Today, more than two-thirds of US adults considering further education report that they prefer a non-degree option—up from about one-half prior to the pandemic. With growing interest and investment in opportunities for short-term flexible options to prepare individuals for the workforce, it is essential to cultivate a better understanding of noncredit education and non-degree credentials.

Despite the importance of this information, however, multiple analyses have shown that only about three-quarters of states collect data on their noncredit programming. Furthermore, state-level data collection on non-degree credentials (such as certificates, certifications, licensure, badges, and microcredentials) varies widely and is still under development in many locations. Because data on noncredit education are limited and vary across states, direct comparisons are difficult. This lack of rich and consistent data prevents a comprehensive understanding of noncredit education and results in inconsistent definitions, limited outcomes data, and overall data quality issues.

This report on the noncredit education in the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) is one in a series that explore the noncredit data infrastructure of U.S. states and present descriptive analyses of those data at the course/program level. The findings presented in these reports were reached using a multiphased collaborative approach with leaders in partner states. First, we developed a robust inventory of each of the data elements available at the state level, informed by cross-state meetings and interviews with individual state partners. We then categorized each of the individual data elements and developed operational definitions for each one. Finally, we built state-level data sets consistent with the available data and analyzed these data descriptively.