Tara J Konya (University of New England) and Sonja Strahl (University of Maryland Global Campus) have written an article on why badges are not the solution to the skills-credentialling challenge. The authors share how they previously embedded skills-based digital credentials into their online programs, with the goal of helping graduates to articulate what they had learned to employers. Through that process, they learned that the term “skills” means something different to different stakeholders, that course outcomes are not equivalent to skills, and that the data used to inform badges is rarely gathered in a straightforward manner. Based on those learnings, Konya and Strahl outline several recommendations for other continuing education teams looking to better recognize skills.
