Parchment Helping Learners Represent Their Education

Parchment Launches First CLR Design-to-Deployment Product to Help Higher Ed Holistically Represent a Learner’s Education

Parchment Launches First CLR Design-to-Deployment Product to Help Higher Ed Holistically Represent a Learner’s Education

Parchment Award – CLR Services Moves Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs) From Research to Reality

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (March 8, 2021) – Today Parchment, the industry leader in academic credentials management, announced it has launched Parchment Award – CLR Services, the first product that lets higher education institutions design, implement, and issue Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs). Parchment CLR Services allows learners to better tell their story to employers in a secure, verifiable way, by expanding an institution’s ability to share learner growth and capabilities developed in ways that a traditional transcript can’t. 

For years, one of the most active conversations about innovation in higher education has been around extending the traditional academic transcript to better convey the learning that happens both inside and outside of the classroom, as well as the skills and competencies developed through learning. Institutions have struggled with the fact that the traditional course and grade format does not have the ability to holistically represent a learner’s education for self-reflection, to allow a learner to tell their own story, or for employers to understand workforce ready skills developed during a learner’s academic career. In 2016, Elon University conducted a survey to employers and graduate school admissions officers to assess their perceptions of a visual transcript that they had launched the year before. 81.7 percent of respondents said that the visual transcript was easy to understand, 78.9 percent indicated that it painted a different picture of the applicant, and 80.9 percent indicated that it differentiated an Elon applicant from other applicants. At a time where the relevance of higher education is being challenged, CLRs can show the true value of the skills a learner attains during their time at an institution.

In the fall of 2019, Parchment launched a CLR Services Charter Member program to build a CLR technology with leaders in higher education who had prioritized improving learner success through innovating a new credential that the institution can stand behind with the same level of integrity as the traditional transcript. The Charter Members represent a diverse set of student populations, and are made up of the following institutions:

  • Elon University
  • Loma Linda University
  • Penn Foster College
  • Temple University
  • University of Maryland Global Campus

This technology is the core of Parchment’s CLR Services and allows learners to showcase their in and out of classroom learning, co-curricular engagements, skills, and competencies, while leveraging Parchment’s expertise in allowing learners to access, manage, and share their digital credentials. 

“Ideally, we wanted our CLR to tell a story that exemplifies our learners’ success, illuminates their interests, and fully reflects their cumulative college experience,” Bhavesh Bambhrolia, University Registrar at Temple University said.

Parchment Award – CLR Services was built to fit the diverse needs of academic institutions in a consistent way, by aligning institutional data into four types of standardized modules:  

  • Co-curricular records which validate activities, programs, and learning experiences that compliment the learner curriculum
  • Experiential records that certify experiences and accomplishments outside the classroom
  • Competency records that translate courses and credits into market-relevant skills
  • Program data which documents learners progress through their academic curriculum

Parchment CLR Services create beautiful visual transcripts which simplify and contextualize these kinds of data for learners, employers, graduate schools, and other stakeholders.

“Our CLR Services modules offer consistency across institutions so that a learner’s accomplishments can be easily interpreted by receiving employers, institutions, and state agencies,” said Jason Weaver, VP of Product at Parchment. “Our Charter Member program ensured that we were building a product that not only fit a broad set of institutions’ goals, but also would meet the needs of their learners and employers.”

As part of the Parchment Award platform, CLRs can be issued on the same easy-to-use interface as their transcripts, diplomas, digital badges, and other learner credentials. Additionally, Parchment Award lets learners store, view, and share their CLRs in their Parchment Learner Profile as well as order verified copies of their credentials for digital and paper delivery. 

“Working with Parchment on CLRs was a natural fit for us,” said Insiya Bream, Assistant Vice President, Data & Systems, University of Maryland Global Campus. “Our students can now see all of their transcripts, diplomas, and CLRs in one place and that student experience is important to us.”

“When students are asked about their academic and co-curricular experiences from a potential employer, CLRs allow them to relay the details of how those experiences transition into skill sets in the workforce,” Dr. Rodney Parks, University Registrar, Assistant Vice President and Assistant Professor, Elon University said. “It is fundamental to helping students tell their story in a way that employers can understand and that they have the ability to be successful. Parchment is helping us do that.”

Parchment and AACRAO are hosting a webinar on March 11, 2021 at 9am PT/11 am CT/12 pm ET that showcases how institutions are implementing CLRs through Parchment CLR Services today. For more information or to register for this event, visit the AACRAO Webinars page.

Parchment CLR Services is available today. For more information, please visit parchment.com/products/CLRServices.

About Parchment

Parchment believes credentials matter in the lifelong journey of a learner. Offering the most comprehensive academic credential management system, Parchment helps learners, academic institutions and employers request, verify and share transcripts, diplomas, and other credentials in simple and secure ways. Our platform has helped millions of learners, 2,490 districts, 1,690 university registrar offices, 10 state education agencies, and 7,325 receivers (including university admissions offices, background check companies, employers, college application services, OPMs, and certification and licensing boards) exchange more than 100 million transcripts, diplomas, certificates and other credentials globally. Founded in 2003, Parchment is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, with offices in California and Illinois. We help turn credentials into opportunities. Follow Parchment on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

3 Quick Ways To Personalize Employee Development Efforts

What drives a business? The product and mission are certainly important, but it’s employees who make the wheels turn. That’s why, in a world where companies compete fiercely to attract and retain top talent, understanding what employees want from their employer is incredibly crucial.

