Director of Microcredentials and Innovation Credential Strategy Cate Tolnai spotlights Career Pathways framework, open standards and EC-Council collaboration to strengthen credential portability and learner agency

PHOENIX, March 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — University of Phoenix announces that Cate Tolnai, Director, Microcredentials and Innovation Credentials Strategy, presented a session at the 1EdTech 2026 Digital Credentials Summit (Feb. 18–20, 2026) in Philadelphia, PA, focused on how higher education and industry can co-design stackable, transferable micro-credentials that add up to trusted signals of career readiness.

Summary

As employer demand grows across cybersecurity, healthcare, business and other fast-evolving fields, Tolnai’s session explored how institutions can move beyond stand-alone micro-credentials to standards-based career pathways that are responsive, portable and verifiable. Tolnai also discussed how the University’s Career Pathways framework leverages interoperability and open standards—including Open Badges 3.0, CTDL and the TrustEd Credential Framework—to align academic learning with employer-validated credentials and strengthen learner agency.  

Why this matters for working adults

University of Phoenix’s digital badging work supports working adult learners by helping them translate learning into clear, shareable evidence of assessed skills as they progress—course by course—toward longer-term goals. The University recently celebrated issuing one million digital badges for skills obtained in undergraduate, graduate and professional development courses.

Session spotlight: from single badges to career pathways

In the session, Tolnai shared practical guidance for credential strategy and employer collaboration, including criteria to determine when a single micro-credential is sufficient versus when a full pathway is needed. Participants also engaged in guided dialogue to test approaches in their own context and left with tools such as conversation starters for engaging industry partners and methods for assessing institutional readiness.

By the end of the session, participants were able to:

• Explain how interoperability and standards (Open Badges 3.0, CTDL, TrustEd Credential Framework) enable scalable career pathways
• Analyze the EC-Council and University of Phoenix collaboration as a model for higher ed and industry alignment
• Apply practical strategies and conversation starters to initiate and sustain industry collaboration
• Differentiate conditions where a single micro-credential is sufficient versus when a full pathway is needed

“This community is proving what’s possible when we build credential ecosystems that actually work for learners,” said Tolnai. “For working adults, portable, verifiable credentials can turn progress into momentum—helping them communicate capabilities clearly and confidently as they build toward larger career-aligned competencies.”

Higher ed and industry collaboration: EC-Council as a model

Tolnai highlighted the University’s collaboration with EC-Council as a launching pad for scalable, career-aligned pathways—illustrating how employer-validated expectations can be translated into learning and skills signals that learners can share and employers can easily interpret. EC-Council is a global cybersecurity certification body dedicated to advancing the information security profession through skill development and applied artificial intelligence education.

University of Phoenix recently announced a cybersecurity pathway aligned with EC-Council competencies.

About 1EdTech Digital Credentials Summit

1EdTech’s annual Digital Credentials Summit convenes education, workforce development and technology leaders focused on advancing digital credential ecosystems through interoperability and trust. Learn more at the Summit website.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.  

 

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SOURCE University of Phoenix