Incremental Credentialing Feasibility and Outcomes Study

Filled with research from the Credential As You Go initiative, which involved 20 higher education institutions across three U.S. states. It includes a feasibility study with focus groups and a comparative interrupted time-series analysis of learner outcomes, with data on 10,930 enrollment counts from 16 credentials. The study examines enrollment, persistence, progress, and completion outcomes.

Use Cases

• Analyze enrollment counts and completion data from 16 credentials to assess the impact of incremental credentialing programs.
• Compare persistence and progress data across credential structures and pathway designs to identify effective program features.
• Examine variability in credential naming conventions and credit status across institutions to understand implementation challenges.

Strengths

• Data from a multi-year research initiative spanning from 2019 to 2025, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.
• Includes learner-level outcome data for 10,930 enrollment counts from 16 distinct credentials.
• Research conducted across 20 higher education institutions in Colorado, New York, and North Carolina.

Limitations

• Limited sample size for outcome data, with only 16 of 158 credentials (10%) having sufficient enrollment data for the CITS analysis.
• Low response rates for some data collection methods, such as a 6.5% student survey response rate from 5 participating schools.
• Focus group participants were recruited via convenience sampling from individuals already engaged in the initiative, which may limit generalizability.

Provenance

Source

ICPSR Harvested Dataverse, authored by Nan Travers.

Collection Method

Mixed methods including focus groups, web-based surveys, and comparative interrupted time-series analysis of institutional data.

Time Range

Phase I: 2019–2021; Phase II: 2021–2025.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-02-27.

Geography

Higher education institutions in Colorado, New York, and North Carolina, United States.