Pilot tested innovative delivery of learner credentials to a digital wallet

PHOENIX: University of Phoenix conducted a pilot testing interoperable exchange of Learning and Employment Records (LERs) into a digital wallet with the goal to empower learners with experiences and tools that will enable them to pursue their goals and give employers a clearer picture of their capabilities. This initial pilot helps bring this forward-thinking innovation closer.

Alignment across industries, commerce, and higher education on adoption of interoperable learning records promoted by The LER Accelerator Initiative has only become more of an imperative as learning, talent hiring and development models have become more technology driven.

“We are focused on building practical opportunities that provide our learners with the ability to preserve and present credentials of all kinds, including degrees, badges, skills, and achievements outside of a classroom,” states John Woods, Provost and Chief Academic Officer. “This was our vision in developing a skills-mapped curriculum aligned to digital badges. A learning and employment record would allow these to be compiled together as a valuable resource for our students as well as their current and potential employers.”

LERs should capitalize on standards, such as 1EdTech's Open Badges 3.0 (OBv3) and Comprehensive Learner Record 2.0 (CLRv2), each variants of W3C's Verifiable Credentials (VCs). They are designed to represent artifacts such as diplomas, badges, certificates, transcripts, and skills data in a format that cannot be altered or tampered without detection. The student can then selectively disclose their credentials to verifiers such as employers and other institutions that need to verify the credentials.

In a collaboration directed and supported by the Experience You Project, an initiative by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Education Design lab, University of Phoenix worked with Gobekli – an independent startup developing TalentPass, a user-friendly, standards-compliant digital wallet – to conduct a focused user research and prototype testing initiative of their LER. The University selected Gobekli for these projects due to its deep LER expertise, innovative AI-driven design, and shared commitment to open, learner-owned data ecosystems, and for empowering students to showcase lifelong proof of learning for optimal career readiness and meaningful differentiation.

The project, initially conducted in 2023, brought together a group of approximately 30 student volunteers for an initial focus group. These students engaged in exploratory sessions and provided feedback on their experience with badges to date, the designs and intent of the LER ecosystem, and the design, interface and functionality of Gobekli’s TalentPass prototype. The project also featured a technical test of the credential hand-off mechanism, demonstrating to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation technical advisors that the University’s LER student record can be successfully and interoperably handed off to an LER credential wallet of a student's choice.

University of Phoenix and Gobekli continued the next phase of the project with the second round of Experience You this year, which is focused on extending 2023's prototypes into live field tests for specific use cases.

Many organizations are working to develop LERs and the necessary standards but have yet to achieve full implementation. “University of Phoenix laid the foundation to assess skills and validate what learners know,” states Doris Savron, vice provost. “We are pursuing a learning and employment record ecosystem that can provide even more than an immediate solution that would benefit learners and employers alike: it can become the framework and foundation for a host of future-proofed data solutions. As partners join the ecosystem, they can bring their own data and innovation into the process; other solutions, such as AI, can continue to enrich the ecosystem and provide even more value for our students and employer alliances.”

The University envisions an ecosystem that empowers students to acquire skills in weeks and then quickly access and share their verifiable achievement credentials on digital platforms, one where a student who shares their records is assured that whomever they share it with, including employers, can see the authentic and entire scope of their work and accomplishments.

University of Phoenix has focused on career-relevancy for working adults since its founding in 1976, and the pilot testing the transfer of learner records into a digital wallet strengthens the work already informed by College industry advisors, practitioner faculty and labor analytics company Lightcast to help ensure career-ready curricula, and provide skills assessments, digital badging and credentialing to students. Using a digital credential platform also provides opportunities to share verified badges confirming the microcredential for learners and employers.

Reflecting its Skills in Weeks® approach, University of Phoenix has already created a skills achievement record for learners which includes courses, degrees, self-reported skills, verified skills assessments and achievements, and access to digital badges. The next phase of development will focus on digital wallet portability.

The University offers a variety of career-focused solutions, headlined by its Career Services for Life® commitment and including the Career Navigator platform, which brings together tools in a user-friendly interface where students and alumni can easily learn about various career options, plan their next steps, assess their skills, schedule career advisor appointments, and explore job opportunities that align with their program and goals.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

Fonte: Business Wire