Introduction

The last place that Michael Coburn expected to find himself when he turned 46 was back in college. He had been there before, studying briefly at Florida Keys Community College after he left the Coast Guard in the early ‘90s, but quickly discovered that the computer skills he had picked up over the years were strong enough to land a job without having to put in years of schooling. Over the next 20 years he had no trouble finding work. Working in information technology for a string of well-known companies, he helped build Chrysler Corporation's first website and the first online shopping portal for Avon cosmetics, and was the webmaster for Bloomingdale’s and a systems engineer for CBS.

When the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, Coburn struggled for the first time ever to find a job suited to his skills. He thought about going back to school but decided instead to earn three valuable IT certifications: Microsoft’s Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco’s Certified Network Professional, and (ISC)2’s Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP). These certifications, plus his ample experience, got him right back to work. Until 2010, that is, when he and his family decided to move back to Florida. As he looked for a job he discovered that many of the positions that matched his experience level also required a bachelor’s degree. He applied anyway, but this time most of his applications went unanswered.

Usually hundreds of dollars each, Michael Coburn's certifications cost him nothing beyond the very reasonable tuition he was already paying at Broward.

The thought of enrolling in a traditional computer science program after all those years working as an IT professional left Coburn cold. But he also felt that without a bachelor’s degree, he would struggle to even get an interview. Luckily, he found a program designed for students like him—people with a lot of experience and work-related credentials, but no degree. Broward College’s Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Information Technology is a competency-based degree program that allowed Coburn to demonstrate his mastery of IT fundamentals and quickly advance to junior standing. Broward awarded him credit for the certifications he had already earned and provided online courses that he could complete at his own pace. He earned an associate degree in May 2018 after just one year of study and will complete his bachelor’s in the summer of 2019. Best of all, he has earned eight more IT certifications since enrolling. Usually hundreds of dollars each, the certifications cost him nothing beyond the very reasonable tuition he was already paying at Broward. Those certifications, in combination with his degree and his experience, will make him a tough candidate to beat in the job market—in South Florida or anywhere else.

The Bachelor’s of Applied Science in IT is one of almost 40 bachelor’s and associate degrees at Broward College that embed industry certifications into the course of study. Programs with embedded certifications allow students to earn two types of credentials: one issued by industry, the other by higher education. The industry certification attests to a set of discrete skills, like network administration, while the degree shows the completion of a broad program of study, including both general and specialized courses.

At a time when innovation in higher education has focused on “unbundling” degrees to make them shorter, faster, and more modularized, embedding certifications is a way of “rebundling” degrees to take advantage of different types of credentials.¹ By combining the academic and industry credentials that highly skilled professionals like Coburn accrue through their careers into one program, these new degree designs are particularly well-suited to adult learners with significant work experience and clear career advancement goals.

While Broward is certainly not the only college embedding certifications into its degree programs, relatively little is known about the practice. Which institutions are doing it, in which programs, and to what effect? In 2016, Lumina Foundation conducted the first national survey of institutions aimed at finding out how they use industry certifications. It revealed that many community and technical colleges across the country embed certifications into a number of their certificate and degree programs. The survey also revealed a host of financial, administrative, and practical challenges that make it hard for institutions to scale up the practice beyond a few degree offerings.

Embedding certifications is a way of “rebundling” degrees to take advantage of different types of credentials.

In 2017, New America conducted follow-up research with survey respondents to better understand the opportunities for, and challenges to, embedding certifications into degree programs through a series of in-depth interviews and site visits. We also learned how some institutions were able to overcome challenges through a combination of creative leadership and targeted support from state education and workforce agencies. This paper begins with a review of the research on the use and value of industry certifications. We then summarize the current landscape of embedded certifications as uncovered through Lumina Foundation’s survey. Next, we present the results from our own research, including key similarities and differences among interviewed institutions, followed by an in-depth look at Broward College’s success at embedding industry certifications across a wide range of degree programs. We conclude with some thoughts on next steps for policy development and future research.