Digital Certificates & Badges

A micro-credential is a competency-based recognition to demonstrate mastery in a specific topic or area. Micro-credentials are digital and are posted to a learner’s e-portfolio or e-wallet. They may be earned through a collection of courses and/or experiences that help participants develop and document professional skills and competencies.

The three categories of micro-credentials offered in the CoEHD:

• Professional Pathways Badges: Mapped to skills and competencies desired in a particular professional field, these pathways generally include academic courses and/or experiential learning.
• Skill and Competency Certificates: Offered to complement the curriculum, these help earners obtain and demonstrate skills. These can include, for example, industry- recognized “hard” skills like a programming language, or “soft” skills such as critical thinking. These badges can be stand-alone or built into a course, but they are not academic credit-bearing opportunities.
• Continuing Education Badges: Used for lifelong learning, professional training in collaboration with employers, or a smaller version of a larger graduate or certificate program (often as a way recruit individuals to enroll in those programs). Partnership with a company to offer a training program that leads to a micro-credential may also fall within this category.

Micro-credentials are flexible with regard to how issuers create them, define their use, and develop their criteria. While there is no minimum or maximum number of hours or experiences required for a participant to earn a micro-credential, they must be of high-quality, meaningful, and competency-based.

Micro-credentials will be issued as an icon called a digital badge or a digital certificate. They will not appear on the academic transcript, but on the online credentialing platform Accredible. Participants will earn a micro-credential based on tangible evidence that will be uploaded to the digital badge on Accredible or BlackBoard. The unit offering the micro-credential will be required to track participant progress toward earning the credential, assess learning, and collect evidence. Departments are responsible for marketing their micro-credentials to potential participants.

The Micro-Credentialing Committee will review all applications within two weeks of submission. Please contact Dr. Lorrie Webb (lorrie.webb@tamusa.edu) with questions.

Process for CoEHD faculty and/or departments to propose a Micro-Credential:

1. Faculty will request the proposal form from the Associate Dean.
2. Faculty will complete the form, including signature from Department Chair or supervisor. 
3. Associate Dean will convene a committee of faculty to review and approve them.
4. Associate Dean will discuss committee’s review with contact person listed on the proposal.
5. Approved proposals will be submitted to the Dean for final approval.
6. Upon approval, faculty contact will design a digital badge or certificate which meets the University requirements, as well as the requirements of Accredible. All digital credentials must follow TAMU-SA and TAMU System guidelines for design and display of logos. Marketing and Communications must approve final designs.
7. Once the requirements have been fulfilled by the participants, the faculty will submit the completers information into Accredible for dispersal of the badge or certificate.