Do you know what your employees want? If they’re like most, then they want to learn. 

Millennials (the largest working generation today, according to Pew Research), believe a good career provides strong development opportunities. This generation has a reputation for being job hoppers, but that habit typically stems from ambition rather than laziness. Millennials go where the opportunities are.

Yet there don’t seem to be many opportunities out there. According to Gallup, only 39 percent of this generation would strongly agree with the statement “I learned something new in the past 30 days.” 

Clearly, companies need to kick-start their employee development programs. However, they also must recognize that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to education. Forcing every staff member to go through the same type of training won’t have the intended effect. Forget different learning styles – similar training doesn’t recognize employees as individuals, which is another thing they crave. 

In order for businesses to keep their employees satisfied and retain top talent, they need to create personalized development programs that allow each individual to succeed in the ways he or she wants. Here are three quick tips to support such a goal:

1. Hold frequent one-on-one sessions

If you really want to understand the dream career path of a particular employee, there’s nothing like a face-to-face check-in. Human resources teams across the nation are realizing the importance of continuous performance management: an employee development style that emphasizes frequent feedback and goal setting. CPM keeps you abreast of what your employees want, allowing you to create development courses tailored to their desires.

2. Encourage self-assessment

Your employees already have an idea of what they want out of their jobs, but a deeper analysis can always reveal something new. During your one-on-one sessions, have them review their past accomplishments and struggles, then determine what they’d like to learn or improve upon.

Entrepreneur noted that while it’s good to discuss an employee’s less successful efforts during these discussions, the primary topic should be the person’s achievements. This puts people in a positive mindset, helping them think of what they want for the future. This way, you can collaborate with that individual as well as any other managers to identify the best development program for that person.

3. Provide proof of their accomplishments

Even if you put in all this effort, there’s still the risk that your employees might see your development efforts as an empty gesture. You need to prove that this strategy is truly for their benefit. One of the most surefire ways of accomplishing this goal is by providing customized digital credentials for any courses that you create. These credentials act as proof of your employees’ accomplishments, representing their newfound skill sets to themselves and their peers. 

And with a credentialing service like Parchment, your employees can share their proof on their social media profiles. For professionals, this means Facebook and LinkedIn, which can be great for their careers.

Turning education into satisfaction

Even though your business is staffed by employees, it’s best to think of these individuals as lifelong learners. That way, you can provide the development tools they need and keep them engaged at their jobs.

Parchment wants to help you unleash your learners’ potential.

 

Digital Credentials Are the Key To Opportunity for Professionals

As professionals, each of us is looking to improve our careers and potentially make that next step. To do that, at one point or another we may need to seek additional learning or skills. Whether that’s a professional development course, a training program, or even going to trade or graduate school. Each one will result in a credential, such as a badge, certificate, license or degree, that certifies all of your new knowledge and opens the door that was holding you back.

With so much on the line, it doesn’t make any sense to have these credentials only as paper documents that your employer will never see. Without verified proof, they just have to take your word for it that you have the credential you say you have.

Luckily, employers, licensing boards, associations, and other organizations are utilizing Parchment’s digital credential platform to issue digital diplomas, certificates, and badges to their recipients. Offering digital credentials makes a big difference to both the learner and to the organization.

For Employers, Going Digital Is Simple

Adopting digital credentials for your organization is simple and secure!

  • Employers love being able to increase brand awareness and employee recognition with a shareable digital certificate.
  • Licensing boards and other organizations find managing their credential programs simple by uploading a spreadsheet.
  • Associations can increase their membership and reach by letting their members promote the association through their social media channels.
  • The secure and verified link to a digital credential is used by employees any time they need to share the credential you’ve issued them.

Learners Love Digital Credentials

We live in a digital world, so having our achievements in an easily shareable format can help learners make the most of their investment.

  • Available immediately, digital credentials can be put to work right away. Most recipients of digital credentials are able to get the steps to their promotion moving more quickly. They don’t need to wait for their paper credential to arrive!
  • Being able to share digitally on social media platforms like LinkedIn can make them much more marketable. Back up your claims with verified credentials to rise to the top of the pack.
  • Enjoy one place to collect and manage all of their credentials. Parchment lets everyone store their transcripts, diplomas, licenses, and certificates in one convenient place. Anytime you need to share your credentials, they’re just a click away.

In the modern world we live in, having our credentials stuck in a drawer or on the wall, doesn’t help. We need to be able to securely share our accomplishments to get that opportunity we’re looking for. You earned your credentials, you might as well be able to show them off!

To learn more about offering digital credentials like badges, diplomas, certificates, and licenses, contact us here!

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