DOI: 10.3886/e245946v1
title: Credential As You Go

description: Credential As You Go (CAYG) is a national, multi-year research and development initiative designed to transform the U.S. postsecondary credentialing system from a predominantly degree-centric model to an incremental credentialing system that recognizes learning in smaller, stackable, and meaningful units. The project combined system-level infrastructure development, institutional implementation, applied research, and national dissemination to assess the feasibility and potential impact of the Incremental Credentialing Framework. Building on an Incremental Credentialing Framework developed during Phase I (2019–2021, funded by Lumina Foundation), Phase II research (2021–2025, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, #R305T210063) supported 20 higher education institutions across Colorado, New York, and North Carolina in developing and piloting incremental credentials. The study pursued two primary lines of inquiry: a feasibility study examining the supports and constraints that institutions encountered in developing and sustaining incremental credentials, and a comparative interrupted time-series (CITS) analysis (using ITSA command) of learner-level outcomes: enrollment, persistence, progress, and completion. Credential-level analyses explored variability in structure, credit status, naming conventions, and pathway design.
description: N/A
description: Response Rates: For Priority 1 research, two focus group studies were conducted with 24% and 78% participation, respectively. For the student survey, 5 of The 20 schools participated with student responses, with a 6.5% response rate. <br>For Priority 2 research, 16 of 158 credentials (10%) had sufficient enrollment data with matched 4 year baseline and 2 year treatment data, of these there were 10,930 enrollment counts. Of these, 11% had persistence data, 10% had progress data, and 34% had completion data.
description: Presence of Common Scales: N/A
description: Priority 1 research: Focus Groups used convenience sampling of those who were part of state groups and advisory board. Student sampling was those who participated in incremental credentialing. <br>Priority 2 research: Sampling was all credentials with sufficient data that matched CITS criteria.
description: College students over the age of 18 enrolled in incremental credentials and higher-education system and institution staff responsible for developing, executing, and supporting these programs. Smallest Geographic Unit: student academic data enrolled in a credential; administrators and staff involved in creating incremental credentials
description: mixed mode; other; web-based survey; Feasibility Study: Focus group participants were recruited from among individuals actively engaged in The Credential As You Go initiative, from the following roles: Advisory Board Members, State-level Steering Committee members, Institutional and state system data contacts, Higher education leads responsible for developing and implementing the incremental credentials. Focus groups were held with role-alike members (e.g., faculty with faculty, employers with employers).<br><br>Outcomes Study: Learner level data for enrollment, persistence, progress, and completion of incremental credentials were provided through system and/or institutions involved in the study. Student surveys were administered through the institutions.