Even though most employers continue to require new
hires to have college degrees, diplomas are not always the best way to show that
employees have the skills needed to do the job. That’s where digital badges are
coming into play.
“The bachelor’s degree or Ph.D. will never go away,”
Philip DiSalvio, dean of the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at
the University of Massachusetts, Boston, said in an article for University Business.
“But every higher-ed portfolio is going to have some form of alternative credential
that will demonstrate a student’s competency in certain areas.”
Digital badges, available for everything from
problem-solving to career readiness, can be posted to social media sites,
stored in digital portfolios, and displayed on specially designed platforms.
The badges are linked to lists of skills students have mastered, in addition to
the grades they’ve received.
Colleges and universities are trying to stay ahead of
the curve on badges by developing programs that recognize skills students have
acquired through their studies. Badges can connect skills needed in the
workforce to what a college teaches, as well as provide a clearer picture of a
student’s academic record.
“The reason they’re taking off in higher education is
most employers are not getting the information they need about people emerging
from higher ed,” said Jonathan Finkelstein, found and CEO of the badging
platform Credly. “The degree itself doesn’t get to the level of describing
particular competencies.”
