Most Students Pay Out of Pocket for Nondegree Credentials - Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

A new report finds nondegree credentials are booming but questions whether students are shouldering too much of the cost. s Americans earn nondegree credentials in droves, many are paying for these programs out of pocket, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, released Thursday, analyzed 2022 data from a new national survey of over 15,000 American adults fielded by the U.S. Census Bureau, called the National Training, Education and Workforce Survey. The data included individuals who earned vocational certificates at a higher ed institution, such as a community college or trade school, as well as active industry licenses or personal certifications, like a teaching license.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/alternative-credentials/2025/10/23/most-students-pay-out-pocket-nondegree

2025 State of Credentialing Report - Accredible

Our latest State of Credentialing research shows just how urgent this need has become:

91% of employers actively look for digital credentials when reviewing candidates.

86% say they would be more likely to interview someone with a digital credential proving a key skill.

63% have hired a candidate, at least in part, because of a digital credential.

Yet only 46% regularly see digital credentials in applications.

https://www.accredible.com/reports/2025-state-of-credentialing-report

Microcredentials Chip Away at Semiconductor Workforce Gap - Gwendolyn Rak, IEEE Spectrum

To fill the gap, some universities—including UC Santa Barbara—are also offering microcredential programs separate from traditional degree programs. In these bite-size courses, which can be as short as a week or two, future engineers and technicians can gain critical hands-on experience in clean-room fundamentals or an introduction to topics like lithography or etching. Deploying short, standardized, and skill-based courses across the country could be an essential part of building a sustainable U.S. semiconductor workforce.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/microcredentials-semiconductor-workforce-development

Micro-credentialing redefines how graduates break into new careers - IT Online

With rapid shifts in the job market becoming commonplace, graduate professionals have to be more resilient than ever to ensure they stay ahead of trends and keep their careers on an upward trajectory.  This has given rise to the phenomenon of micro-credentialing, which allows swift, affordable upskilling, an education expert says. “Micro-credentialing is revolutionising how individuals break into new careers, offering flexible, targeted learning to acquire in-demand skills. Unlike traditional degrees, these shorter, focused courses or certifications allow professionals to upskill quickly in areas that are in high demand,” says Dingaan Moropane, deputy dean: academics at The IIE’s Rosebank College. For career changers, micro-credentials bridge the gap between current expertise and new opportunities, enabling rapid entry into emerging and high-growth fields without having to take a 3-year break to pursue fulltime studies. And as industries evolve, the micro-credentialing model empowers employees to stay competitive and to pivot with confidence, he explains.

https://it-online.co.za/2025/10/13/micro-credentialing-redefines-how-graduates-break-into-new-careers/

Iowa State University launches innovative micro-credential courses - Skyler Stamps, Siouxland Proud

Iowa State University is offering a new, shortened version of learning. It’s roughly a year into the program and popularity is growing on campus. The university is offering micro-credential courses that are geared toward obtaining short learning experiences that focus on career skills as well as soft, transferable skills for both students and career professionals. The program was officially launched October 2024, but has only been growing. It currently offers around 80 courses and nearly 600 people have already completed a course in the past year. Right now, it is geared more toward Iowa State undergraduate and graduate students. The university does currently offer some micro-credentials for people already in the workforce who want to add more experience or get expanded opportunities. These credentials are also for people looking for a career change and need new experiences. 

https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/education/iowa-state-university-launches-innovative-micro-credential-courses/amp/

Florida National University Rolls Out Virtual Work-Based Learning Opportunities - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Florida National University is partnering with online learning marketplace platform Riipen to provide its business students with work-based learning opportunities that connect classroom learning to career skills. The Riipen platform enables college students to take on real-world projects from employers, via a virtual model that provides more flexibility than traditional internships. Faculty can embed employer-created projects into courses and activities, giving students an opportunity to work on projects that are aligned with their learning objectives while developing their professional networks and boosting their economic mobility, the company explained in a news announcement.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2025/10/09/florida-national-university-rolls-out-virtual-work-based-learning-opportunities.aspx?admgarea=news

AI-driven labor market pressures call for curriculum overhaul in communication education - DevDiscourse

The study recommends that universities integrate micro-credentials and studio-based training modules into communication programs. These modules would cover technical areas such as automation workflows, campaign dashboard analytics, sustainable AI practices, and adaptive use of generative AI tools. By embedding these practical components alongside traditional coursework in media ethics, politics, and governance, universities could equip students to meet the dual demands of responsible and effective AI adoption.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/technology/3653986-ai-driven-labor-market-pressures-call-for-curriculum-overhaul-in-communication-education

New professional certificate launches as Brock named Centre of Excellence in Logistics Learning - the Brock News

Working alongside a national leader in supply chain and logistics education, Brock University has launched a suite of new learning opportunities to help professionals thrive in the field. Through its partnership with the Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation (CITT), Brock has been recognized as a Centre of Excellence in Logistics Learning and is introducing a Professional Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. The program will include several micro-credentials that lead to advanced standing toward the CITT-Certified Logistics Professional (CCLP) designation. The programming, run by Brock Professional and Continuing Studies, will help professionals develop the skills needed to become supply chain analysts, operations managers for international and domestic trade, and inventory controllers in manufacturing, retail and transportation.

