Colleges Show Great Interest in Alternative Credentials But Weak Follow-Through (Campus Technology)
No matter what type of alternative credential students are earning, most institutions don’t retain official information about it. In a recent survey, just a third of institutions (38 percent) that offer alternative credentials said they allow those to be represented on students’ university records. Nearly half (48 percent) said they weren’t in student records; and another 14 percent said they didn’t know. Those responses include institutions that deliver credentials as graduate and undergraduate certificates, which are intended to serve as degree supplements.
The survey, undertaken by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) and online learning producer MindEdge, found that two-thirds of respondents in colleges and universities (68 percent) have seen growing interest in alternative credentials among students in recent years, and nearly half (46 percent) would call it “significant growth” in interest.
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