Episode 22: Revolutionizing the Return on Education: The National Student Clearinghouse Empowers Educators, Learners, and Employers
The term “war for talent” was coined in 1997. More than two decades later, we still have not figured out how to align our educational institutions’ learning outcomes with employer needs in a digital age. Despite immeasurable advances in technology, we still have not cracked the code.
In this episode of Illuminate Higher Education, Kiran welcomes guest Rick Torres, President and CEO of the National Student Clearinghouse. Since 2008, Rick has worked to shed light on the pressing issues facing our higher education-to-workforce ecosystem, such as equity in education, closing workforce skills gaps, and creating lifelong learning pathways.
Explore a few highlights from their conversation in the following Q&A, then listen to the full podcast for a more in-depth look at Rick’s remarkable work.
Q: What is the mission of the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC)? What are your strategic objectives?
The NSC is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that provides educational reporting, data exchange, verification, and research services for over 23,000 schools in all 50 states. We help relieve the administrative burden and costs associated with student data reporting and exchange. Our data services have one primary objective: the democratization of trusted, verified data combined with forward-leaning services and data platforms that integrate to provide actionable insights in support of learners, institutions of learning, and the workforce community.
Q: What are the four types of learning journeys?
Over an individual’s lifelong education, they may go through several transitions:
School to School, such as graduating high school and going to college
School to Business, entering the workforce after graduation
Business to Business, moving from company to company as a career advances
Business to School, returning to an educational institution for an advanced degree, certification, or other upskilling.
The systems of record at all these institutions do not communicate. A Learning Employment Record (LER) enables a systematic way to continuously track learning milestones over time and translate them into meaningful data that employers can use to evaluate job candidates for skills and abilities.
Q: What technological disruptions are coming to the higher education sphere?
One of the biggest challenges we have is an inability to align education—diplomas, degrees, certifications, on-the-job experience—with employer needs. There is no single standard for reporting credentials or demonstrating mastery of skills or abilities. Many employers require a four-year degree for entry-level roles; more and more employers are eliminating the degree requirement altogether.
We need a learning record that systematically tracks learning over time. The most disruptive technologies will accomplish this—they will intentionally optimize relevant skills attainment and learning to create a win for the learner, the learning institution, and the employer. Ideally, an individual’s lifetime history of validated learning outcomes and achievements would be represented in a Learning Employment Record (LER). Industries that take this path will be able to demonstrate applied skills in ways that allow for a learning progression that costs less and yields a higher ROI.
Listen to the full episode for a deeper dive into these topics. Connect with Rick Torres on LinkedIn and Twitter @BDataWise.
Learn more about the National Student Clearinghouse on LinkedIn or by visiting StudentClearinghouse.org. You can also follow @NSClearinghouse on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to blog updates here.
—
This episode is brought to you by N2N’s Illuminate App, the iPaaS for Higher Education.
About N2N Services
Founded in 2010, N2N is committed to serving educational institutions and helping them figure out how to serve their students, faculty, and staff using the most innovative technologies and solutions available in the marketplace. Over the last decade, N2N has served over 300 academic institutions and enabled their student success journeys.
N2N Services Inc. is a leader in enterprise application integration and strategic advisory services for higher education, At N2N, we are committed to providing the highest quality solutions and collaboratively building student-centric solutions.
Learn more at https://illuminateapp.com/web/higher-education
Subscribe and listen to more episodes at IlluminateHigherEducation.com.