Consumers and employers increasingly are turning to short-term, online alternatives to the college degree, and alternative credential pathways are projected to grow in popularity.

To help make sense of this complex issue, we spoke with Paul Freedman, a veteran of innovations in online education and president of the Learning Marketplace at Guild Education, a major player in employer-connected online learning.

We also spoke with Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation and a former official at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama administration.