University of Phoenix leadership join panel on higher ed innovation at Jobs for the Future Horizons Summit

Vice Provosts Doris Savron and Marc Booker discuss innovations including skills-mapped curriculum, learning and employment records, and microcredentials that inform more equitable career paths of working adult learners 

University of Phoenix is pleased to share that leaders Doris Savron, vice provost, Colleges, Assessment and Curriculum, and Dr. Marc Booker, vice provost, Strategy, join the Jobs for the Future (JFF) Horizons Summit July 22-23, 2024, in Washington, D.C., an event focused on innovation and thought leadership in advancing economic equity and themed, “The Power of Us.” Savron and Booker will serve on the panel, “Utilizing Skills Mapping and Innovative Credentials to Deliver the Most Direct Career Path,” on July 22, 3:15 PM-4:00pm ET, discussing how collaborative innovations including skills-mapped curriculum, learning and employment record (LER), and microcredentials inform more equitable career paths of working adult learners. University of Phoenix is a partner of JFF's Center for Racial Economic Equity and a supporting sponsor of the Horizons Summit.

“Approaches to capturing learner skills aligned to career outcomes through innovative methods such as microcredentials, skills tagging and authentic assessments in curriculum can enable capturing student achievements through comprehensive learner records (CLRs), and support developing an ecosystem for learning and employment records (LERs),” states Savron. “LERs grow and evolve with the learner and can more effectively demonstrate the knowledge, learning, and skills accumulated by a worker over their lifetime.” 

The panel features Savron and Booker alongside Cynthia Proctor, Director of Communications and Academic Policy Development in the Provost’s Office at the State University of New York (SUNY) System and Rob Coyle, Program Manager, Digital Credentials at 1EdTech Consortium. Their panel discussion will explore the impact and potential of microcredentials and LERs in higher education as well as how to engage employers in planning and developing effective and relevant microcredentials.

“LERs have inherent and empowering value to working adult learners as a single record of all their learning and employment history accessible in one digital location,” Savron shares. “This fosters a more equitable method of matching with employers while also creating a feedback loop on whether courses and credentials are living up to their purpose.”

Savron and Booker will share how, understanding that students represent far more than course descriptions and grades, University of Phoenix reimagined its assessment process to align to skills outcomes and map its curriculum back to workplace needs, and how this action has created more value to students related to credentialing and mobility opportunities as skills outcomes are becoming more desired by employers. The session will help attendees understand how microcredentials and LERs can support workers and employers in the rapidly evolving, AI-driven, metamorphosing workplace of today.

“Technology, data, and how we can share insight on learners’ skills and abilities is evolving rapidly,” states Booker. “Although tremendous progress has been made in this area, like the University of Phoenix’s approach to skills-aligned learning and how it ties to our micro-credential and badging strategies; this is an emerging area of need that is yet to be fully defined. As a result, we are delighted to be a part of this important conversation with industry groups because there is still work to be done in triangulating the right value proposition for learners, higher education and employers.”

The Horizons Summit is driven by the JFF journey toward their established North Star: In 10 years, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs. The Summit vision is that individuals attending, listening to the Horizons podcast, or watching the video series, can connect with thinkers and innovators activating the power of community to influence economic equity and advancement.

Savron serves as Vice Provost of Colleges, Assessment and Curriculum, overseeing the strategy for the University’s academic programs and curriculum design, institutional assessment and faculty. Her role includes oversight of strategy for degree, certificate and course offerings, design of curriculum and student learning outcomes for the University. Savron works collaboratively with her team members to innovate academic solutions that enable the University to provide exceptional student experiences and learning environments to support student success. In her tenure with University of Phoenix she has served as associate faculty, campus vice president, regional Vice president of student services, and college operations. She was appointed to the advisory council for UPCEA and AACRAO’s inaugural 2023 Convergence Conference focused on the emerging field of alternative credentials in Higher Education, and in 2024 to the UPCEA Council for Credential Innovation leadership. Savron is often sought out as a speaker for her expertise on mapping relevant skills in programs and building an infrastructure to support career tools in curriculum design, micro credentialing and other innovations in curriculum, presenting at events by organizations such as 1EdTech and PACRAO. She earned her MBA from Cleveland State University and is completing her doctorate in management in organizational leadership.

As Vice Provost for Strategy at the University of Phoenix, Booker oversees critical path academic initiatives to improve the student experience such as learning platform implementations, curricular enhancements, and developing empathetic solutions to drive improved student outcomes through data. He is the recipient of the 2024 UPCEA Operational Excellence Award and a 2024 American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Thomas A. Bilger Award. In 2023, he was part of a leadership team named winners of the Catalyst Award for Teaching & Learning. Widely recognized as an expert in transfer credit and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), Booker previously served as vice president of Admissions and Evaluation at University of Phoenix; during his tenure his office received three Showcase in Excellence Awards from the Southwest Alliance for Excellence for processes related to admissions application, transcript and prior learning assessment processes. Booker has been an employee of the University of Phoenix since 2001. 

Proctor is the Director of Communications and Academic Policy Development in the Provost’s Office at the State University of New York (SUNY) System, the largest comprehensive public university in the United States. Having been with SUNY for over 25 years, Proctor now develops and supports the implementation of SUNY academic policy (applicable to all 64 campuses). Central to her recent work is advancement of SUNY’s award-winning microcredential policy, a dynamic program designed to help more New York residents earn the credentials they need to succeed in life and career. Proctor is a nationally and internationally regarded expert in the application of short-term credentials. She holds a master’s degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in public relations/journalism from Utica University.

As 1EdTech’s program manager for digital credentials, Coyle is committed to expanding the success of digital credentials with Open Badges and the Comprehensive Learner Record
Standard™ (CLRStandard™) to support learning and acknowledge the skills and competencies mastered through formal and informal education and life experiences. Coyle has deep experience from a career as a teacher and collaborator with other educators, and through working with a wide variety of educators and edtech suppliers from K-12, higher education, and corporate training and development. He earned his master’s degree in educational leadership and educational technology administration and bachelor’s degree from Goucher College.

Learn more here about the JFF Horizons Summit.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit  phoenix.edu/blog.html.