https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/07/29/how-stackable-credentials-let-students-customize-their-learning/

As a prelude to earning degrees, students are completing stackable credentials they can use to demonstrate mastery of a particular area of knowledge to potential employers.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a stackable credential is “part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual’s qualifications and help them to move along a career pathway or up a career ladder to different and potentially higher-paying jobs.” In general, stackable credentials are shorter-term programs that can lead to higher-level credentials.

The traditional system of higher education puts students’ focus on earning, at minimum, a four-year degree. The traditional student is fresh out of high school and entering college or university with the intent of completing those four years consecutively and graduating with a degree in hand. That traditional student, however, is no longer typical. Statistics show that more than 47 percent of people entering college are over 25 years old, and 40 percent of those are over 35.

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more on stackable credentials in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=stackable