In 2021, the ACCE Foundation and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) partnered to create a new national program called the Equitable Credential Attainment Cohort (ECAC). This program was established to help strengthen partnerships between chambers of commerce, community colleges and community organizations to increase the number of diverse adult and underserved learners who earn an industry-recognized credential or degree. 

Together, the ACCE Foundation and AACC identified a virtual cohort of teams from seven cities or regions. Each team consisted of a chamber, a community college partner and an organization that directly represents minority communities. To support the development of these partnerships and to increase the number of workers with in-demand credentials and degrees, Lumina Foundation provided a grant to jumpstart the projects.

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide a resource to help communities get started with undertaking their own equitable credentialing work. Funding for this toolkit was made possible by Lumina Foundation. The toolkit will guide you and your partners through the following process:

The following communities took part in this work: Aurora, Colorado; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Cleveland, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Fargo, North Dakota; North Central Massachusetts, and Tallahassee, Florida.

Each community had a unique mission and collaborated with partners to achieve specific goals. Overall, their work aimed to increase equitable credential attainment for their target population(s). Their experiences and insights directly contributed to the creation of this toolkit. Throughout this resource, you will learn about their experiences – from practical tips to lessons learned.

By using this toolkit, your community and stakeholders will be able to:

  • Understand the process of making credentialing accessible and attainable for diverse populations
  • Gain a better understanding of how to execute this work
  • Learn directly from communities who completed this work
  • Glean insights, tactics, strategies and lessons learned
  • Access practical tools, frameworks and resources to use in your partnerships and throughout the process

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