Focus on Certificates Boosts Completion Goals - Ashley A. Smith, Inside Higher Ed

When the Lumina Foundation issued an update in April on the nation's progress toward reaching higher rates of degree completion by 2025, there was a new data point added to the equation -- certificates. By adding the percentage of Americans who have completed a certificate, the foundation saw an effect on data from states that have focused on increasing workforce development, particularly at community colleges. The completion rates went up in those states. Take Louisiana, for instance, where the Lumina report on college completion found the largest percentage of working adults who hold a "high-quality" certificate as their highest level of credential. The change increased the state's standing in the annual report from dead last in the country to No. 26. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/06/07/addition-certificates-luminas-completion-goal-gives-boost-several-states