Intersect With Earl September 2025

Written by Earl Buford | Sep 08, 2025

While we’re always excited to celebrate Workforce Development Month, we are also reminded that we no longer have the luxury of managing workforce development and higher ed as siloed processes. AI and other disruptive technologies are making continual access to work-relevant learning more vital than ever before. But aligning these two worlds isn’t easy work. It’s often stressful, especially during marked economic uncertainty, political polarization, and rapidly evolving priorities to critical education and support funding. As workforce practitioners, educators, and trainers help learners and workers manage their own stressful events, it’s only natural that they take on some of that tension themselves. That comes with the level of empathy that characterizes excellence in serving others. The good news is there are proven and positive ways to process that stress. In fact, we dedicated a recent event for CAEL members to managing trauma and resilience at work. We heard from experts about the importance of self-compassion and some of the science behind why a trauma-informed approach is effective in supporting educators, trainers, and workforce development professionals as well as the learners and workers who depend on them. CAEL members can view a recording of the presentation at the CAEL Member Hub. The workforce ecosystem faces great challenges, but even greater opportunity. I encourage everyone to learn more about how the often-overlooked topic of workplace mental health can help us remain balanced.

A growing chorus for credit mobility: CAEL’s chief of strategy, Beth Doyle, a member of the Learning Evaluation and Recognition for the Next Generation (LEARN) commission, joined fellow commission members Carolyn Gentle-Genitty and Jamienne S. Studley in an op ed that appeared recently in Inside Higher Ed. Working Smarter in the Age of AI draws upon CAEL research to argue that improved credit mobility can encourage adult learner enrollment. That point is part of a broader call to action as short-term credentials and other nontraditional postsecondary pathways proliferate. Amid this trend, the authors argue, there is great potential in improving credit mobility. They explain that to realize this potential, the process of credit evaluation must be improved, something that AI can support.

Turning prior learning into future students: Credit can’t be mobile if it goes unrecognized. We (rightfully) talk a lot about how much credit for prior learning benefits students. But it never hurts to remind our higher ed friends how it also supports their success. Recently, we shared a success story from Thomas Edison State University, which used CAEL’s Credit Predictor Pro solution to leverage CPL’s recruiting potential, generating thousands of leads at a fraction of the traditional cost. For users of CAEL’s Credit Predictor Pro tool, contact Jillian Jackson to learn more about how to leverage it to increase enrollment.

What gets measured gets managed: From workforce legislation to education policy, a widespread challenge is identifying and accessing the data that accurately depict outcomes. I applaud initiatives like the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s recently released seventh annual ROI report, which aims to quantify the value of attending a college, university, or technical school. The CDHE report covers KPIs like average cost to complete a credential, enrollment and completion numbers, average student loan debt, employment rates, and wage outcomes. Note: CAEL’s Credit Mobility Working Group will soon release a white paper on credit mobility

Navigating the transfer landscape: Matt Waltz, senior vice president, partnerships and development, for CAEL, was a panelist for the opening plenary of the AACRAO Technology and Transfer Summit. The summit was a valuable opportunity to connect with higher education leaders and explore strategies for navigating the transfer landscape, ensuring learners can move among institutions more seamlessly and successfully. CAEL looks forward to continuing our collaboration with AACRAO to advance higher education through technology resources, best practices, research, and innovation that champion adult learner success.

Member mention: Prison education programs are not only investments in individuals (reducing recidivism), they are investments in our communities (a 2015 RAND Corporation report found that every $1 spent on prison education reduces costs associated with reincarceration by between $4 and $5.) Under the statewide University of Wisconsin Coalition for Higher Education in Prison program, which encompasses seven correctional institutions and launched in 2023, 19 students have earned an associate degree from UW-Green Bay and more than 150 additional students completed a microcredential. Almost 170 incarcerated students are enrolled in a credit-bearing fall program.

Grant opportunity: New York’s Office of Strategic Workforce Development (OSWD) plans to award contracts to up to two qualified program administrators to develop the curriculum for and administer two tracks for AI Prep, “an applied training program aimed at expanding access to the specialized skills and opportunities needed for AI jobs.” The tracks will “serve New Yorkers who are currently underrepresented in the tech industry and who cannot reasonably access training on their own.”

“Track A: AI Prep 4 Internships will provide low-income matriculating undergraduate students with AI training with the goal of securing paid internship opportunities at leading tech companies.
“Track B: AI Prep 4 Jobs will connect low-income New Yorkers with barriers to employment with AI jobs through an accelerated training or bootcamp that serves as an alternative to traditional degree programs.”

Submit proposals by Oct. 1. Eligibility: “Applicants may be either non-profit or for-profit entities. Applicants must have experience in at least three of the four following domains to qualify to administer the program: 1. Providing academic services to college students 2. Administering high-tech accelerated training programs 3. Serving low-income populations 4. Working in the New York market. Budgets exceeding $2M for one track or $4M for both tracks for the total contract period will not be considered.”