As conservatives consider ways to crash through the growing choke hold that college degrees have held in employers' hiring processes, one idea that has gained currency is allowing federal student aid to follow students to unaccredited providers of education. Conservatives have also shown interest in funding competency-based programs--in which students earn credentials for exhibiting mastery of knowledge and skills, not because of the time they attend an institution. Even as they create space for innovation in higher education, conservatives should be wary of simply writing a blank check to new entities and programs absent some accountability around the value delivered. This brief states that the federal government should foster greater accountability by supporting third-party credentialing entities that validate industry-valued skills. Federal and state governments could then pay institutions as students demonstrate mastery on valid and reliable assessments that third-party bodies oversee.