Workshop: Microcredentials
Micro-credentials, such as digital badges, are changing the way learners showcase their knowledge and skills in today's education and job markets. There are many reasons institutions are exploring digital credentialing programs. They provide a way to recognize learning beyond the classroom or that is not traditionally transcripted that shapes the full circle of an individual's lifelong experiences. Institutions are using micro-credentials to aid in degree persistence, supplement existing programs, create new access points for adult learners, and support business and industry partners. Institutions are also leveraging technology and standards to incorporate micro-credentials into their digital ecosystem. Pragmatically, to ensure micro-credentials are successful in upholding an institution’s integrity, reputation, and brand, organizing and launching these programs should be done with as much care as other academic and learning programs.
Now, as we deal with a COVID-affected economy, with learning interrupted for many, a learner's verifiable micro-credentials become even more critical. In this session, enrollment management professionals will share their experiences with micro-credentialing (digital badging) programs, and focus on the specific considerations, implementation aspects, and how micro-credentials can fit into the larger ecosystem of credentials to help recruit and retain diverse types of learners. This workshop will be a time for colleagues to learn, share ideas and resources, and ask questions.
Participants will also get an overview of the AACRAO workgroup DRAFT report on alternative credentials, including micro-credentials, and to provide feedback.
Led by:
- Kelly Hoyland, Higher Education Program Manager, 1EdTech Consortium
- Robert A. Kubat, Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education and University Registrar, Penn State University
- Kristi Wold-McCormick, Assistant Vice Provost and University Registrar, University of Colorado Boulder
