A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: From Personal Vision to OpenAI Stage
Monday, August 18, 2025
On August 11, our team had the extraordinary honor of presenting the National Accreditation Commission’s AIHub at OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco as part of GitLab Foundation’s AI for Economic Opportunity Fund. Standing in the epicenter of artificial intelligence innovation was nerve-wracking—my voice and Hamza’s voice trembled with nerves while on the big stage in […]
NAC Receives Major Grant to Transform Program Accreditation
Friday, February 21, 2025
NAC is thrilled to announce we’ve been selected as one of fourteen pioneering organizations to receive funding from GitLab Foundation’s AI for Economic Opportunity Fund. This grant will support the development of our groundbreaking AI-enabled Accreditation Information Hub (AIHub), designed to revolutionize quality assurance for noncredit programs.The initiative, backed by GitLab Foundation, OpenAI, and Ballmer […]
From Curbside to Canvas: The Mandala of a Forgotten Wurlitzer
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
One afternoon, walking through the neighborhood, I stumbled upon a piece of history—a 1950s Wurlitzer piano, left abandoned on the sidewalk, destined for the garbage truck. The faded wood and tarnished keys told the story of countless hours of music, now silenced by time. But as I looked closer, I didn’t just see a broken […]
Working with States to Align Accreditation & Economic Development
Thursday, August 1, 2024
Working in tandem with the National Accreditation Commission (NAC), state policymakers focused on channeling financial aid towards students enrolled in noncredit or non-degree programs have a prime opportunity to fortify the connection between federal and state financial aid. As numerous states strive to understand the return on their investments in short-term noncredit or non-degree programs, […]
The Future of Community College & University Career Services
Friday, July 12, 2024
By Mitch BaiadaImagine stepping into a community college or university career service center of the future. Gone are the days of static job boards and generic resume workshops. Instead, you’re greeted by a high-tech environment that seamlessly blends education, skills assessment, and job placement.The heart of this futuristic space is an AI-powered system that analyzes […]
Embracing Inclusive and Lifelong Learning Ecosystems
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
The current postsecondary education landscape in the U.S. falls short of offering adequate educational opportunities for individuals who are disconnected from the traditional education system. This gap is particularly evident in the realm of noncredit and non-degree programs for out-of-school youth and adults, which remain underrepresented in federal financial aid frameworks, leading to a deficit […]
IACET Podcast – Navigating Accreditation for Short-Term Training
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
I was very honored and fortunate to co-present with Randy Bowman, CEO, and Mike Veny, on International Accreditors for Continuing Education & Training (IACET)‘s CET Talks podcast about exploring the future direction of noncredit education and accreditation. If you want to learn more about why accreditation is important and what it might mean for your institution, check […]
Tracking the Skills Gap
Thursday, April 25, 2024
A significant gap exists in the accreditation landscape for noncredit programs, primarily workforce development programming, as recognized accreditors focus the bulk of their resources on degree programs offered at higher education institutions. Currently, no recognized programmatic accreditor exists with a specific noncredit workforce development discipline or scope. This chasm has had disastrous effects nationwide, including a multi-faceted […]
Noncredit Credentials on the Rise
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Noncredit credentials are on the rise in the U.S., with over a quarter of Americans holding such credentials. These include badges, certificates, industry certifications, apprenticeships, and microcredentials. However, assessing their quality is challenging due to the lack of uniform accreditation standards. Clearing this confusion would benefit workers, students, and employers, especially those historically underserved by […]
The Next Generation Accreditation System
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Quality assurance in higher education is generally challenging, with diverse and complex programs requiring rigorous evaluation. Estimates for accreditation costs range from 3% to 11% of total educational spending—much of which has been criticized as inefficient —with recent estimates of annual accreditation spending reaching $2.3 billion. There are a variety of definitions of what constitutes […]