Alternative Digital Credentials in Higher Education

2022 ◽  
pp. 131-144
Author(s):  
Courtney Breckenridge ◽  
Mary Ettling ◽  
Tony Fuhrmann ◽  
Robert P. Dixon ◽  
Wyatt E. Bridger
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Digital Badges ◽  
Prior Learning ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Current Program ◽  
Institutional Strategies ◽  
Project Objectives

Alternative digital credentials (ADCs), also known as digital badges, demonstrate great promise as a strategy for closing the skills gap and supporting the alignment of industry skills with traditional and nontraditional higher education programs. The authors seek to highlight advances in ADC development in a public university setting, demonstrating how higher education institutions can weave ADCs into both traditional classrooms and larger community initiatives such as workforce development and non-credit offerings. The chapter details the institution's ADC pathway from conception to a workforce development project awarded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic including key project objectives, strategies, and best practices. The authors also discuss the use of existing learning resources and tools such as EMSI, Jove, and augmented reality technology, including learner reviews from current program participants. Finally, institutional strategies for prior learning assessment and integration of digital badges into undergraduate degree programs are discussed.

scholarly journals Enabling practitioners working with young people who self-harm

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste Foster ◽  
Lynsey Birch ◽  
Shelly Allen ◽  
Gillian Rayner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Clinical Guidelines ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Harm

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline a UK-based interdisciplinary workforce development project that had the aim of improving service delivery for children and young people who self-harm or are feeling suicidal. Design/methodology/approach – This innovative practice-higher-education partnership utilised an iterative consultation process to establish the local workforce need and then facilitated the systematic synthesis and presentation of evidence-based clinical guidelines in a practical format, for staff working directly with young people who self-harm in non-mental health settings. Findings – The development, content and structure of this contextualised resource is presented, along with emerging outcomes and learning from the team. It is anticipated that this may also be a useful strategy and resource for other teams in other areas and is intended to provide a template that can be adapted by other localities to meet the specific needs of their own workforce. Practical implications – The paper demonstrates how higher education-practice partnerships can make clinical guidelines and research evidence in a field often thought of as highly specialist, accessible to all staff. It also shows a process of liaison and enhanced understanding across universal/specialist mental health service thresholds. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates how collaborative partnerships can work to bridge the gap between evidence-based guidelines and their implementation in practice, through innovative multi-agency initiatives.

The Role of Financing Higher Education in Nigerian Universities in Achieving Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-578
Author(s):  
Samir Mohamad Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Private University ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Higher Education Financing ◽  
The University ◽  
Financing Higher Education ◽  
The Impact

The current study aims to identify the role of financing higher education in Nigerian universities in the state of Kano and its impact on sustainable development. The study problem lies in the low funding of higher education in Nigerian universities, which will negatively affect the sustainability of higher education and sustainable development. The importance of the study is highlighted by highlighting the importance of financing higher education in Nigerian universities and the sources of obtaining this funding as one of the most important factors through which students can complete their studies. The study followed the qualitative approach with the aim of obtaining more accurate information about traditional higher education financing sources and its impact on the sustainability of education and achieving sustainable development. The study population reached the number of three Nigerian universities, which are a governmental, federal and private university, to learn about the impact of financing higher education in Nigerian universities on sustainable development. The sample of the study was about three out of five of those responsible for financing higher education in Nigerian universities. Also, the study followed unstructured or open interviews in order to obtain more information about financing higher education and whether or not it is suitable for the idea of a monetary endowment. The results of the study showed that the sources of financing for higher education in traditional Nigerian universities are varied, including what can be obtained through the endowment and donations fund that can be made through community initiatives, and the results of the study also indicated that the idea of a monetary endowment faces great challenges in its application, so the idea is subject to acceptance and rejection. According to the nature of the university and the nature of the subjects taught. The study recommended the necessity of expanding the study of the impact of financing higher education in Nigerian universities by expanding the scope of study to include all Nigerian states.

Supporting learners’ STEM-oriented career pathways with digital badges

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline R. Pitt ◽  
Adam Bell ◽  
Rose Strickman ