Dive Brief:
- Brandman University is launching digital badges for students in online competency-based degree programs to show potential employers and others what skills and abilities they possess.
- The badges will be awarded as certification of skills, and they will be displayed by the students on LinkedIn and other social networks, in online talent management systems, in online resumes and portfolios, and in other Web site formats, Campus Technology reported.
- Brandman is using Credly to create the badges, which will provide analytics to help viewers tell what they signify and the value of the skills.
Dive Insight:
If digital badges catch on, they could give a boost to the competency-based higher education movement. Brandman’s digital badges will reportedly be the first to be offered by a competency-based education program.
According to Credly’s website, it provides “thousands” of organizations with digital badges and credentials. Brandman, which has 12,000 students between its online programs and campuses in California and Washington, is also planning a consortium that will work with employers on the best ways to standardize the badges. According to the university, the badges are a response to employers who say they need to be able to validate the skills claimed by students.
Brandman was only the fourth institution to win approval from the U.S. Department of Education to use direct skills assessment as a part of a competency-based degree program, which allows the university to enroll students receiving federal financial aid in the program.