By Stephen Smoot
In 2025, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission unveiled Credential WV. That program developed into fruition after the HEPC “convened dozens of faculty and other leaders from colleges and universities for a second statewide summit focused on implementing microcredentials”
The HEPC describes microcredentials as “short, targeted learning experiences focused on specific skills designed to be more flexible and accessible than traditional degrees.” The focus lies on delivering skills education in a format that uses the student worker’s time most efficiently to give them verifiable credentials. These can help them obtain better paying employment whether through their current or another employer.
Microcredentials are not a new idea in the nation or the state. Dr. Charles Terrell, former president of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, started championing microcredentialing as the next step in higher education workforce preparation programming.
By 2020, EWVCTC offered credential programs in health care fields, career development, and more.
Governor Patrick Morrisey last month signed an act passed by the West Virginia State Legislature to expand access to microcredentialing programs with those who need them the most.
Originally Senate Bill 402, and styled the “Workforce Readiness and Opportunity Act,” the legislation creates “the West Virginia Micro-Credential Program under the authority of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.” While open to all, the bill specifically targets the approximately 90,000 “independent contractors” in West Virginia who could earn more with microcredentials, but face challenging barriers to the professionally enhancing education.
SB 402 also removes the requirement for licensure testing for military veterans who proved proficiency in the field while serving in the United States military. That applies to all six branches, including the reserves and the West Virginia National Guard.
The bill’s language helps to establish the need for the program in the West Virginia Code. Non traditional academic training, the bill reads, will often “engage in project-based and experiential learning by which they attain knowledge and skills, such as critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.” The bill recognizes the benefits as both economic and social overall. They are, however, “not recognized or identified through an assessment score or a course grade.”
Like traditional academic programs, microcredential education relies on established and proven curricula and assessments. To obtain the microcredential, the learner must demonstrate an approved level of mastery before earning it.
Additionally, microcredentialing “enables individuals to earn micro-credentials from a variety of issuers and use the micro-credentials to provide a much more complete picture of the range of knowledge and skills that the individual has developed.” With the credentials in hand,” the individual can then incorporate the micro-credentials with the individual’s resume when applying for entrance into select post secondary education programs or the workforce.”
Microcredentialing also recognizes the fact that a number of men and women with high intellectual capabilities find better application of their talents outside of traditional college and university education. Furthermore, such credentialing can lead to more lucrative job and career occupations currently than many, if not most, four-year college and university degrees alone.
Holders of many of those degrees, regardless of which entity issued them, are now so commonplace that a four-year degree no longer confers an automatic advantage to those who have one.
The act first expands a workforce training tax credit program established in 2008. That credit allowed employers to obtain a credit against wages paid to workers in construction related trades designated as apprentices, the training level job in most trades. The program, however, must be registered with the United States Department of Labor.
This year’s legislation removes the “construction trades” qualifier, allowing expansion of the program into other fields where the US Labor Department has a workforce training program. One popular program that could benefit is a restaurant and hospitality program operated under their authority.
As the bill reads, “the tax credit equals $2 per hour multiplied by the total number of hours worked during the tax year by an apprentice working for the participating taxpayer, and the amount of credit allowed for any tax year with respect to each apprentice may not exceed $2,000, or 50 percent of actual wages paid in that tax year for the apprenticeship, whichever is less.”
