Air in early December is replete with deep exhales that seem to soothe. It is a time to close out one year and look forward to the other. December’s ability to be a both/and - releasing the limitations of being just one thing - may be what, indeed, makes it the most wonderful time of the year.  As I drank my coffee and had this thought an enduring question, and recent article , resurfaces for me.   I speak of the  #credithour  often pitted against  #frameworks  for learning (ex.  #Skills ,  #competencies , etc.). The, at times, vitriolic rhetoric puts any family feud around the dinner table to shame. And, that - in my opinion - is a shame. The credit hour - like other time-based  #measures  such as “full-time worker” - is a function of the one irrefutable fact: time is a constant standard that no one owns and everyone experiences. Not only is it clear and easy to understand by laypeople and policy leaders, but it recognizes that a p...

In the very near future I will give an invited talk with influential experts on non-degree credentials. It’s an honor; perhaps I am prouder of it than anyone I know. Two years ago I joined Lumina Foundation with a focus to best understand credentials earned after high school that aren’t degrees - hence the term non-degree credential - and all I can say is that it is a lot to take in. Countless conversations with experts have given me a privileged perspective on an exciting and evolving space. In an effort to democratize the privilege of my position through the empowerment of others, I offer a quick overview.  What are Nondegree credentials? Badges (digital), certifications (governmental), certificates (academic, achievement, competency criterion-referenced, participation, performance, occupational/vocational), course completion certificates (online, in-person), diplomas, industry certifications, licenses, and micro-credentials Who awards them? Postsecondary institutions, nonprofi...

The request was simple enough. But the response became sufficiently difficult, that a new course needed to take place. It started on a recent Friday afternoon, when I received an email that said, in part: Dear Dr. Mullin,   I am reading “Higher education administration for social justice and equity: Critical perspectives for leadership,” and I am reading your chapter. You refer to a conference presentation from 2018 entitled "Understanding impact: A holistic return on investment framework for developmental education." I have managed to track down the program for the conference, but I cannot seem to find any more information on your presentation. I was wondering if you might be willing to share it with me. I am particularly interested in your equity-infused return on investment framework. I remembered that presentation.  Soon after, it was published as a paper.  As with any work, there was a story behind it; and lots of thought.   This wasn't the first time I receiv...

Yesterday’s siloed and archaic structures that fail to reflect the lived experiences of today’s students on a path to earning tomorrow’s credentials. These structures force institutions and individuals to conform to a single, idealized path experienced in isolation as a lock-step sequence - from K-12 to college to the workforce - when we know that for many this is just not the case. 50% of students nationally worked while enrolled, 20% earned more than full-time minimum wage for the 30 week school year ($9,600). And, as the potential for more students to re-enroll in college after debt forgiveness is on the horizon, its an open question if they will stop the jobs they currently have. Surely, many of them are a part of the 39 million adults with some college but no credential  who often face financial barriers to return  that have been lessened. Yet while we know that time can be the enemy, for adults it is more rigid in terms of the particular points in the day they can ...

  Living in Florida, I am used to keeping my head on a swivel. Hurricane season brings with it a heightened awareness of potential threats to the way life currently functions. Hurricane Ian serves as a strong reminder that the fall brings with it a heightened awareness of potential threats to the way life currently functions. Looking at the landscape of education at the moment, the same may be said. There are three educational shifts I am seeing that are complementary and have the potential to substantially alter the landscape. Oddly enough, they are making K-12 and higher education more similar. First, K-12 is shifting to operate more as a private market than as a fundamental public responsibility articulated in educational clauses of state constitutions . In practice this takes the shape of more schools in a community supported by taxpayers and scholarships to students who may use them at public and non-public schools – much like grants and loans in higher educ...