https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2025/10/new-professional-certificate-launches-as-brock-named-centre-of-excellence-in-logistics-learning/

Micro-credentials give ISU students an edge in a skills-based workforce - Mallory Prescott, Iowa State Daily

In an increasingly skills-driven job market, Iowa State University is leading the way with an innovative approach to helping students showcase what they know and can do, micro-credentials. Micro-credentials are short, focused learning experiences that allow students to build and demonstrate specific skills valued by employers. Unlike traditional academic courses, which can take a semester or more to complete, micro-credentials are more flexible and targeted, often completed in days or weeks. According to Tanya Austin, Professional Learning and Micro Credentials program specialists, the initiative is part of a broader effort to align learning experiences with real-world demands. 

https://iowastatedaily.com/323611/news/micro-credentials-give-isu-students-an-edge-in-a-skills-based-workforce/

Congress exempted beauty schools from rules about how much graduates should earn - Meredith Kolodner, Hechinger Report

Under the “big beautiful bill” passed in July, two- and four-year colleges must ensure that, after four years, graduates on average make at least as much as someone in their state who has only a high school diploma. The colleges must inform students if they fail that test, and if it happens for two out of three years, the college will be ineligible to receive federal loan funds. Some for-profit certificate schools lobbied hard for an exemption. The American Association of Career Schools, which represents proprietary cosmetology schools, spent $120,000 lobbying the Education Department and Congress, including on the “big beautiful bill,” in the first six months of this year. 

https://hechingerreport.org/congress-wants-colleges-to-make-sure-graduates-can-earn-a-living-but-some-schools-got-a-carveout/

HIGE invites faculty to apply for the Global Classrooms Collaborative - John Sweeney, Western Michigan

The Haenicke Institute for Global Education is accepting applications for faculty to join the Global Classrooms Collaborative Spring 2026. Selected participants will engage in a facilitated learning community throughout the semester, following a structured process to design a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course. Support includes assistance with international partner matching, course design and intercultural pedagogy. Faculty will receive grant funding, distributed in two parts, half during the spring collaborative and the remainder following course implementation and submission of a final report.

https://wmich.edu/international/globalclassrooms

Our Approach to News Literacy - News Literacy Project

Our Framework for Teaching News Literacy is a guide for educators that includes core standards, essential questions, learning objectives and activities. Teachers can use it to build new courses or to bring news literacy into classes they already teach. This framework is based on the “Understanding by Design” (UbD)® model, a popular teaching method created by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins. UbD helps students build big-picture thinking skills and apply what they learn to real life. It also brings together the best ways to plan lessons, teach effectively and measure what students are learning. Our grade band expectations can be used to support a districtwide approach to teaching news literacy.

https://newslit.org/our-approach-to-news-literacy/

Finding the North Star For Adult Learning: How UTI Is Redefining Upskilling for the Modern Workforce - Ron Stefanski, Market Scale

In a world where rapid technological change is redefining how we live, work, and learn, the demand for skilled labor and lifelong learning has never been higher. From electric vehicle repair to advanced diagnostics in healthcare, the U.S. faces a widening talent gap in the skilled trades and allied health industries. According to the National Skills Coalition, nearly 52% of all jobs require skills training beyond high school but not a four-year degree—yet only a fraction of the workforce is equipped to fill them. As traditional education models struggle to keep pace, a new movement in adult learning and workforce training is reshaping how individuals prepare for the future of work.

https://marketscale.com/industries/podcast-network/disrupted/finding-the-north-star-for-adult-learning/

Apprenticeship program at SRU providing solution for teacher shortage - Slippery Rock University

As a leader in teacher preparation in Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock University is launching a first-of-its-kind teacher apprenticeship program to address the state’s critical teacher shortage. Funded by a transformative $600,000 state grant, SRU’s new two-year apprenticeship program will pave the way for professionals working at five local school districts with personal support and $15,000 in tuition to help them earn full teacher certification and a master’s degree. Starting in Fall 2025, this program is tailored for individuals with bachelor’s degrees who are working as long-term substitutes, emergency-certified teachers or paraprofessionals to provide a fast-track to success as teachers in hard-to-fill positions that require certifications in:

Grades 7-12 science,

Grades 7-12 mathematics, and

Kindergarten to grade 12 special education.

https://news.sru.edu/innovative-apprenticeship-program-at-sru-providing-solution-for-teacher-shortage/

Is Experience Via Apprenticeship Degrees A New College Degree Pathway? - Forbes

A college degree typically does not include work experience linked to the students’ academic major, creating an experience gap. Apprenticeship programs allow individuals to earn a living by working, learn from mentors in the workplace and classroom, and receive an employer credential while taking on little to no student debt. This earn-and-learn experience-based apprenticeship model is a way to solve the experience gap problem, making apprenticeships a new degree pathway. The United Kingdom developed such an apprenticeship degree program, which leads to a debt-free bachelor's or master's degree from a university.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brunomanno/2025/04/02/is-experience-via-apprenticeship-degrees-a-new-college-degree-pathway/

