Capitalize on Ohio’s New Credential Application Window: Let’s Build Strong, Statewide Applications Together

As of July 21st, ODEW has approved 70 standalone credentials and 21 bundles that students can use to meet the industry-recognized certification option for graduation. All other credentials that were on the state-approved list for the 2025-26 school year are now considered ‘bundle eligible’. However, until that credential is approved as either a standalone credential or is accepted as part of a state-approved bundle, students in the Class of 2030 and beyond will not be able to use that credential towards graduation. 

As part of the rollout for this new system, on August 3rd, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) opened an application window to establish new credentials, including standalones and bundles, and to make modifications to current credentials for the 2027–28 school year. If your district, industry organization, or industry credential program has high-impact credentials that are not yet on the ODEW-approved list of standalone credentials or if you have credentials that could be combined to create a state-approved credential bundle, this is your opportunity to take action.

Understanding the Three Application Types

Through October 31, 2026, ODEW will accept three submission types:

1. New Credential Application (Standalone or Bundle-Eligible Credentials): Credentials that are not on the list of approved credentials under the legacy (12-point) system, but you believe they should be on the list for the new system. 
2. Credential Bundle Application: Combining 2-7 existing “bundle-eligible” credentials into a cohesive, intentional pathway that reaches the combined value score. List of state-approved credential bundles. 
3. Credential Modification Application: Requesting adjustments to existing credentials (e.g., advocating for a bundle credential to become a standalone, changing the name of a credential).

Required Application Partners

In addition to specific data-driven components to demonstrate demand and alignment to a specific career field, the application will require formal alignment across three sectors:

• School/District Partner: Statement of intent to offer the credential to its students. 
• Business/Industry Partner: Statement of commitment to hiring preference for credential earners.
• Credential Vendor: Statement of formal acknowledgement that this credential is available to Ohio students. 

If you have submitted applications successfully (or unsuccessfully) in the past, please know that this new application is different and more data-driven. While the application itself is not tremendously complex, the challenge lies in determining which credentials naturally lend themselves to be competitive within a bundle, and making the appropriate connections among the three required sectors to obtain letters of commitment. 

Collaborate with EnvisionEdPlus

Submitting duplicate applications creates extra noise for the review committee and way more work for you! EnvisionEdPlus is helping school districts, industry groups, and credential vendors unite to craft robust, inclusive, statewide applications.

Join us for a free, 1-hour Deep Dive session via Zoom on Tue, Aug 11, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm EDT. Learn to navigate key requirements and use the extensive data dashboard framework to evaluate how standalone- and bundle-eligible credentials align with workforce demand. Determine strategies for connecting across schools, industry partners, and credential providers to craft proposals that clearly demonstrate workforce demand, meet the needs of young people, and provide equitable access to credentials. Discover how EnvisionEdPlus can assist your team in this complex process.

To register for “Navigating New Ohio Credential Applications: An EnvisionEdPlus Deep Dive”, click the button below!