Stackable Credentials Within Three State Systems: Award Patterns and Their Labor Market Value

January 2016–June 2018

This project will examine stackable sub-baccalaureate credentials within three state higher education systems. The research team will use rich student-level data to answer three research questions:

  1. To what extent do students earn stackable credentials, and what are the typical patterns of receipt?
  2. How do students who earn stackable credentials differ from those who earn only one award?
  3. Do stackable credentials have a unique value in the labor market?

Given the pressures on colleges to offer these credentials and the need for skills accumulation by workers, CCRC expects the answers to be an important contribution to the discussion on the design of postsecondary credentials and their impact on the labor market.

This project is funded by JPMorgan Chase.