The Pulse of Higher Ed

Perspectives on Online and Professional Education
from UPCEA’s Research and Consulting Experts

UPCEA/Pearson Survey: Demographic Shifts in Educational Demand and the Rise of Alternative Credentials

June 7, 2016

To thrive in today’s fast-evolving job market, students need flexible ways to quickly develop and demonstrate new skills. Alternative credentialing helps solve this problem.

UPCEA and Pearson surveyed 190 institutions to determine the role alternative credentials play in higher education. Learn more about the key findings and download the complete report, Demographic Shifts in Educational Demand and the Rise of Alternative Credentials.

The major findings of this study include:

  • Alternative credentials are offered by 94% of institutions profiled.
  • One in five institutions offers digital badges.
  • Digital badges are most commonly offered in business-related domains.
  • Institutions with corporate engagement consistently valued alternative credentialing more than institutions that did not.
  • Sixty-four percent of respondents either strongly or somewhat agreed that their unit sees alternative credentialing as an important strategy for its future. 

Click here to download the full report. 

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