Digital Credentials: Why, What, and How. Connecting Learning Outcomes with Employer Needs.
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Presented at the UPCEA 2019 Annual Conference. This presentation introduces the concept of Alternative Digital Credentials (ADC’s), sometimes referred to as “badges.” It discusses what ADCs are, how they are used, why they are important, how they are an imperative for higher education, how employers are beginning to accept and use ADCs, and what the future of ADCs might be. The basic thesis of this presentation is that ADCs are and will be a permanent feature of the higher education landscape and that societies and institutions that fail to adopt and recognize ADCs will lose their competitive advantage in the marketplace and fall short of their social responsibility.
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Digital Credentials: Why, What, and How. Connecting Learning Outcomes with Employer Needs.
- 1. Digital Credentials: Why, What, and How. Connecting Learning Outcomes with Employer Needs Gary W. Matkin, Ph.D. Dean, Continuing Education Vice Provost, Career Pathways University of California, Irvine 2019 UPCEA Annual Conference MARCH 27-29, 2019 Seattle, Washington 1
- 2. 2 Https: XX
- 3. The Concept of ADCs (Badges) 3
- 4. ADC Pathways Secure, Unhackable Repository ADC Recipient Friends LinkedIn Social Media Potential Employers Digital Resume Issuing Organization Permanent Record
- 5. Rationale for Institutional Adoption of ADCs • Already widely used • Transcripts largely irrelevant to workforce needs • Certify valuable, more granular, non-degree-level skills and abilities • Makes universities accountable • Young adults demand shorter, relevant education • ADCs are a natural outcome of open education • Companies use digital searches to hire candidates • The ADC ecosystem is developing • Employer acceptance is increasing 5
- 6. Implementation: Early Decisions 1. Criteria for issuance 2. Icon design 3. Metadata content 4. Platform selection 6
- 7. Criteria for Issuance 1. Non-duplication of existing certifications (transcripts) 2. Relevant to workforce needs 3. Must indicate competencies, assessments, and evidence of attainment 4. Must be issued for evaluated competencies and learning 5. Must be substantive (non-trivial) 6. Assessments must be clearly and specifically defined (rubrics) 7. Assessors must be highly qualified in the specific field being verified 8. Levels of competency must be clearly defined 9. Institutional permanent records should be maintained 10. Identifying issues must be authenticated and secure 7
- 8. Icon Design • Icons should be 1. Readable at a glance (simple design) 2. Clearly indicate the competency achieved 3. Name the issuing institution 4. Name the issuing unit of the institution 8
- 9. What Does an ADC Contain (Metadata) • Verification of earner’s identity • Qualification and information about the issuer • Date issued, date to be expired • Description of competency • Outcomes achieved to earn badge • Relationship to other related competencies • Examples of student work (optional) 9
Editor's Notes
- The Present and Future of Alternative Digital Credentials (ADCs): An Imperative for Higher Education Gary W. Matkin, Ph.D. Dean, Continuing Education Vice Provost, Career Pathways University of California, Irvine This presentation introduces the concept of Alternative Digital Credentials (ADC’s), sometimes referred to as “badges.” It discusses what ADCs are, how they are used, why they are important, how they are an imperative for higher education, how employers are beginning to accept and use ADCs, and what the future of ADCs might be. The basic thesis of this presentation is that ADCs are and will be a permanent feature of the higher education landscape and that societies and institutions that fail to adopt and recognize ADCs will lose their competitive advantage in the marketplace and fall short of their social responsibility.
- Here are some examples from both higher education and the corporate world of the icons used to signify that the recipient of the ADC has achieved a specific competency in a defined topic.
- To initiate the issuance of an ADC, the issuing organization or institution posts the ADC to a repository that is secure and unhackable. At the same time, the issuing organization or institution stores this posting to its own record system. After posting to the repository, the recipient may then post the ADC to any digital repository including to a resume, to LinkedIn and other social media sites, to employers and potential employers, and even to friends.
- Evidence that ADCs are indeed a higher education imperative is rapidly increasing. ADCs are already widely issued, especially by non-higher education institutions and several governments are adopting ADCs as central to higher education systems (New Zealand, Malta, Australia). As already indicated, traditional transcripts are less and less relevant to workforce demands for competency certification. ADCs fill in an important gap between learning and work relevant skill verification. The adoption of an ADC system will push universities toward greater alignment with the demands of both students and local economies, making universities more accountable for what they produce. Young adults are demanding shorter, relevant education that they can put to immediate use. The huge supply of open education available in the world represents a large opportunity for certification of competencies. Hiring practices of companies increasingly depend on digital searches for job candidates. ADCs make those competencies discoverable. ADCs are forming a system of standards and support, and employer acceptance of ADCs is increasing.
- Any implementation plan should begin with the making of several decisions, listed here. The criteria for issuance has already been discussed. Icon design may seem out of place in the early decision making process, but it turns out to be important because it has to reflect the structure of the offering. Metadata content has already been discussed and is listed in the following slide again. Ultimately, universities have to select a particular platform offer the issuance and record keeping necessary for the service.
- Selecting the criteria for the issuance of ADCs is the most important and nearly decision that must be made. The highest criteria involved is the verification of competencies, rather than learning achievement. Universities typically measure learning achievement by issuing grades. They are usually not skilled at verifying competencies—the application of learning to relevant practical applications. There will necessarily be a tension between competency-based ADCs and learning achievement based ADCs.
- These are general guidelines for the development of an icon. As institutions consider what they want in a badge they will usually find that they want to distinguish between levels of competency. The obvious way to handle this situation is to have different shapes or colors for different types of badges. This can create some problems. One factor mitigating this issue is the fact that the metadata can describe the specific badge and its scope.
- Each ADC, once “clicked on” opens up to reveal “metadata” about the ADC and the skills it verifies. This list is relatively comprehensive but not exhaustive—almost anything can be placed in the metadata section. .