a project leader's Playbook

Implementing A Digital Credentials Program

Reach University, in collaboration with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, is proud to present the Digital Credentials Playbook, designed to advance the integration of digital credentials for high-demand occupations and improve skills-based credentialing. This playbook serves as a comprehensive guide to explore and strengthen the connection between higher education and the digital credential ecosystem. The work that you do with the Digital Credentials Playbook will shape the future of industries, opening doors for talent, creativity, and growth. After using SHEEO’s Digital Credentials Design Template, and using the Digital Credentials Playbook, your project is ready to move confidently toward piloting, evaluating, and scaling your digital credentials program.

The playbook was designed as an interactive asset that can be navigated on any modern browser. To begin, simply click the little blue arrow in the lower right-hand corner.

Alternatively, you can download it here and either print it out or open and interact with the PDF using Adobe Acrobat.

 
Digital Playbook Mobile notice 2
Background Information

This playbook seeks to align higher education institutions with the broader digital credential ecosystem by emphasizing the implementation and credentialing of transferable skills for high-demand occupations. It aligns with state priorities for economic and social mobility, and workforce development by addressing critical labor force participation gaps among working learners. Digital credentials offer a flexible, verifiable, and accessible means for individuals to demonstrate their skills and competencies, bridging the gap between traditional education and evolving workforce needs. As the digital credential ecosystem advances, incorporating digital credentials benefits education/training, learners/employees, employers, and governments.

  • Education, training, and credentialing partners benefit by improving employment outcomes for learners.
  • Learners/employees gain greater control over their career narrative, easily accessing records, identifying growth opportunities, and showcasing verified qualifications.
  • Employers can more efficiently complete credential verification processes and identify qualified candidates with validated skills.
  • Governments benefit from easier collection of accurate workforce data, better resource allocation, and addressing emerging skill gaps.
Key Objectives
Reach University's Digital Credentials Playbook aims to help higher education institutions document and credential skills relevant for high-demand sectors. This initiative advances skill-based credentialing by integrating data tools with the Learning and Employment Record (LER) and digital credential movements. The goal of the Digital Credentials Playbook is to streamline the connection between skilled individuals and employers. To achieve this, the playbook guides project leaders to collaborate with key partners from employer and training organizations to:

  • Review job descriptions to identify required hard and soft skills embedded within job competencies.
  • Align and crosswalk identified skills with existing training curricula learning/program outcomes.
  • Identify industry standards and skill descriptors aligned to job descriptions at competency levels.
  • Adjust job descriptions with relevant skill descriptors, using agreed-upon skills and competency matrices.
  • Create skill and competency-level assessments.
  • Design training materials for learners to achieve stated learning outcomes and demonstrate skills and competencies.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to choose a digital credential platform and digital wallet.