Integration Facilitates Sharing of Credentials Across State Lines

Two learning credential companies are working together to help states set up reciprocity agreements in credential recognition. Merit and Credential Engine said the tools they're making available to customers will help workers make sense of shared credentials across borders.

Merit produces a verified identity platform that helps organizations standardize and centralize digital records for professional licenses and qualifications.

Credential Engine makes software and resources to facilitate credential and competency transparency and interoperability, including Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), a common language to describe credential information. The company also runs the Credential Registry, an online library that collects, maintains and connects information on all types of credentials; and the Credential Finder, which allows people to explore competencies, learning outcomes and occupations where they're used.

Under the new agreement, Merit's customers can incorporate CTDL to enable credential comparisons across state lines. According to the two companies, this is important as states build more reciprocity agreements, to help workers with certain credentials in one state transfer them to an equivalent certification in another state.

"We need to improve the professional licensing processes that the 40 million credentialed workers in the United States rely on, as well as the entire post-secondary and industry credentialing infrastructure," said Hannah Burke, Merit's vice president of government solutions, in a statement. "By partnering with Credential Engine, we're helping states take steps towards reciprocity, as well as helping people discover the full value of the credentials they've earned and where those skills can take them."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • The AI Show

    Register for Free to Attend the World's Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU

    The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, held April 5–7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, is a free event designed to help educators, students, and parents navigate AI's role in education. Featuring hands-on workshops, AI-powered networking, live demos from 125+ EdTech exhibitors, and keynote speakers like Colin Kaepernick and Stevie Van Zandt, the event offers practical insights into AI-driven teaching, learning, and career opportunities. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to integrate AI into classrooms while exploring innovations that promote equity, accessibility, and student success.

  • cloud, database stack, computer screen, binary code, and flowcharts interconnected by lines and arrows

    Salesforce to Acquire Data Management Firm Informatica

    Salesforce has announced plans to acquire data management company Informatica for $8 billion. The deal is aimed at strengthening Salesforce's AI foundation and expanding its enterprise data capabilities.

  • stylized AI code and a neural network symbol, paired with glitching code and a red warning triangle

    New Anthropic AI Models Demonstrate Coding Prowess, Behavior Risks

    Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, its most advanced artificial intelligence models to date, boasting a significant leap in autonomous coding capabilities while simultaneously revealing troubling tendencies toward self-preservation that include attempted blackmail.

  • NVIDIA DGX line

    NVIDIA Intros Personal AI Supercomputers

    NVIDIA has introduced a new lineup of AI-powered computing solutions designed to accelerate enterprise workloads.