The short-term credential space is big and growing, with individuals of all ages seeing these credentials as a high-value option to open up career and economic opportunities.

Also known as non-degree or workforce credentials, they are intended to expand pathways for career access and ongoing learner economic success. However, with no mandate similar to the requirements under Title IV to collect information regarding these credentials, there is currently no trusted set of data, let alone a comprehensive and verified data set, to effectively measure and understand the space.

This gap leaves credential issuers without the ability to effectively understand the quality of their programs, and the employment, economic, and educational benefits their credential earners attain. A cascading effect is that student advisors are unable to effectively guide students to programs and credentials that will benefit them most.

CredLens, a National Data Trust for non-degree credentials incubated by Strada Education Foundation, was launched in 2024 to fill this data gap. It operates by matching verified records shared by credential issuers against data from a range of public and private sources containing information such as wage records and employment data to return timely, actionable outcomes insights.

These outcomes insights enable credential issuers, workforce training providers, funders, state higher education systems and agencies, and eventually employers and other institutions, to understand program and learner outcomes, enabling them to make informed, strategic policy and program decisions, ultimately benefitting students.