Abstract
Digital badges are often contrasted with transcripted degrees and certificates traditionally offered by universities. As micro-credentials, badges may be issued by employers and professional organizations, and accessed and used flexibly by learners. But universities themselves can also appropriate badging practices. In this chapter a university-based research team reports efforts to plan and launch badging systems at two levels: (1) individual course level; and (2) program level. Each level is presented as a mini-case, showing its role in contributing to eventual school-wide adoption. Then university-wide infrastructure and support is discussed.
In the first case, an early-adopting instructor developed badge options for students certifying specific and specific skill mastery within individual courses. This initial work led to broader scale plans within a master’s plan of study as described in case two. The role of early adopters is highlighted—individuals committed to the concept and willing to iteratively try things out and develop systems over time. Then the badging infrastructure is described, including the instructional support system and plans to increase faculty awareness and participation as a means to increase adaption university-wide.
The concluding section reflects on the potential impacts of badging practices, including outreach, marketing, and within the university. Badges can help academic programs move away from seat-time models and toward a competency-based approach to curriculum. Finally, recommendations are offered for beginning and growing badge programs within a university setting—from infrastructure to implementation.
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Wilson, B.G., Gasell, C., Ozyer, A., Scrogan, L. (2016). Adopting Digital Badges in Higher Education: Scoping the Territory. In: Ifenthaler, D., Bellin-Mularski, N., Mah, DK. (eds) Foundation of Digital Badges and Micro-Credentials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15425-1_9
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