Over 1 Million Digital Badges on Offer in the U.S.

"The number of unique credentials available in the U.S. has hit a whopping 1.8 million, with digital badges making up more than a million of those offerings, according to the latest report from Credential Engine. The report, released Tuesday, is the fifth in a series tracking the ever-growing variety of credentials and providers cropping up across the country. Much has changed since the last "Counting Credentials" report came out in 2022."

"Credential Engine, a nonprofit dedicated to charting the credentialing landscape, improved its data collection and analysis strategies to remove duplicate programs from data samples and include more badge programs, allowing for more accurate counts and estimates, the new report noted. Researchers found that 134,491 credential providers-including colleges and universities, online course providers, nonacademic organizations, industry associations, and state governments-are producing 1,850,034 credentials, up from the 1,076,358 they counted in 2022."

"Credential Engine identified 1,022,028 badges and 486,352 certificates among the total. Degrees, by comparison, made up a smaller fraction of the credentials tallied this year: 264,099 programs. The number of secondary school diplomas and occupational licenses followed behind at 52,948 and 14,331, respectively. Certifications, which require an exam and tend to expire, reached 6,892. And the organization found 3,384 microcredentials, defined by the report as any program offered by a massive open online course provider that embraces the label."

Unique credentials available in the U.S. totaled 1,850,034 across 134,491 providers including colleges, online course platforms, industry associations, and state governments. Digital badges comprise 1,022,028 offerings while certificates number 486,352 and degrees total 264,099. Secondary school diplomas and occupational licenses count 52,948 and 14,331 respectively. Certifications that require exams reached 6,892, and microcredentials numbered 3,384. Data collection and analysis methods were improved to remove duplicate programs and include more badge programs, producing more accurate counts and estimates. Annual spending by education institutions, governments, and employers on these programs is $2.34 trillion.

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