About Micro-Credentials & Digital Badges
- Complement traditional degrees or certificate programs
- Be offered as stand-alone credentials for students, faculty, staff, community members or corporations
- Be for-credit or noncredit
- Be offered on flexible timeframes
- Be highly focused
- Serve as a pathway to success by allowing the learner to meet academic or employer requirements
To learn more, review the resources in the right sidebar.
While traditional degrees and certificate programs recognize more robust programs of academic study, micro-credentials provide a way to recognize and document the acquisition of specific skills or competencies.
Upon successful completion of a micro-credential program, learners are issued a digital badge that allows achievements to be displayed and shared. Just as diplomas serve to recognize degrees, digital badges are artifacts that offer recognition and storytelling about micro-credentials.
Because they're digital, badges contain metadata about the program's requirements and learning objectives, as well as links to educational artifacts. This makes them independently verifiable and portable, empowering learners to use, share and display their credentials however they see fit.
Micro-Credentials at CU Boulder
CU Boulder's micro-credential program initiative was prioritized and sponsored by Financial Futures, and its policies informed by a universitywide Micro-credentials Advisory Committee (MAC).
This committee includes representatives from academic colleges, Continuing Education, Student Affairs, OIT, the Center for Teaching and Learning, University Libraries and the Office of the Registrar, and is responsible for:
-
Formalizing micro-credential structures and frameworks
- Exploring new learning opportunities
-
Creating clarity and meaning for stakeholders
- Fostering inclusivity in learner recognition at CU Boulder