Tri-C a Strong Example of Bridging Credit, Noncredit Programs

Centers of Excellence work toward equity in education through degree mapping

For a number of years, community colleges have consistently seen growth in their noncredit, short-term certificate programs. They’re an appealing option for many students, allowing a quicker path to employment.

They’re also “stackable.” Students can earn a series of related credentials in a relatively short period of time, increasing their value to current or potential employers.

But colleges that merely offer stackable certificates without a clear path to an associate degree may inadvertently be keeping their students — particularly students of color — from attaining higher levels of education.

Matthew Gandal, president and CEO of Education Strategy Group and former senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, recently wrote an opinion column for Inside Higher Ed on the importance of developing clear connections between noncredit credential programs and associate degree credit programs at community colleges.

He highlights Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®) as one of the institutions working to build those bridges by encouraging noncredit students to stay in school — or return to school as time allows — to earn a degree, which can open doors for additional career and education opportunities.

Gandal points to Tri-C’s Centers of Excellence as “a strong example of this approach.”

“Each center has mapped its noncredit credential offerings to applied associate degrees,” he wrote. “The institution’s attunement to credentials of value has resulted in exponential growth of awarding 20,000 certificates in 2019, up from just 4,000 certificates five years earlier.”

Click here to learn more about Tri-C’s Centers of Excellence.

Click here read the full column by Gandal.

January 26, 2021

Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 or erik.cassano@tri-c.edu