Colleges and universities can align their academic curricula with skills needs by embedding or aligning credentials (e.g., certificates, certifications, microcredentials) that are created by industry or industry organizations. For example, academic course or program learning objectives can be mapped to competencies in industry certification exam blueprints, allowing colleges and universities to keep their curricula up-to-date and meet the skill needs defined by employers. Another strategy is to integrate modules from industry certificates into a specific academic course or series of courses. Or co-curricular opportunities can be developed to encourage and support learners to complete the curriculum for an industry certificate or to obtain the skills and knowledge required to take an industry certification exam.
By integrating different types of credentials to create pathways, learners gain the analytical skills they need to be lifelong learners (degree) as well as the technical skills they need to contribute as professionals (industry-developed credentials). These pathways benefit all learners because it is a broadly applicable, scalable approach that can be used to align degrees in any academic discipline with industry-relevant skills and competencies.
Workcred, a division of ANSI, has worked with community colleges and universities to develop and implement multiple strategies for aligning industry credentials with academic programs. The Workcred division staff’s knowledge of national and international standards for personnel certifications and assessment-based certificates, higher education, and workforce development positions it to help organizations build or improve pathways that:
Under a grant from Greater Texas Foundation, Workcred partnered with Houston City College and Texas Southmost College to better align their credential pathways, which integrate industry credentials with regional labor market needs and better support low-income and first-generation learners to complete these pathways, earn postsecondary and industry credentials of value, and enter the workforce.
In addition, Workcred and Houston City College also teamed up under a grant from Powell Foundation to examine how state and institutional policies can be better aligned to support learners in entering and completing credentialing pathways aligned with regional workforce needs. These two projects uncovered several ways community colleges can improve alignment of pathways and policies to better support learners to achieve the skills they need to enter the workforce and obtain jobs with family-sustaining wages.
Read more about the outcomes of these two grants here: https://www.ansi.org/standards-news/all-news/1-21-26--improving-academic-pathways-workcred-releases-resources-for-community-colleges.
With support from ECMC Foundation, Workcred, the League for Innovation in the Community College, and the Higher Learning Commission partnered with four community colleges to develop and implement certification + degree pathways in information technology and health science programs and establish a process for low-cost replication.
Workcred and its partners developed several resources to demonstrate how community colleges can successfully prepare students for living-wage careers through pathways that integrate associate degrees and industry certifications: https://www.ansi.org/standards-news/all-news/9-22-25-workcred-launches-resources-for-integrating-industry-certifications-into-associate-degrees.
Workcred conducted several workshops for faculty and administrators at The University of Texas System (UT System) institutions focused on how microcredentials could be incorporated with bachelor’s degrees to ensure that graduates are broadly educated (degree) and specifically skilled (microcredential), potentially increasing graduates’ employment opportunities and earnings outcomes.
This work resulted in a framework report and four case studies to highlight the multiple approaches for integrating microcredentials with an undergraduate program. More information about this work and the resulting documents can be seen here: https://www.ansi.org/standards-news/all-news/6-9-25-workcred-and-the-university-of-texas-system-release-case-studies.
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