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
This 90-minute in-person working session focuses on defining, measuring, and strengthening the market value of alternative postsecondary credentials.
Led by facilitators from the UPCEA Council for Credential Innovation and featuring a senior representative from SHRM, participants will analyze how non-degree qualifications transfer from campus records into corporate hiring systems, with a particular focus on the expanding role of states in validating "credentials of value." The conversation will explore how state public sector hiring rules, state-funded training lists, and workforce funding pathways require institutions to translate academic records into data structures that align with both state policies and automated corporate screening workflows.
Using UPCEA’s Hallmarks of Excellence in Credential Innovation and Guidebook on Employer Engagement alongside SHRM’s Skills-First Framework, this cross-functional session provides a space for chief credential officers and senior online and professional education leaders to build best practices.
Core Focus Areas:
Presenters:
Facilitators:
Cate Tolnai, University of Phoenix |
Kimberly Moore, Wichita State University |
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Jessica Metzler, Providence College |
Saira Cooper, Rice University |
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Jill Pippin, SUNY Oswego University |
Insiya Bream, University of Maryland Global Campus |
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Kappie Mumphrey, Louisiana State University |
Benjamin Brand, Johns Hopkins University |
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 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.
