UMGC Awarded $1.25 Million Grant: Skills-First Project to Recognize Military and Workforce Learning
University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) announced on November 3 in Adelphi, Maryland, that it has been awarded a $1.25 million grant from the Gates Foundation to develop and test a skills-first approach to more efficiently recognize learning gained through military service, the workforce and other experiences outside the traditional classroom.
The two-year project, the National Skills-First Architecture for Learning Recognition, will initially focus on military-affiliated learners and working adults, who often have substantial experience but can face lengthy processes to translate that learning into academic credit. "Adult and military learners acquire extensive knowledge and skills through work, military service and life, and we are proud to honor that learning," said UMGC President Gregory W. Fowler. "This project will help learners build on their experience, offering a clearer path to their educational and career goals while maintaining the academic rigor and faculty oversight that ensure the quality of UMGC credit."
The grant will support UMGC's efforts to explore how technology tools can interpret military and workforce records, identify skills and competencies and map them to academic outcomes. Faculty will continue to determine official credit awards, and assisted recommendations will show how they were reached. The goal is to help learners understand earlier how their existing knowledge and experience may count toward their education, potentially reducing unnecessary coursework, costs and time to completion.
The project builds on UMGC's experience in prior learning assessment and military credit recognition. Through its Credit for Military Rank initiative, more than 22,000 learners have received more than 109,000 credits since mid-2024, saving an estimated $27.4 million in tuition. UMGC is one of five universities participating in this round of the Gates Foundation's National Scale Enterprise Innovation Fund. Founded more than 75 years ago to serve working adults and military service members, UMGC is the largest provider of postsecondary education in Maryland, with more than 175 classroom and service locations worldwide. (Source: University of Maryland Global Campus)
Source: University of Maryland Global Campus
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：马里兰大学全球校区（UMGC）学生与教员服务中心。照片：M Chambers，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Student and Faculty Services Center of University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). Photo by M Chambers, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
