The Lumina Foundation, a national college access organization, has created a task force to highlight the need for a national response to ensure quality post-secondary programs for all students.
Lumina’s Quality Credentials Task Force, consisting of 22 education, policy and workforce leaders, met three times over the course of a year to develop and define a clearer definition of quality credentials.
“It was a bit of an experiment,” said Dr. Debra Humphreys, vice president of strategic impact at Lumina. “Could we create a framework that would encompass all of those different questions and all of those different factors into one model?”
The task force’s results and established quality credential model are featured in the report, Unlocking the Nation’s Potential: A Model to Advance Quality and Equity in Education Beyond High.
“What was really exciting about this task force is it brought together perspectives and experts to speak about quality from different angles,” said Julie Peller, executive director of Higher Learning Advocates. “It was an opportunity to think about quality in a more holistic way.”
Quality credentials are defined as “degrees, certificates, industry certifications or other credentials that, at a minimum, have clear and transparent learning outcomes and that lead to meaningful employment and to further learning,” the report stated.
A model was created to help provide ways to establish more equitable access to quality credentials. The report listed five key indicators that needed to be met or understood including societal outcomes, individual outcomes, intentional program design, student-centered policies and practices and dynamic quality assurance system.
