Hello and welcome to Certified Insights from your digital credential friends at Accredible. You’re in good company with 56K+ education and training leaders.
Each month, we share tips and strategies for growing your credentialing program. Up next:
🧑🎓 Spotlight on credit for prior learning (CPL): Why it’s transforming education and workforce pathways
💬 Is the skills gap actually a recognition gap? Share your take!
🔗 See how CPL drives learner mobility, what ESG’s Matt Gandal says education must deliver in 2025, and how Accredible’s ACE partnership is expanding digital credentialing for the workforce
As an education ecosystem, are we truly helping learners turn their achievements into meaningful opportunities?
It’s easy to focus on what we offer without stepping back to see the bigger picture. But education is just one step in a lifelong journey, and we must recognize prior learning while ensuring the knowledge and skills we provide connect to learners' next steps.
With over 36.8 million U.S. adults having some college experience but no degree, credit for prior learning (CPL) provides a critical pathway for recognizing and awarding credit for skills gained through corporate training, certifications, and alternative educational pathways.
CPL helps learners save time, money, and build confidence while accelerating their path to credentials. For organizations, it strengthens workforce alignment and program value.
However, for CPL to succeed, all parts of the education ecosystem must work together to create seamless pathways that unlock learner potential. As Derrick Anderson, Senior Vice President of Education Futures at the American Council on Education, emphasizes:
"Whether an organization issues credentials, evaluates them, or receives them, everyone needs to be able to show how they are adding transferable value that learners can use whenever and wherever they want."
So, how can we better align our efforts to recognize prior learning and connect learners to the opportunities they deserve? I’m glad you asked. Let’s dive in.
The Current CPL Landscape in Higher Ed
CPL is transforming how educational institutions recognize and validate nontraditional learning. A 2024 AACRAO report found that 82% of surveyed institutions offer one or more CPL pathways, with nearly half increasing these offerings over the past three years. Yet, challenges remain. Only 54% of institutions accept CPL credits in transfer, and 67% charge fees for assessments, often without financial assistance.
Wendy Kilgore, Director of Research at AACRAO, frames CPL’s potential succinctly:
"CPL is a powerful tool for advancing our shared goals of increasing access, affordability, completion, and workforce readiness. We have an opportunity and an obligation to value learning in all its forms and empower learners to leverage their prior experiences for academic and career success.”
She emphasizes critical actions, including reducing financial and administrative barriers, increasing learners' awareness of CPL, and dedicating resources to support CPL programs.
As Melanie Booth, Executive Director of the Higher Learning Commission’s Credential Lab, recently noted, “What is needed still is for institutions to really VALUE these learners and their learning in all its forms, use good assessment methods, and remove the structural disincentives to bake it into the culture (e.g., policy, financial aid, campus economics, etc.).”
Expanding CPL Beyond Higher Ed: Actions for Corporate Training, Certifications, and Exams
CPL’s impact isn’t limited to higher ed. Corporate training, certifications, and alternative programs play a key role in bridging learning to career success. Aligning programs with CPL principles and leveraging digital credentials helps connect the lifelong learning journey.
Here are key actions these organizations can take:
Map learning outcomes to recognized skills and competencies and incorporate projects and assessments to validate these skills. According to the 2024 State of Credentialing, while 92% of learners prefer projects or assessments as part of their coursework, fewer than 34% of credential issuers provide them. Adding these elements not only enhances CPL alignment but also delivers practical, learner-focused experiences.
Partner with higher ed institutions and industry bodies like the American Council on Education (ACE) to establish transferable standards for credit recommendations and endorsements. Collaborating with respected institutions enhances program credibility and relevance and ensures alignment with industry needs.
Equip learners with detailed documentation about their achievements — such as course syllabi, learning outcomes, and assessment criteria (which also can be embedded as digital credential metadata) — and provide guidance on how to use this information to pursue CPL credit. Raise awareness about CPL’s benefits through resources like webinars, guides, and direct communication, ensuring learners understand how your programs can accelerate their educational and career goals.
Digital credentials are a powerful enabler of CPL, making achievements verifiable, portable, and meaningful. As ACE’s Executive Director, Dr. Sarah Cunningham said as part of their recent partnership with Accredible, "Digital credentials are a critical tool for recognizing and verifying the skills and knowledge learners acquire and empowering them to translate their achievements into future opportunities with confidence."By issuing data-rich digital certificates and badges, organizations can ensure learners have a comprehensive and trusted record of their accomplishments that can easily be shared with institutions or employers and online — increasing the visibility and impact of credentialing programs.
Aligning Programs with CPL to Drive Opportunities
CPL isn’t just about recognizing past learning — it’s about creating pathways to opportunity. When organizations align training and certifications with CPL and leverage digital credentials, they equip learners with the tools to take the next step.As Kilgore noted, CPL saves learners time and money while building confidence. The question for all of us is: How can we better position our programs to make learning truly count?
Until next time,
Ryan
Is a skills shortage actually a skills shortage, or is it a recognition gap? Andrew Kable’s recent post, reshared by Doug Belshaw, challenges us to rethink workforce planning.
What do you think: Is this truly a skills gap, or is it about better recognizing and planning for available talent? Reply to share your thoughts!
New offering enables employers and training providers to issue secure, branded ACE-endorsed digital certificates, badges, and (coming soon) transcripts that enhance visibility, trust, and learner engagement.
Credit for Prior Learning Mobility: Possibilities and Practice from the Field — The EvoLLLution
CAEL’s Carolyn Swabek and Purdue Global’s Allegra Fowler explore how CPL drives learner mobility, offering insights on its role in expanding access and opportunities in education and the workforce.
Where Education Needs to Deliver in 2025 — Forbes
Education Strategy Group's President and CEO Matt Gandal shares key priorities for education in 2025, highlighting how institutions can better align with workforce needs, close equity gaps, and improve opportunities for learners in a rapidly changing economic landscape.
Group Demo: Building the Business Case for a Digital Credential Platform — On-Demand
Check out this Accredible demo and Q&A to learn why digital credentials are essential for growth and how to evaluate platforms. You’ll walk away with a clear business case for adopting a digital credential platform.
Introducing Accredible: New ACE Digital Credential Provider — February 6, 2025
Discover how employers and training providers can issue secure, branded American Council on Education-endorsed digital certificates, badges, and (coming soon) transcripts.
1EdTech Digital Credentials Summit — March 3-5, 2025
The premiere event for education leaders, employers, and edtech innovators to work toward creating a better path to the future for all learners.
Tired of juggling paper certificates, PDFs, and endless manual processes to track learner achievements?
Or running into scaling limitations with your current digital credentialing solution?
Accredible has you covered. Create and issue branded digital credentials that showcase skills and provide real value — without the hassle.
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Accredible is the world’s leading digital credential platform, enabling education and training leaders to increase learner engagement and drive program growth.
Accredible is the world’s leading digital credential platform, enabling education and training leaders to increase learner engagement and drive program growth.
