Microcredentials

Microcredential:

A Microcredential is an umbrella term for several types of small-scale, skill-based, earned recognitions of proficiency in a designated competency or set of competencies. Types of microcredentials include digital badges, certificates, licenses, endorsements, and assessed PDUs/CEUs.   

Programs that award microcredentials should have these three characteristics: 

• The skill, competency, or knowledge must be corroborated through some form of assessment
• It is of smaller scale, focused on a subset of skills or competencies
• It focuses on skills or competencies that can be directly linked to career growth, career change, or professional development.

Digital Badge:

Digital Skill Badges are a type of credential that can be awarded for completing a microcredential. Badges are to microcredentials as diplomas are to degree programs.  

Note that we have 2 types of Badges: 

1. Skill Badge (digital): A kind of microcredential. It is a validated digital record of the demonstrated competency, skill, or knowledge achieved through the learning activity. The badge contains detailed metadata about the learner and their achievements, including such information as who earned it, who issued it, criteria required to earn it, associated learning outcomes, and the means by which competency in the relevant skills was assessed. In the case of CU Denver, our digital badges will be hosted by Credly. To earn a Skill Badge, the skill, competency, or knowledge must be corroborated through some form of assessment.  
2. Recognition Badge (digital): A digital artifact available to recognize unassessed learning activities or to be used for awards or other recognitions of achievement or service. These badges will also be hosted by Credly. 

Certificate

All certificates are microcredentials. Credit-bearing certificates follow the required HLC/CU/CLAS definitions for a certificate.

Micro Certificate

A micro certificate is any program with fewer than the required number of credits for a certificate, but more than a singular course. 

Microcredential Course

A microcredential course is any skill-based course approved as a microcredential that meets credit-hour requirements for a 1 credit course or more.

Noncredit Microcredentials

Noncredit certificates, micro certificates, courses, or other experiences can also be created as microcredentials. These are distinct in that they do not award academic credit and do not require the same approval processes as credit-bearing microcredentials.

Credit Ready Microcredentials

Credit ready microcredentials are noncredit microcredentials that are articulated to credit-bearing courses or programs.

Skill Badge

Digital skill badges are a type of credential that can be awarded for completing a microcredential. Not all microcredentials need to include a digital skill badge. Badges are to microcredentials as diplomas are to degree programs.  

Noncredit microcredentials are not academically assessed and do not require approval from EPCC. Credit bearing microcredentials are assessed and will need to be approved by the EPCC process.  See the flowchart below for details on these processes.

EPCC Approval Notes

1. Academic departments may use existing topics courses to test out new microcredential ideas prior to submitting them to EPCC for formal approval.  

2. EPCC will use existing guidelines around program goals/outcomes, evaluation, procedures, impact, and viability to approve new microcredentials.  

3. EPCC will consider the following criteria for determining whether a program has an appropriate need for a skills badge: 

• Linking it to professional standards 
• Basing it on skills that are known to be needed in the market, such as through market data or employer surveys 
• Addressing skills needed to advance along a specified professional pathway 
• Basing it on documented student and/or industry partner feedback 

Skills Badges 

Microcredentials may or may not be accompanied by a skills badge. New skills badges may be requested for existing credit courses, bundles of courses, or certificate programs. 

Noncredit Microcredentials

Noncredit courses, micro certificates, and programs do not need to be approved by EPCC. Noncredit courses are scheduled in CU SIS and award continuing education units (CEUs) that are calculated using the 1 CEU = 10 contact hours formula. CEUs appear on a CU Denver noncredit transcript.  

Recognition Badges 

Since recognition badges are unassessed, they do not require approval from EPCC, but will require a review by the CLAS Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Community Relationships.

CLAS Contact 

For more information on CLAS microcredentials or badges, please contact the CLAS Program Director for Program Innovation & Support, Kristen Kang Salsbury.  

Additional Information

For more information, please visit the Microcredential Development page and the Digital Badges page on CU Denver's Division for Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy (TIPS) website.