Accelerating Credentials of Purpose and Value (ACPV)

Background

The Accelerating Credentials of Purpose and Value (ACPV) Grant Program supports public two- and four-year institutions of higher education (IHEs) and public health-related institutions (HRIs) in Texas in the development and/or expansion of the development of short-term postsecondary credentials that incorporate skills and knowledge required by high-demand careers in three broad areas:

Digital skills
Data analytics
Front-line healthcare

Our project

FUNDING

This effort is funded through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund which is designed to support the rapid reskilling and upskilling of the Texas workforce through the expansion of postsecondary workforce education. GEER dollars, in turn, originate from the U.S. Department of Education’s administration of the Education Stabilization Fund in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. The University of Houston received an ACPV grant in February 2022, and UH Energy is coordinating the ACPV project within the University of Houston System.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of our ACPV project is to make the essential skills of data analytics more accessible to petrotechnical students, and to accelerate credentialing in this field, by integrating short-term, stackable, energy industry-specific programs in data analytics into existing graduate programs.

APPROACH

Our approach is based on the Upstream Energy Data Analytics micro-credential program, that we have been running since the summer of 2020. Key components of the of this program are the use of stackable badges, co-teaching by academic faculty and industry SMEs, pedagogy with real-world problems, and rigorous evaluation.

Making it happen

Four departments within the University of Houston System are deploying ACPV activities:

UH Energy is maintaining close contact with the departments, and with the Provost’s Office, to ensure that the ACPV objectives are achieved.