MHEC tells lawmakers Maryland’s new higher-education plan will prioritize workforce-ready credentials
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Summary
Maryland Higher Education Commission leaders told the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee that a new state plan due in June will emphasize workforce alignment, include certificates in attainment goals, and expand transfer pathways in partnership with groups such as the Aspen Institute.
Maryland Higher Education Commission Secretary Sanjay Rai told the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee that the agency’s upcoming statewide higher education plan will focus more directly on workforce alignment, incorporate industry-recognized certificates into statewide goals and seek to improve community college-to‑four‑year transfer success.
Rai said the plan, which the agency expects to deliver to the legislature in June, will add a “degree production” target and incorporate so‑called “lighthouse credentials” — credentials the state judges likely to lead to family‑sustaining wages — alongside traditional degree attainment goals. “We will have a statewide goal, attainment goal, but we will also have something called degree production goal,” Rai said.
The commission and staff emphasized existing partnerships aimed at smoothing transfers from community colleges to four‑year institutions. Rai pointed to Maryland’s partnership with the Aspen Institute on a “Maryland transfer intensive” and said institutions are piloting programs and tools, including AI‑supported advising at Warwick Community College funded by Google and DataKind. “They just developed that playbook ... and they decided to come to Maryland because they thought that Maryland has the best chance to improve transfer,” he said.
Committee members voiced concern about rapid labor‑market changes and the rise of employer‑led certifications. Senator Harris said many employers now offer in‑house certifications that can place workers in well‑paid jobs without a four‑year degree. Rai and other MHEC staff said the state plan will explicitly include certificates and short‑term credentials in attainment metrics and will support institutions in offering affordable certification and reskilling options.
MHEC noted statewide data the agency uses to shape priorities: the system comprises 57 colleges and universities and more than 130 private career schools, and public four‑year institutions report six‑year graduation rates near 66 percent. Rai said the state will track outcomes in high‑demand sectors — including life sciences, health care and STEM — and align program approvals and investments accordingly.
The agency said it will continue convening presidents, provosts and employers through advisory bodies and that lawmakers’ guidance will be useful as it finalizes the plan. MHEC also flagged federal changes to Pell and research funding as external pressures that strengthen the need for alignment between higher education and workforce policy.
MHEC said it will return to the committee with further detail on implementation timelines and measurable targets when the plan is ready.