Perspectives
Perspectives on academic portfolio strategy, credential design, and workforce alignment. For university presidents and provosts navigating consequential decisions.
The Credential Portfolio Question Most Institutions Can't Answer
Ask a provost to list every credential her institution issues, and she can. Ask what each one proves, to whom, and in which market, and the list gets much harder to finish. Credential Engine counts 1.85 million unique credentials nationally now, up from 1.07 million three years ago. Every one of them is competing for the same scarce attention.
What Your AI Exposure Score Is Actually Measuring
Three economists asked ChatGPT-5, Gemini 2.5, and Claude 4.5 which jobs are most exposed to AI. The models disagreed by a factor of 3.6. The reason isn't that AI is unpredictable. It's that the scores are measuring something else entirely, and provosts using them to justify portfolio decisions are relying on an instrument that was never built for that job.
Why More Credentials Won’t Fix the Employer Confidence Gap
Most large employers have announced some version of skills-based hiring. The Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School found that fewer than 1 in 700 hires reflect it. Higher education has its own version of the problem, and it starts with whether employers can read what your credentials actually mean.
Selected Writing
The following articles were written prior to founding Brightline Strategy.
Strengthening Our Commitment to a Skills-Based Future — Western Governors University, February 2025
Skills-Based Education for the Future of Work — Western Governors University, January 2025
Closing the Skills Gap: An Inside Look at the Achievement Wallet — Forbes, December 2023
Open Skills Libraries Help Today's Education and Training Providers Respond to Skills-Based Hiring — EvoLLLution, May 2022
Student ROI and the Role of Stackable Credentials — WCET Frontiers, October 2021
Enabling Pathways to Opportunity Through a Skills-Based Architecture — Wiley / New Directions for Community Colleges, March 2021