that the co-sponsors believe is necessary to improve the nation's credentialing system. Rather, the multiple stakeholders in that system must see the benefits of change and act voluntarily to effect that change. As key stakeholders, you and those in your organization and those connected to it can play a critical role by joining these conversations. We invite you to participate in the dialogue in any or all of the following ways: + Sign up to participate in one or more of the upcoming themed online conversations on specific topics related to creating a more connected credentialing system. + Visit our just launched "Connecting Credentials" website to respond to questions about: credentialing-related challenges facing students, employers, workers and policymakers; how a transformed system would have to function to accrue real benefits for these users; and what steps each of the stakeholders could take to create a learning-based, student-centered system. + Take advantage of the robust collection of research and resources on credentialing in the U.S. that is identified on the website and suggest additional resources that we can add to the site to increase its value to users. + Involve your members in the dialogue by, for example, discussing credentialing issues at one of your upcoming meetings, hosting a webinar and/or writing an article for your newsletter or blog to solicit input. If any of these avenues seem attractive to you, our partners at Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) can help. CSW/CLASP, who are supporting the national dialogue, can provide background materials, assist in agenda development and perhaps facilitate a session. Contact them at credentials@skilledwork.org. + Provide feedback on how the just released "Connecting Credentials: A Beta Credentials Framework" can be improved to serve as a platform for yet to be developed tools/applications that can be used for connecting credentials and using competencies as the common currency to enhance transparency, comparability, portability and equity in the credentialing marketplace. We look forward to talking with you further about this critical national dialogue. Sincerely, Jamie P. Merisotis President & CEO Lumina Foundation Initial co-sponsors + AARP Foundation + ACT Foundation + AFL-CIO + American Association of Community Colleges + American Association of State Colleges and Universities + American Council on Education + American Federation of Teachers + Aspen Institute's Skills for America's Future + Association of American Colleges & Universities + Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities + Association for Career and Technical Education + AT&T Aspire + Best Western International + Business Roundtable + Center for Law and Social Policy + Council of Chief State School Officers + Committee for Economic Development + Community College Research Center + Complete College America + Corporation for a Skilled Workforce + Council for Adult and Experiential Learning + Forum for Youth Investment + Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce + George Washington Institute of Public Policy + Goodwill Industries International + Hope Street Group + Institute for Evidence-Based Change + Institute for Higher Education Policy + Jobs for the Future + Joyce Foundation + JP Morgan Chase & Co + Lumina Foundation + Manufacturing Institute + National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium/National Career Technical Education Foundation + National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment + National Network of Business and Industry Associations + National Skills Coalition + New America + North America's Building Trades Unions + Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign + Opportunity@Work + Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society + Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges + State Higher Education Executive Officers Association + University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center on Wisconsin Strategy + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation + Workcred-An Affiliate of the American National Standards Institute + Workforce Data Quality Campaign ​ Tweet Like This email was sent to: ncl@ncladvocacy.org This email was sent by: Lumina Foundation 30 South Meridian Street Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204-3503, USA Update Profile | Unsubscribe