Colleges and universities work with employers and state agencies to provide students a pathway that includes both industry credentials like certifications that are built into degrees (certificate + degree, or C+D pathways). Working together, the college aligns its degree curriculum with an industry credential to better serve its learners and the workforce.

With generous funding by ECMC Foundation, a unique group of partners explored effective ways to develop and launch new C+D pathways. Workcred, the Higher Learning Commission, and the League for Innovation in the Community College were joined in this endeavor by four HLC members: Community College of Aurora, Delta College, Kirkwood Community College, and Moraine Valley Community College. See a short video about the project.

The project partners developed a series of reports to share our lessons learned. The series includes a Promising Practice guide from HLC, as well as case studies on the C+D pathways from each of the participating colleges that highlight the common challenges and insights that were uncovered during this project.

• Promising Practices: Certification Plus Degree Pathways
• How Certification Bodies Can Support Colleges’ Efforts to Integrate Certifications into Academic Programs
• Playbook for Certification + Degree Pathways
• Case Studies:
  • Building Credentialing Pathways Using Credit for Prior Learning: A Case Study about Delta College
  • Creating Credentialing Pathways in Behavioral Health: A Case Study about the Community College of Aurora
  • Designing Credentialing Pathways in IT: A Case Study about Kirkwood Community College
  • Medical Coding and Health Information Technology Pathways: A Case Study about Moraine Valley Community College