2026 Convergence: Credential Innovation in Higher EducationGeneral Sessions |
October 13 | 1:15 PM
Higher education is entering a new era where learning no longer happens in a single institution—or a single stage of life. Learners increasingly accumulate knowledge and skills across universities, workplaces, and credentials. Yet the systems that document and recognize learning remain largely institution-bound.
In this opening conversation, following UPCEA CEO remarks, Amy Heitzman and Melanie Gottlieb explore what the future of learning and work demands from higher education and how institutions must evolve to meet it. From learner mobility and skills recognition to digital records and integrated credit and noncredit pathways, they will examine the infrastructure required to support lifelong learners.
The conversation will be followed by a moderated panel featuring institutional leaders who are actively redesigning systems to make learning more portable, transparent, and connected to opportunity.
October 14 | 12:15 PM
This moderated general session brings together state, national, and intermediary perspectives to examine a core challenge in credential innovation: how to ensure data quality, interoperability, and trust across emerging workforce and education systems. As WIOA performance reporting, Learning and Employment Records (LERs), and Workforce Pell eligibility requirements converge, institutions and states are under increasing pressure to align data definitions, validation processes, and outcomes tracking.
The session explores how cross-sector partnerships are tackling these challenges in practice. Panelists will discuss how they are integrating workforce, postsecondary, and skills data systems; navigating federal and state reporting requirements; and building infrastructure that supports both learner mobility and policy compliance.
The conversation will highlight real implementation decisions, trade-offs, and early lessons from the field, with a focus on how data quality impacts funding, credential value, and learner outcomes. Attendees will gain insight into emerging approaches for aligning data ecosystems with workforce policy frameworks and ensuring that short-term credentials meet new standards for transparency and accountability.
