Name: David Moldoff

Title:  CEO

Company: AcademyOne

Website: www.academyone.com

Founded: 2005

Headquarters: Pennsylvania, USA

Description: ​​AcademyOne is a higher education technology company that provides cloud-based software solutions to streamline enrollment, administrative, and academic functions, enhancing student engagement and success.

David Moldoff: Driving Innovation in Education and Credit Transfer

David Moldoff, Founder & CEO of AcademyOne, has played a pivotal role in developing over forty higher education software applications over the past four decades. His expertise in data standards, system interoperability, and educational infrastructure has made him a thought leader in transforming the learner experience.

A longtime contributor to global initiatives such as PESC and GDN, and President of the WEGO Foundation, David continues to advance equity, access, and innovation in education. In this interview, he shares his insights on automation, credentialing, and the evolving landscape of learner recognition.

Excerpts from the interview:

1. Establishing AcademyOne

With experience across the P20W+ sector at ABT, SCT, and SunGard Higher Education, David remained passionate about addressing the challenges learners face in navigating institutional boundaries while pursuing credentials. “The sector remains decentralized and fragmented, lacking a consumer-centric platform that connects learners with their experiences for fair assessment, recognition, and credentialing. “At AcademyOne, we tackle this challenge by building shared digital services that bridge B2B and B2C activities, driving innovation through partnerships and collaborative technology solutions.”

2. AcademyOne’s Cloud-Based Solutions: Empowering Learners with Seamless Credit Transfer and Enrollment

AcademyOne’s innovative approach to streamlining educational processes for institutions and enhancing the learning experience for learners is centered around its robust suite of cloud-based, learner-centric software solutions. Through its suite of tailored, cloud-based solutions, AcademyOne effectively addresses the key challenges faced by educational institutions and learners in enrollment, administrative, and academic functions.

By leveraging technology to facilitate smoother transitions, clearer communication, and faster processes, AcademyOne not only enhances the operational efficiency of educational institutions but also significantly improves the learning journey for students.

Key Features of AcademyOne’s Integrated Applications

AcademyOne’s integrated applications stand out in the EdTech market primarily due to their sophisticated approach to handling student mobility, academic credit portability, and enrollment processing.

Key Features:

• On-Demand Student System Services: AcademyOne’s S3 services enable seamless, secure data sharing with various SIS, avoiding manual intervention risks.

• Comprehensive Data Integration: The platform streamlines credit transfers by unifying student and institutional data, improving accuracy and reducing admin workload.

• Advanced Credit Evaluation and Transfer Tools: AcademyOne uses algorithms to assess course equivalency, ensuring fair credit recognition for transferring students.

• Streamlined Enrollment Processing: The platform simplifies the credit petition process, accelerating enrollment and enhancing student satisfaction.

• Real-Time Data Access and Reporting: AcademyOne provides real-time data and instant reports, enabling informed decisions on student mobility and curriculum.

• User-Centric Design and Accessibility: Designed for ease of use, the platform boosts adoption among students and staff.

• Compliance and Security: AcademyOne ensures data security and compliance with regulations, safeguarding sensitive student information.

• Multi-institutional Scalability and Customization: The platform is scalable and customizable, adapting to institutions of all sizes to improve processes.

• Data Security and Privacy: AcademyOne maintains data security and privacy with encryption, audits, identity management, and regular compliance checks.

Here’s how AcademyOne’s innovative solutions help streamline enrollment, administrative, and academic functions:

• Net: AcademyOne’s platform helps students identify transfer-friendly institutions and understand credit recognition, simplifying the transfer process and empowering informed decisions.

• ArticulatED: This platform provides state-level “Transfer Check” tools, offering students clarity on credit recognition and ensuring smooth transitions between institutions.

• Innovating Prior Learning Assessment: The AssessED Platform automates credit recognition for prior learning, speeding up decisions and reducing administrative burdens while ensuring consistency.

• Cloud-Based Platform Integration: AcademyOne’s S3 system integrates with institutional databases to eliminate duplicate data entry, providing real-time insights for students and reducing delays.

• On-Demand Data Access: AcademyOne offers real-time data access, enabling quick decisions on transfer eligibility, program prerequisites, and alternative academic pathways.

3. Facilitating Academic Credit Portability and the Role of Prior Learning Assessment

In today’s evolving educational landscape, Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is gaining prominence as a critical tool for recognizing and accrediting knowledge and skills acquired outside of traditional academic settings. PLA respects the diverse learning journeys of students—whether through work experience, military service, or independent study—and enables institutions to offer more tailored and efficient educational pathways. This not only honors individual learning experiences but also enhances student satisfaction, accelerates credential completion, and supports lifelong learning.

