The federal government has radically altered its approach to measuring higher education outcomes by holding all programs participating in the federal student loan program accountable for the earnings of their graduates. This change, encapsulated in the new Student Tuition and Transparency System and Earnings Accountability rule, introduces a basic “do no harm” provision. However, this one-dimensional standard fails to capture long-term value, focusing solely on earnings as a metric.
Over the years, it has been evident that preparing individuals for just their first job is insufficient. Global factors such as artificial intelligence and automation are rapidly transforming employment roles, the economy, and required skills. Employers are increasingly questioning the effectiveness of degrees as indicators of workforce readiness. A recent survey reveals that 70% of employers now adopt skills-based hiring approaches.
As job roles shift, employers find reskilling and upskilling existing workers more efficient for filling vacancies. Advances in assessing skills and aptitudes allow employers to identify talent accurately. Learners can now exhibit their skills and knowledge without time constraints, utilizing credit for prior learning and innovative online methods to pursue degrees. Despite this progress, public discourse often centers on straightforward metrics like class time or immediate earnings.
The emphasis on skills presents a chance to rethink quality measurement. Instead of evaluating postsecondary education based on graduates’ earnings, mastery of skills should be assessed. Historically, college graduate quality was gauged by institutional prestige or proxies like seat time and credit hours. Completion suggested knowledge and skills acquisition but did not specify graduates’ actual competencies.
Wage thresholds, embraced by policymakers as a blunt tool for assessing graduates, only reflect salary, not skills. While engineering graduates often command high salaries, talented individuals in majors like education and liberal arts may pursue careers that provide community value but offer lower pay.
There’s no longer a justification for this approach. We possess the tools to measure and evaluate outcomes based on skills and competencies in real-world scenarios. As the workforce evolves swiftly, employers need precise knowledge of their workers’ abilities. Automation, while impacting entry-level coding roles, still allows these workers to offer valuable skills for organizational redeployment.
Focusing on knowledge and capability ensures that learners and the economy thrive. Prioritizing skills identifies how talents transfer across industries, opening new opportunities for workers and aiding employers in filling critical roles. In Alabama, healthcare employers seeking surgical and sterile processing technicians recognized the shared competencies of metal pickling equipment operators, expanding their talent pool and offering new career pathways.
Effective models already exist. Institutions are crafting innovative, rigorous competency-based education programs that clearly state the mastery required for credentials. Rooted in competencies, these programs deliver value through transparent, credible, and comparable skills and learning outcomes.
A future-ready quality assurance model should evolve, ensuring that credentials and embedded skills are valid, legible, trustworthy, and aligned with modern economic demands. This approach provides clarity and confidence concerning competencies to both learners and employers, eliminating the need for interpretation from transcripts or job descriptions. States can verify whether programs produce graduates with skills and competencies needed by regional economies.
Better than current first-job earnings metrics, a quality assurance model can verify whether credentials offer essential skills and promote measurable mobility for learners, employers, and communities. While new federal standards for accountability are commendable, colleges and universities should strive to enhance lifelong learner experiences.
Charla Long is the president of the Competency-Based Education Network. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.