IBL News | Philadelphia
1EdTech CEO Curtiss Barnes announced the CASE Global Ecosystem initiative during the 2026 Digital Credentials Summit, with plans to launch later this year.
“We’re currently seeing a true national and global push for clearer pathways between education and employment, and for learner mobility across institutions, sectors, and borders,” he said.
Currently, micro credentials, skills, competencies, and curriculum data remain siloed across platforms, frameworks, and jurisdictions. Meanwhile, employers need records they can trust and understand instantly.
When introducing the CASE standard as a shared technical and semantic foundation, the 1EdTech organization aims to create an open, decentralized, and globally coordinated system that enables the interoperable exchange of skills, competencies, and curricula.
Tim Couper, Chief Architect & Associate CTO, 1EdTech, stated to IBL News, “The CASE standard has become a foundational solution worldwide, and combined with other standards like Open Badges and Comprehensive Learner Records (CLR), is making credentials more trusted across systems.”
Today, more than 37 million Americans have completed some college coursework but no degree, creating an enormous wage gap and economic disadvantage.
People with some college but no degree face a $40,500 annual wage gap (86% less) than bachelor’s degree holders. Those with college debt but no degree are financially worse off than high school graduates with no debt!
During the Digital Credentials conference, which took place this week in Philadelphia, attending educators shared their readiness to meet the demand for clearer signals, more flexibility, and credentials that travel.