AcademyOne plays a pivotal role in advancing the implementation and effectiveness of PLA through its platform, which simplifies academic credit transfer and promotes student mobility.

AcademyOne provides tools for institutions to evaluate prior learning using standardized rubrics. These assessments are conducted by subject matter experts to ensure consistency. Timely evaluations—often completed within days—boost student experience and conversion rates. Over 50% of petitioners who receive favorable outcomes choose to enroll.

Beyond formal learning, AcademyOne’s platform also supports diverse learning pathways, including experiential learning, by offering Guided Pathways with checklists that help students track their progress toward educational goals. By facilitating credit portability across institutions, including the recognition of out-of-state credits, AcademyOne helps build greater reciprocity and reduces barriers for transferring students. In essence, AcademyOne’s approach empowers institutions to embrace the full spectrum of student learning and provide flexible, responsive educational options.

4. AcademyOne’s Partnership with Credential Engine

AcademyOne’s partnership with Credential Engine is a strategic collaboration aimed at enhancing credential transparency, which in turn significantly benefits both learners and educational institutions. Here’s a summary of how this partnership facilitates these advancements and the broader impacts on the education sector.

The core of the partnership between AcademyOne and Credential Engine revolves around the use of the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL). CTDL is a schema developed by Credential Engine that enables the detailed description of credential attributes in a common language that is easily understandable and accessible.

AcademyOne plays a vital role in refining the CTDL by offering expertise in transfer values and agreements, helping to create a more effective framework for credit transfer between institutions. By assisting institutions in mapping and publishing their credentials and transfer data, AcademyOne ensures that this information is structured according to CTDL standards and made publicly accessible. For learners, this transparency aids in making informed decisions, simplifies credit transfer, and reduces the risk of lost credits. Institutions benefit by improving visibility, streamlining administrative processes, and gaining valuable data-driven insights.

5. The Evolving Role of Digital Standards in Higher Education

As the Chair of the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC), the role of digital standards across P20W is increasingly pivotal, particularly as the sector continues to adapt to the digital transformation that is reshaping educational delivery, administration, and student services, according to David.

• Enhancing Interoperability: Digital standards ensure seamless communication between various learning management systems, student information systems, and digital tools, enabling a more integrated educational experience for students and staff.

• Supporting Scalability and Innovation: By providing a structured framework, digital standards facilitate the adoption of emerging technologies like AI-driven learning, blockchain credentialing, and data analytics, allowing institutions to scale efficiently and with minimal risk.

• Facilitating Data Privacy and Security: Standards establish security protocols and compliance guidelines, safeguarding student data against breaches while ensuring a trusted digital environment for academic interactions.

• Improving Data Portability and Transparency: By standardizing transcripts, diplomas, and credentials, digital frameworks simplify information sharing across institutions and employers, enhancing student mobility and qualification transparency.

• Driving Equity and Access: Universal design and accessibility standards ensure inclusive education, allowing students of diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities, to access learning resources without barriers.

• Enabling Regulatory Compliance: Digital standards help institutions align with education laws and accreditation requirements, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations while maintaining institutional credibility and public trust.

6. Navigating Core Challenges

Promoting academic credit portability comes with a unique set of challenges that require strategic and collaborative efforts to overcome. David states that through methods like navigating State Governance and Policy Alignment, Supporting Institutions with Proactive and Reactive Processes, Standardizing Practices Across Institutions, Enhancing Overall Learner Experience, Fostering Collaboration and Shared Values the company has tried to overcome challenges.

Supporting non-traditional learners

AcademyOne’s platform is designed to support non-traditional learners, particularly adults who have some college credits but no formal credential. It addresses common barriers such as credit transfer and academic progress recognition. The platform offers transfer maps that help learners understand how previous coursework aligns with new academic programs. It provides clear transfer pathways and publishes academic policies from over 2,000 institutions, simplifying the process for non-traditional learners to identify the best fit for their needs. With a national portal for easy access to critical information, AcademyOne empowers learners to make informed decisions, thereby helping them overcome obstacles and achieve their educational goals.

7. AcademyOne: Forging Ahead

Looking ahead, AcademyOne’s focus on expanding platform capabilities, honing core competencies, leveraging advanced AI technologies, and creating a dynamic new agreement platform are set to bring significant advancements to the education sector. These initiatives will not only improve the efficiency and effectiveness of educational collaborations but also pave the way for more innovative and adaptable educational environments.