Learner Information Framework
Adult learners now make up a sizable portion of students in higher education, and these individuals often bring with them a wealth of education and employment experiences. Today, information on these experiences is scattered across multiple systems from a learner’s various education institutions, training providers, employers, and other private systems. Currently, it can be very difficult to “connect the dots” across education and workforce systems. Learners, educational institutions, and researchers are left only able to see the “tip of the iceberg” of a learner’s full learning, experience, and achievement.
This can be particularly true for low-income, first-generation learners and learners from low-income backgrounds, learners who are more likely to enroll in college older, work full-time while in college and attend college part-time. Considering that research shows that learners of color have much lower rates of completing college and are more likely to be unemployed or under-employed, it’s imperative to do more to support adult learners and empower them with the data they need to achieve their aspirations.
The Learner Information Framework helps institutions, employers, and adult learners work together to address the challenges around retrieving and sharing adult learners’ education and employment information across systems while safeguarding the privacy and security of those records. The result will be similar to what exists in healthcare today, where technology applications have been developed to share electronic medical records across healthcare systems, empowering patients to better manage their health care, and providers to deliver the right care based on a full picture of the patient’s medical history. This is a common-sense improvement we should strive to achieve in our education and workforce systems.
The Framework initiative builds on existing efforts within institutions and among organizations working on data standards across the country. The initiative pursues an equitable learner-centered approach to assembling information to help improve students’ educational and employment outcomes.
Learn More About the Framework
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