Credentials That Count: A Framework to Build From
In today’s rapidly changing economy, education must do more than open doors, it must lead to real opportunity.
As businesses across Colorado face talent shortages and workers navigate increasingly complex education and career choices, the question at the center of our systems is shifting: Are we preparing learners for jobs that pay and pathways that grow?
This three-part blog series, developed in collaboration with Katie Zaback, explores the emerging national and state-level movement to define and scale credentials of value, those that deliver measurable outcomes like strong wages, in-demand skills, and economic mobility. We’ll break down:
- What credentials of value are and why they matter more than ever
- How Colorado is on the path to building a transparent, data-driven credentialing system (in this post)
- What must come next to ensure every learner in Colorado has access to a credential that counts
Let’s build a system where every credential is a step toward a stronger future for learners, for business, and for Colorado.
Clarifying Credentials in Colorado
In the past several years, Colorado state agencies governing higher education and workforce systems have taken important steps toward transparency and data sharing to help support learners in choosing the programs and providers that will best serve them. In this post, we’ll explore the key components currently in place.
Non-Degree Pathways Framework
In 2022, the Colorado Workforce Development Council, in partnership with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, released a framework for identifying high-quality, non-degree pathways. This framework is a helpful start to ensuring the state can target investments in the highest-quality pathways and that students and families can locate high-quality credentials.
The Return on Investment Report
Another critical tool Colorado has to build from in supporting access to credentials of value is the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s Return on Investment (ROI) Report. This report provides essential insights into how different educational programs lead to wage outcomes. The data show that as Coloradans increase their educational attainment, they are less likely to be unemployed, more likely to qualify for a good job, and earn higher wages across all levels of credentials.
Additionally, CDHE’s interactive Postsecondary Degree Earnings Outcomes Tool allows students, families, and policymakers to see median earnings 1, 5, and 10 years after completing specific credentials, by institution, degree level, and program of study.
Colorado’s Progress & Momentum
Colorado has been a national leader in providing transparent information about in-demand credentials and skills. Since 2015, Colorado Succeeds has been encouraging this work while working directly to pass policy and support communities in expanding access to industry-aligned credentials beginning in high school.
The following timeline details key activities in moving forward Colorado’s focus on ensuring students can access credentials of value:
Colorado released its first Talent Pipeline Report, creating a national model for defining top jobs and reporting on workforce needs. (SB14-205)
The Colorado Workforce Development Council publishes a list of industry-recognized credentials that qualify for the Career Development Incentive Program based on a cross-agency workgroup soliciting industry feedback. (HB16-1289)
The state released its first annual return on investment report detailing the costs, completion rates, and 1, 5, and 10-year wage outcomes data for all undergraduate postsecondary programs. This report also includes a dashboard of program-level wage outcomes. (HB18-1226)
The state officially launched My Colorado Journey. This integrated platform informs students about education pathways that lead to jobs. It includes an Education Returns ROI Calculator and extensive pathway and program options information.
Colorado expanded the authority of CDHE to collect and report on wage outcomes for any school authorized by the Colorado Department of Higher Education or the Division of Private and Occupational Schools. (HB20-1280)
The Student Success and Workforce Revitalization Task Force released recommendations calling for the state to build more clarity on how non-degree credentials fit into education pathways and define new ways to measure postsecondary outcomes that reflect economic mobility and security. (HB21-1330)
Colorado received official recognition as a state apprenticeship agency, paving the way for the state to oversee apprenticeship quality and offer support entities in creating high-quality apprenticeships. (HB21-1007)
Colorado Commission on Higher Education released its Strategic Plan: Building Skills for an Evolving Economy and set a goal of increasing the number of students who get positive economic benefits from their postsecondary education and training. The plan will leverage a “minimum value threshold” that accounts for wage outcomes over 15 years and the total cost of education compared to average outcomes for high school graduates. (HB22-1349)
Colorado Workforce Development Council, in partnership with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, released a framework for identifying high-quality, non-degree pathways. (SB22-192)
The Colorado Department of Higher Education released stackable pathways maps that were co-created by education providers and industry representatives to help show how credentials can lead to degrees. (SB22-192)
Colorado invested in a State Longitudinal Data System in the Office of Information Technology with a cross-agency governance committee. This system will focus on connecting education and workforce data, and its first report in 2026 will focus on measuring the outcome of different programs and credentials. (HB24-1364)
Colorado Workforce Development Council partnered with Credential Engine to apply the quality credential framework to programs offered through CDIP and those provided through the state’s workforce system, including Eligible Training Providers. (HB24-143)
Colorado Department of Higher Education launched an effort to align Colorado credentials with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to create more international comparability and clarity of quality credentials for employers. (HB24-143)
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the Colorado Community College System launched a partnership to build stronger connections between apprenticeship and CTE Pathways in high-demand areas. (HB24-104, Succeeds Supported) The Colorado Community College System released its new strategic plan, focusing on increasing offerings that lead to learners earning credentials and a living wage.
The legislature created a consolidated, outcomes-based Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) fund, providing school districts with financial incentives for student completion of the “Big Three”: industry credentials, college credit, and work-based learning. The bill marks a critical step in aligning some high school funding with measurable outcomes and scaling equitable access to high-quality pathways. (SB25-315)