October 13, 2026 | 10:00-11:30 AM | Hosted at Convergence 2026: Credential Innovation in Higher Education, Washington DC
Registration for this event is by invitation only, and is separate from full conference registration.
Sponsored by
The annual convening of representatives to the UPCEA Council for Credential Innovation (CCI) will engage senior leaders in examining what institutions need to build credential ecosystems that are connected, trusted, and sustainable. Participants will explore how institutions can create clearer pathways across prior learning, noncredit offerings, microcredentials, and degrees; demonstrate credential quality and value through meaningful evidence, employer engagement, and skills verification; and modernize the policies, governance structures, and internal practices needed to bring innovation to scale.
Members of the CCI Leadership Team will share concise, authentic accounts of institutional experiments, pivots, persistent challenges, and lessons learned. These perspectives will be followed by guided small-group conversations designed to surface barriers, promising practices, and the kinds of guidance institutions most need. Rather than presenting finished solutions, the convening will invite participants to help shape the Council’s annual plan of work and a companion series of practical resources focused on learning mobility, credential value, and institutional readiness.
Attendance is free and limited to UPCEA member representatives to the CCI and Institutional Representatives who are registered for Convergence 2026. Each UPCEA member institution has the opportunity to identify a senior leader from their organization to represent them on the Council. Registration information has been sent via email to CCI Representatives and Institutional Representatives. More details about event date and registration will be found in the invitation email. If you have questions regarding the invitation to register, or about identifying your organization's CCI representative, please contact info@upcea.edu.
The annual Chief Credential Innovation Officer Convening provides senior leaders in online and professional education with an opportunity to connect with peers, consider the most pressing issues shaping credential innovation, and contribute to a shared agenda for the field. Curated by the leadership team of the UPCEA Council for Credential Innovation (CCI), the convening employs a highly participatory roundtable format organized around three themes of import: advancing learning mobility, strengthening credential value, and accelerating institutional readiness. Brief, candid examples from CCI leaders will serve as provocations for facilitated table conversations, collective sense-making, and reporting out. Insights gathered through the convening will help inform the Council’s programming and practical resources throughout the coming year.
A Chief Credential Innovation Officer (CCIO) is a senior leader for enterprise-wide credential innovation, at the unit, college, or institutional level. CCIOs are accountable for the credentialing portfolio, making decisions to advance the strategy, leadership, and vision of postsecondary credentialing, including but not limited to technology, pedagogy, external affairs, nomenclature, and governance. UPCEA recognizes there is diversity in such roles and decisions. CCIOs are sometimes professional or online education leaders, with alternative credentials in their portfolio, while others are solely focused on alternative credentials.
CCIOs:
Meet for peer-to-peer networking and to discuss issues related to leadership, strategy, management, and public policy at the annual convening.
Have access to special content focusing on the CCIO perspective at events such as Convergence and the UPCEA Annual Conference, as well as Strategic Conversations, high-level, virtual briefings held semi-annually on topics of import.
Communicate via a dedicated CORe channel for the credential community to share candid questions and comments with peers.
Questions about your UPCEA Membership or your institutional membership roster? Or, if you would like to update or add your institution's representative to the Council, email medwards@upcea.edu.