Director of Microcredentials and Innovation Credential Strategy Cate Tolnai spotlights Career Pathways framework, open standards and EC-Council collaboration to strengthen credential portability and learner agency - PR Newswire

As employer demand grows across cybersecurity, healthcare, business and other fast-evolving fields, Tolnai's session explored how institutions can move beyond stand-alone micro-credentials to standards-based career pathways that are responsive, portable and verifiable. Tolnai also discussed how the University's Career Pathways framework leverages interoperability and open standards—including Open Badges 3.0, CTDL and the TrustEd Credential Framework—to align academic learning with employer-validated credentials and strengthen learner agency.  University of Phoenix's digital badging work supports working adult learners by helping them translate learning into clear, shareable evidence of assessed skills as they progress—course by course—toward longer-term goals. The University recently celebrated issuing one million digital badges for skills obtained in undergraduate, graduate and professional development courses.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/university-of-phoenix-leadership-shares-standards-based-approach-to-career-aligned-micro-credentials-at-1edtech-2026-digital-credentials-summit-302714764.html