University of Phoenix Shares Standards-Based Approach to Career-Aligned Micro-Credentials

Director of Microcredentials and Innovation Credential Strategy Cate Tolnai spotlights framework, open standards, and industry collaboration at 1EdTech 2026 Digital Credentials Summit.

Mar. 16, 2026 at 10:27pm

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University of Phoenix announced that Cate Tolnai, Director of Microcredentials and Innovation Credential Strategy, presented at the 1EdTech 2026 Digital Credentials Summit in Philadelphia. Tolnai's session explored how higher education and industry can co-design stackable, transferable micro-credentials that signal career readiness, leveraging interoperability and open standards to align academic learning with employer-validated credentials and strengthen learner agency.

Why it matters

As employer demand grows across fast-evolving fields, the University's digital badging work supports working adult learners by helping them translate learning into clear, shareable evidence of assessed skills as they progress toward longer-term career goals.

The details

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. She highlighted the University's collaboration with EC-Council, a global cybersecurity certification body, as a model for how employer-validated expectations can be translated into learning and skills signals that learners can share and employers can easily interpret.

  • The 1EdTech 2026 Digital Credentials Summit took place from February 18-20, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA.
  • University of Phoenix recently announced a cybersecurity pathway aligned with EC-Council competencies.

The players

Cate Tolnai

Director of Microcredentials and Innovation Credential Strategy at University of Phoenix.

EC-Council

A global cybersecurity certification body dedicated to advancing the information security profession through skill development and applied artificial intelligence education.

University of Phoenix

An institution that innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world.

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What they’re saying

“This community is proving what's possible when we build credential ecosystems that actually work for learners. 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.”

— Cate Tolnai, Director, Microcredentials and Innovation Credentials Strategy

The takeaway

University of Phoenix's approach to micro-credentials and career pathways demonstrates how higher education can partner with industry to develop standards-based, portable credentials that empower working adult learners to showcase their skills and progress toward in-demand career goals.