USI Romain College of Business launches international internship program with Trustmoore

The University of Southern Indiana’s Romain College of Business has established a new international internship program in partnership with Trustmoore, a global capital markets company with offices around the world. The internship will take place at the company’s Luxembourg offices. During a meeting in 2024, members of the International Alumni Advisory Council along with Blunt and Heidi Gregori-Gahan, Associate Provost for International Programs Emerita, brainstormed ways in which international alumni can help current USI students in the areas of mentoring and career development. USI alumnus Mauricio Paniagua, a 2012 graduate in international studies and Spanish language, proposed the possibility of establishing a partnership with USI and his employer Trustmoore Luxembourg, where he serves as Senior Legal Account Manager in the Fund Services Department. Paniagua, who also serves as chair of the USI International Alumni Advisory Council, recognized that the program would be a great opportunity for USI students interested in an international career, and he began to work with his colleagues on what a university partnership would entail. 

https://www.usi.edu/news/releases/2025/09/usi-romain-college-of-business-launches-international-internship-program-with-trustmoore

Wright State partners with Coursera to expand career readiness opportunities - Bob Mihalek, Wright State

Wright State University students, faculty and staff can now gain free access to industry-recognized certificates and career-aligned courses from industry leaders such as Google, Meta and IBM. Through a new partnership with Coursera’s Career Academy, students can explore career paths, develop high-demand skills with expert instruction and earn micro-credentials and professional certificates that prove job readiness to employers. “Coursera gives students the power to shape their own career journey by combining their Wright State education with industry-recognized credentials,” said Kim Gillam, Ed.D., director of career education and success. “This flexibility allows students to graduate with the skills, knowledge and confidence that employers seek.”

https://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2025/10/02/wright-state-partners-with-coursera-to-expand-career-readiness-opportunities/

Online learning empowers career outcomes, as 1 in 2 UK workers secure a salary increase from skills development - Stuart Gentle, OnRec

This ongoing workforce evolution is driving a new era of learning for learners worldwide, and shifting their priorities.

87% of UK learners achieved a positive career outcome from online learning, with one in five (21%) reporting a higher job level

Almost half (49%) of UK learners experienced a salary increase as an outcome after taking an online course

Data analysis ranked top technical skill needed by UK workers, although 8 in 10 are also learning soft skills

https://www.onrec.com/news/news-archive/online-learning-empowers-career-outcomes-as-1-in-2-uk-workers-secure-a-salary

Four Ways To Improve The Selection Of Leaders -Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes

Few decisions have greater consequences for an organization than the appointment of its leaders. The right leaders can elevate culture, accelerate innovation, and deliver sustainable results. The wrong ones destroy value, diminish trust, and push talented employees out the door. If you’ve ever worked under an incompetent boss, you don’t need the data to tell you how damaging bad leadership can be. But the data is unequivocal: poor leadership selection costs companies billions in disengagement, attrition, and underperformance. It is no exaggeration to say that leadership selection determines the fate of organizations and, by extension, societies. Whether in the corporate world, politics, or sport, getting it wrong is expensive. Getting it right is transformative.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspremuzic/2025/09/29/four-ways-to-improve-the-selection-of-leaders/

MIT OpenCourseWare is “a living testament to the nobility of open, unbounded learning” - Lauren Rebecca Thacker, MIT

Part of MIT Open Learning, OpenCourseWare offers free, online, open educational resources from more than 2,500 courses that span the MIT undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Fawzy was looking for advanced resources to supplement his research in quantum mechanics and theoretical physics, and he was immediately struck by the quality, accessibility, and breadth of MIT’s resources. “OpenCourseWare was transformative in deepening my understanding of advanced physics,” Fawzy says. “I found the structured lectures and assignments in quantum physics particularly valuable. They enhanced both my theoretical insight and practical problem-solving skills — skills I later applied in research on atomic systems influenced by magnetic fields and plasma environments.”  

https://news.mit.edu/2025/mit-opencourseware-living-testament-nobility-open-unbounded-learning-1001

Santander and Coursera look to boost employability with free online training for 50,000 people

Banco Santander has teamed up with global online learning platform Coursera to provide 50,000 adults in 13 countries with free access to the Curso Santander | Skills for Work course. The aim of this initiative is to boost people’s employability through lifelong learning in such key skills as artificial intelligence, leadership, and languages. Beneficiaries will get free access for a year to a selection of over 80 courses designed by universities and experts that home in on the most in-demand skills in today's market. Leadership, innovation and data-driven decision-making, marketing, artificial intelligence and languages will be some of the main topics that these courses — which will also include practical exercises — cover.

https://www.santander.com/en/press-room/press-releases/2025/10/santander-and-coursera-look-to-boost-employability-with-free-online-training-for-50000-people