Turning High School Credentials Into College Credit

Giving students college credit for career-readiness learning they’re already doing could achieve more than give them a head start on a degree. For students who may not see college as an option, Maine’s public universities are betting that having credits in hand could change whether they see a degree as within reach.

Starting this fall, the University of Maine System will award academic credit for microcredentials earned by high school students through Jobs for Maine’s Graduates, a statewide nonprofit that helps students transition into college or meaningful careers.

Through the agreement, announced Wednesday, students can earn up to eight college credits for JMG microcredentials that demonstrate mastery of such skills as financial and digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.

The initiative is aimed especially at students who may not already see college as part of their future. JMG serves more than 13,000 students annually, and most enter the program without plans to attend college, according to the organization.

Kimberley Acker Lipp, chief executive officer of JMG, said nearly 70 percent of the students the organization serves come from economically disadvantaged households where neither parent attended college. For many of those students, she said, college can feel unfamiliar or out of reach.

“They don’t see themselves as college-going, and then underneath that, they don’t understand the different pathways that are available to them to get to college,” Lipp said. “This engenders confidence, and it also creates a new understanding and fluency of the postsecondary pathways that are available to them.”

The initiative: Under the new program, JMG students can earn the microcredentials as portable digital badges over multiple years of high school, with each Maine system institution determining how many college credits they are worth.

Craig Larrabee, chief executive officer of GenUS, a national affiliate of JMG, said the initiative reflects a broader shift away from thinking about postsecondary education exclusively in terms of four-year degree attainment and toward a wider range of credentials.

“Higher education is no longer just about degree attainment—it’s a credentialing world,” Larrabee said. “There are so many pathways and pipelines, if you will, of opportunities, yet we’re not having that conversation with high school students.”

The microcredentials could ultimately lead students toward a degree or provide a foundation for other credentials and career avenues, he added.

The agreement also marks the first time faculty governance groups at Maine’s public universities have agreed to accept microcredentials for college credit, according to the organization. The university system evaluated the JMG courses through the same process it uses to determine whether to award credit for prior learning, including work and military experience.

JMG collaborated with the Maine system on developing the microcredential framework early in the process, Lipp said, adapting an existing college-success program that supports students through age 24. How the credits apply will vary by institution.

“Some may count for elective credit, and some may count—for example, financial literacy may count as a personal financial literacy 101 course on other campuses,” Lipp said.

Why this matters: The partnership builds on JMG’s programming across all 16 Maine counties and its long-standing relationship with Maine’s public universities. Larrabee said recognizing learning students have already completed could be particularly valuable for those who have historically confronted obstacles to higher education.

“Those students that are facing educational barriers, those students that do not have the currency, if you will, of other students, their backgrounds lean them towards possibly making poor decisions,” Larrabee said. “Recognizing and validating durable skills is creating a level of confidence for these young people.”

The new program comes as Maine looks to increase the share of residents with postsecondary credentials. The state has set a goal for 70 percent of working-age adults to hold a credential that leads to a good job by 2035. Today, about 55 percent of Maine residents hold such a credential, a gap Lipp said the new program could help narrow.

“Many students can benefit,” Lipp said. “They’re leaving high school with eight college credits that they’ve earned by attaining these credentials. That gives them something very valuable to take with them.”

The approach could eventually extend beyond Maine. Education systems in Kansas, Kentucky, West Virginia and Wisconsin are considering similar models, according to JMG.

“Students develop and mature at different rates as they’re leaving high school, and there’s a lot of students who, while they’re in high school, don’t succeed in traditional academics,” Lipp said. “Allowing students to be celebrated and recognized for attaining durable skills is another way to give them the confidence that they can pursue postsecondary education.”

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