Dive Brief:
- Badges and other micro-credentials are offering adults an alternative to years-long degree programs and giving employers detailed information about the skills students master.
- University Business reports that the University of Alaska has offered faculty members professional development badges, giving them first-hand experience with a model their students may seek out.
- Oregon State University now offers roughly 40 digital credentials, which people share on social media, effectively giving the university free advertising.
Dive Insight:
Analysts look at badges as a way for adults to get career-oriented skills that are marketable. Even though elite schools have the benefit of name recognition, micro-credentials could get applicants far by showing, in detail, the skills they have mastered and how they had to prove it. Just as they started offering their own MOOCs when that was seen as an industry game-changer, traditional colleges and universities are increasingly experimenting with micro-credentials to keep up with the innovation curve.