Giving Compass' Take:

• Education companies are collaborating with one another to help colleges and other education providers publish information about the data credentials they offer in a national, cloud-based registry. The effort aims to make it easier for students, educators, and employers to compare and understand information.

• What can education funders do to help ensure this collaboration is effective and successful?

• Learn about what the world can teach the U.S. about education technology. 

The size of the U.S. credential marketplace has swelled in recent years, growing to some 650,000 unique certificates, traditional degrees and other programs currently on offer.

And while alternative education providers such as boot camps are driving a large part of that growth, colleges and universities have also been ramping up their offerings. In fact, 94% of colleges said they offer some form of alternative credential, according to a 2016 survey of 190 institutions.

However, students still often lack important information about the data and quality of the credentials they seek.

Read the full article on education companies partnering to improve credential data sharing by James Paterson at Education Dive.