For Faculty & Staff

Mission and Goals

 

UNH seeks to equip learners with accessible pathways for skill attainment and recognition to better serve our ever-evolving New Hampshire economy. A combination of applied learning experiences, credentialing, and a quality degree stack the competencies needed for graduates to succeed in today’s highly competitive job market.

Furthermore, we know that micro‐credentials can contribute to lifelong learning and professional development. As higher education and industry work together to bridge the gap of student preparedness for the workforce, the micro‐credential adds a stackable skill set to the foundational college degree.

Digital Badge Presentation
by Kenneth J. La Valley- Vice Provost, University Outreach and Engagement on 10/1/2020

 

By offering micro-credentials and digital badges, the university will:

Partner to provide employers with training programs that address the skills gap with existing employees and provide a pool of workforce ready applicants through UNH’s Embrace NH initiatives.

Do you have an idea for a micro-credential?

We suggest you work with your department or office to determine if there will be support for the program. Proposals are accepted on an on-going basis.

Step 1: Is a Micro-credential the right solution?

 

  • Does the credential provide a benefit to students that will help them to advance their educational, professional and/or life goals?
  • What are the benefits to a perspective employer?
  • Can additional credentials be added to offer value?
  • Does the credential have value locally or nationally?

  • Transparency ‐ This includes, for the benefit of a perspective employer and the student, clearly defining competencies (knowledge and specialized skills, soft skills such as written and verbal communication, teamwork, independent work, research, etc.). In addition, all possible connections from a given micro‐credential to others should be highlighted, i.e., a path to earn credit, a path to another credential, entry into a degree program, etc.
  • Modularity ‐ This is the important feature that the credential can be stackable, that additional credentials can be added to offer value
  • Portability ‐ Portability is essentially effort to ensure that the credential has value locally, nationally and/or beyond.
  • Relevance ‐ Micro‐credentials at UNH should be meaningful, providing benefit to students that helps them to advance their educational, professional and/or life goals. UNH micro‐credentials should add sufficient value that they are respected and recognized by relevant stakeholders, from the campus community to perspective employers.
  • Validity ‐ Development of micro‐credentials must take into consideration the means by which validity can be confirmed; much in the way that employers or academic institutions seek to confirm degree attainment, micro‐credentials must also be verifiable. The inclusion of meta‐data tied to distinct learning outcomes mastered and links to the institution are listed as ways to establish both relevance and validity.

Predictive Validity: There is evidence that the assessments for attaining the credential accurately predict an individual’s ability to do something in the future, on the job, or in a community of practice. Evidence of predictive validity is typically gathered by studying whether individuals who earn a passing score on an assessment or who earn the credential actually know or can actually accomplish what was claimed.

Concurrent Validity: Evidence of concurrent validity is typically gathered by looking at other sources of evidence that the individual knows something documented in an assessment and/or can carry out the job claimed by the credential.

  • Equity ‐ Because micro‐credentials can be used as a means to provide a pathway into for‐credit coursework and/or job advancement, there should be appropriate supports to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed.

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Step 2: Develop the micro-credential and submit proposal

All proposals should be reviewed by the sponsor prior to review

Step 3: Review

When the proposal is submitted, the MIcro-Credential Review Board will review the proposal and provide feedback. This may include suggested revisions. The review board meets monthly to review proposals. If revisions are recommended, please work with the Micro-Credential Review team to make the suggested changes.

When a proposal is finalized and approved by the board, the micro-credential team will configure the digital badge for distribution.