Badges

ACE and Credly Launching Digital Credentials for Workforce Training

• By Rhea Kelly
• 01/30/17

A collaboration between the American Council on Education (ACE) and digital credential service provider Credly will allow working professionals to earn digital badges for workplace training. The two organizations are launching a digital credential program for ACE's College Credit Recommendation Service (CREDIT), which helps students get academic credit for formal training taken outside traditional degree programs.

ACE CREDIT participants (major corporations, associations, labor unions and government agencies offering courses in various fields) will now be able to issue secure, portable and data-rich digital badges through Credly, according to a press release. Individuals can use the badges to document professional and academic achievements; the credentials can be showcased through online professional networks as well as in job applications and e-portfolios. An ACE official transcript will remain the primary means of communicating ACE credit recommendations to colleges and universities.

"Our work is rooted in the belief that experience in the workplace can lead to a more flexible pathway to earn college degrees and credentials and fuel career growth," said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad, in a statement. "Credly is helping us transform a powerful concept for the digital era through empowering professionals with portable credentials. We are pleased to enable our CREDIT organizations to tap into the promise of digital credentialing."

The first organizations to offer CREDIT digital credentialing this spring will include Walt Disney, KFC, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps and Jiffy Lube. For more information, visit the ACE CREDIT site.