New research seeks to answer: Can alternative credentials promote economic mobility?

Richard Settersten, University Distinguished Professor of Life Course and Human Development and Jo Anne Leonard Professor of Healthy Aging Research, is co-leading a study on whether alternative credentials help workers build skills, earn more and advance their careers — or whether they widen existing inequalities. Such credentials include bootcamps, certificates, microcredentials and digital badges.

Richard and Stefanie DeLuca, James Coleman professor of sociology and social policy at Johns Hopkins University, will survey workers, analyze administrative data and conduct in-depth interviews drawing from three sources: the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (Princeton), The Shift Project (Harvard and UC Berkeley) and LinkedIn (Burning Glass Institute).

The study aims to document how widely these credentials are used, measure their real and perceived value across different social groups and career stages, and categorize the programs and providers offering them. Findings will inform researchers, policymakers and credential providers, and help workers make more informed decisions in a crowded postsecondary landscape. The work is supported by the Poverty & Inequality Research Laboratory at Johns Hopkins and funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.