INSIDE HIGHER ED: Assessing Nondegree Credential Quality

A new report recommends ways states can better ensure the quality of programs as they proliferate across the country.

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Shalin Jyotishi, senior program manager at the Burning Glass Institute, which conducts research on the future of work, said in an email that many states and employers have recently dropped degree requirements for jobs, “but far fewer have a plan in place to operationalize quality non-degree pathways to quality jobs.”

Learners and employers are interested in these credentials, “but many are still wary of their reliability—rightfully so,” said Jyotishi, who is also a part-time Future of Work Fellow at New America, a public policy think tank. He highlighted a report by Jobs for the Future, an organization focused on helping college and workforce leaders create equitable economic outcomes for students, which found that the majority of Gen Z survey participants and employers believed in the potential of nontraditional degree pathways but worried about whether they would lead to jobs.

Quality and subpar credential options alike have “ballooned” and created a “jungle gym of credentials” provided by higher ed institutions, companies and employers, he said.

“Now is the time for states to ensure that the non-degree credentials that are created are high-quality and lead to mobility, opportunity, and a pathway to good careers,” he said.