When Marc Austin assumed leadership of 亚洲AV鈥檚 in 2019, the higher education 鈥渟kills gap鈥 was a trending topic nationally. Universities like Mason were recognizing the advantage of stronger relationships with industries as tech companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and Facebook were directly engaging colleges to specifically design academic programs focused on the skills that aligned with their new technologies.
This year, that trending topic has become a national imperative as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates the nation鈥檚 shift toward a digital economy, exposing and widening the gap between the skills employees have and the skills employers actually need.
Austin鈥檚 time at Mason has been largely focused on this specific challenge鈥攆irst as the executive director of new ventures and now in his expanded role as the executive director of CPE.
鈥淚n CPE, our number one job is to support Mason colleges in developing and delivering typically noncredit professional certification for entry-level and middle managers looking to advance their careers,鈥 Austin said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e increasingly focused on serving dislocated workers with degrees. Our aim is to help them fill a skill gap that improves their eligibility for a career switch. The demand for Mason to provide this kind of 鈥榰pskilling鈥 is definitely on the rise.鈥
For more than 35 years, CPE鈥檚 objective has been to bring the university to professionals seeking to advance in their careers, and it鈥檚 a goal that fits squarely within Mason鈥檚 mission.
CPE engages nearly 3,000 students each year. Mason鈥檚 schools and colleges deliver the academic content, and CPE manages enrollment and fiscal management, marketing and communications鈥攁nd now digital credentialing.
鈥淧roviding access to excellence is an important Mason value that is promoted through continuing professional education programs that are offered at a low cost and provide recognition with industry-valued microcredentials,鈥 said Provost Mark Ginsberg. 鈥淐PE provides a valuable benefit by supporting area professionals as they propel forward their careers while also facilitating the continued upskilling of our region鈥檚 workforce.鈥
听CPE is helping Mason address the skills gap from multiple perspectives.
鈥淥ne way to do this is to have employers be clear about what they are looking for, but we can also be more transparent about what we do,鈥 Austin said. 鈥淢ason does a great job of getting our students prepared for their careers, but we need to make sure that employers understand what skills are embedded within our programs鈥攁nd we can do that through credentialing.鈥
In Spring 2019, the Volgenau School of Engineering launched a designed to help liberal arts and nontechnical students build in-demand 鈥渄igital鈥 skills, based on input from regional employers like Northrop Grumman, Capital One and others.
CPE is finalizing a second credential with the Department of English. The new credential is backed by the Center for Public Safety Excellence, one of the nation鈥檚 largest public safety industry associations, and will offer technical writing skills for frontline emergency workers.
In summer 2020, Austin led a working group that explored how to introduce micro-credentials to Mason, resulting in the new program that was introduced to the university community starting in the fall.
Micro-credentials are smaller units of learning that reflect a student鈥檚 skill development and achievement embedded in one or more courses. They have the added benefit of highlighting 听the less transparent skills mastered within a course, and offer Mason faculty an opportunity to innovate and augment their curricula with applied skills.
鈥淢ason鈥檚 micro-credentialing effort brings our faculty closer to our industry partners and opportunities to engage and incorporate emerging industry use cases and applications for the principles and theories they are teaching,鈥 says Liza Wilson Durant, associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagement at the Volgenau School. 鈥淭his industry engagement also leads to connections between industry technology needs and our faculty expertise, which may fuel new research endeavors for both students and faculty.鈥
The micro-credential working group is planning a series of webinars and small group discussions designed to help the university community understand how to create micro-credentials in alignment with curricular and professional needs.
鈥淚n a digital economy, learning has to extend beyond the traditional bachelor鈥檚 degree program,鈥 said Austin. 鈥淥ur core ambition is to continue to make higher education accessible to people who already have degrees. We want to extend Mason excellence across a lifetime of learning.鈥
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