By the LER Accelerator coalition
We are excited to share the official launch of the LER Accelerator Inventory, a comprehensive collection of resources designed to support institutions in adopting and implementing Learning and Employment Records (LERs). As members of the LER Accelerator coalition, we are proud to contribute to this valuable initiative to create a more transparent, interoperable, and inclusive credentialing ecosystem that empowers learners and aligns education with workforce needs.
The LER Accelerator Inventory—housed in the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library’s Special Projects—is one of the key resources we’ve developed as part of this larger effort. It includes a wide range of materials that will help institutions navigate the complexities of implementing LERs—ranging from guidelines and case studies to best practices and professional development opportunities. This resource hub is specifically designed to support the adoption process, ensuring that institutions and employers have the support they need to create clear, meaningful pathways between learning outcomes and career success.
By providing these resources, we hope to make it easier for you and your institution to adopt LERs and other digital credentials, enabling you to better support learners in their educational and professional journeys. We encourage you to explore the LER Accelerator Inventory and take advantage of these tools to help build a more robust and equitable credentialing ecosystem. Together, we can create a future where learning and employment are seamlessly connected, and all learners have the opportunity to succeed.
What Are LERs?
LERs are lifelong, digital records that capture and communicate an individual's learning and employment information, including skills and competencies. LERs can document learning wherever it occurs and may include records of a person’s credentials, degrees, and learning and employment history in a standardized, verifiable format. They bridge the gap between what students learn in classrooms and what employers seek in the workplace, providing transparency, flexibility, and ownership to learners while offering actionable insights to institutions and employers.
LERs are more than a credentialing tool—they represent a paradigm shift in how we value and communicate learning and skills. Beyond serving as a digital record, LERs can also be viewed as a process by which institutions, employers, and learners engage with educational and workforce data to facilitate learning mobility. This perspective emphasizes the dynamic, evolving nature of learning and career development and requires the development and implementation of systems that can adapt and grow with individual learners and changing workforce needs. It shifts the focus from a static compilation of credentials to a dynamic system that continuously captures, verifies, and leverages an individual's learning and work experiences. By embracing LERs, institutions can support learners more holistically, meet workforce needs, and build stronger connections between education and employment.
What’s Inside the Inventory?
The inventory is packed with resources to help your institution get started with—or scale up—LER adoption. Here’s what you’ll find:
Guides and Tools: Step-by-step resources to streamline the development and integration of LERs into your systems.
Case Studies: Real-world examples showing how institutions have used LERs to enhance learning, retention, and career success.
Best Practices: Insights from coalition members and others on successful implementation strategies.
Relational Map: A visual guide connecting glossary terms, topics, initiatives, and organizations in the LER ecosystem.
Professional Development Resources: Webinars, events, and training opportunities to build your team’s capacity for innovation.
The curated repository includes specialized resources designed to address the unique needs of campus representatives involved in supporting digital credentialing—from records professionals working to integrate LERs into student records systems; practitioners aligning online and professional education programs with LER standards; as well as faculty and staff involved in technology integration, curriculum design, employer engagement, and competency-based education.
How Can Your Institution Use This Inventory?
The LER Accelerator Inventory is more than just a collection of resources—it’s a roadmap for change. With LERs, your institution can:
Empower learners by giving students ownership over their achievements and equipping them with records they can take anywhere.
Meet workforce needs by aligning educational outcomes with employer expectations to emphasize skills and competencies.
Streamline processes to simplify credentialing, transfer, and articulation, making life easier for students and staff.
Stand out and differentiate your institution by embracing cutting-edge credentialing practices.
We know firsthand how challenging it can be to balance innovation with day-to-day demands. That’s why this resource hub is designed to make LER adoption practical and achievable, regardless of your institution’s size or resources.
Stay Updated On Our Collaborative Effort
This inventory wouldn’t exist without the collective effort of the LER Accelerator coalition and our partners at the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. With their support, we’ve created a dynamic, accessible resource that reflects the best thinking from across the higher education industry. This living resource will continue growing with new tools, case studies, and insights in the coming months. Look out for these releases:
Shared statement on guiding principles for LER adoption across sectors.
White paper on aligning educational outcomes with skills language for smoother career transitions.
Common definitions within the LER ecosystem.
Case studies exploring lessons learned from institutions regarding integrity in implementing LER credentialing systems.
Policy statements, toolkits, and training guides to support your efforts.
We invite you to explore the inventory on the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library website. It’s a resource built for institutions like yours, designed to help you navigate this exciting new frontier in education and employment. Let’s work together to make LERs a reality for all learners.