# Will a Flood of Credentials Threaten the Four-Year Degree? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-u-podcast-the-pulse-of-higher-ed-1134204/will-a-flood-of-credentials-threaten-the-four-year-degree Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-u-podcast-the-pulse-of-higher-ed-1134204/will-a-flood-of-credentials-threaten-the-four-year-degree.md Podcast: [Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed](https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-u-podcast-the-pulse-of-higher-ed-1134204) Published: 2026-02-17T05:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.futureupodcast.com Audio file: https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/bba6607e-b1b1-46e8-9275-d3a5dac78736/episodes/74519d85-7fb8-4609-8a2d-073ebfb4c48a/audio/d59e31dc-4493-422e-90d5-a86f3e555e3d/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=ZQ_SFkhE Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/future-u-podcast-the-pulse-of-higher-ed-1134204/episodes/will-a-flood-of-credentials-threaten-the-four-year-degree Duration seconds: 2567 ## Resource Colleges and other providers have flooded the market with non-degree credentials in the past decade. But a recent analysis shows that only one in three credentials bring meaningful returns for graduates. Jeff and Michael talk with Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, who is working to provide data to consumers and policymakers about the ROI of non-degree credentials. Given many of the returns of credentials come to those with traditional degrees already, the future of the degree and credentials are inextricably tied together. This episode is supported exclusively by Ascendium Education Group. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/future-u-podcast-the-pulse-of-higher-ed-1134204/episodes/will-a-flood-of-credentials-threaten-the-four-year-degree/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-u-podcast-the-pulse-of-higher-ed-1134204/will-a-flood-of-credentials-threaten-the-four-year-degree.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.