A $12 million donation by the Charles Koch Foundation to Arizona State University is planning to be used to develop programs for students to acquire industry-specific credentials. This program would help customize students’ education experience while also helping those who are low-income and working.
Stackable credentials have existed since the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which Congress enacted to help workers without bachelor’s degrees.
NSC Senior Fellow Rachel Vilsack tells Real Clear Education that programs like the ones created by Arizona State are beneficial for skills training, that “it allows people and working adults to be able to connect more quickly with opportunities, to get that retraining and up-skilling that is needed.
Vilsack sees programs like these to become more prevalent due to the need to close the skills gap in current workplaces.
