What to read after A Parallel Postsecondary Universe?

This report describes the new system of credentialing from corporate vendors and industry/professional associations that has arisen in the information technology and telecommunications industries over the past decade. It compares this system to traditional higher education, identifying both similarities and dissimilarities, and points to some cases in which the two interact. Findings are organized in sections covering general information, examinations, course work and providers, and costs of certification. Some of the findings of the study are the following: (1) the system is global and operated in many languages; (2) the student, not the institution, is at the center of the system; (3) the system has brought competency-based education and performance assessment to a status they have never enjoyed within traditional higher education; (4) certifications replace neither experience nor degrees, and the information technology system does not pretend to be higher education; and (5) there is a critical need for more information on certification candidates and providers of courses, since the new system is now large enough to play a role in state and national planning for postsecondary education. (Contains 79 references and resources.) (KC)