More Pursuing College Certificates

The number of people earning college certificates has dramatically increased as students seek the quickest connection to a job.

Certificates are the fastest-growing college credential, with more than 1 million awarded nationally in 2010, according to a recent study from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Certificates equip students with the skills they need for a job often in less than a year, and they sometimes increase a person's earnings potential past that of a bachelor's degree holder.

"There has been an explosion in certificates," said Sean Creighton, executive director of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education.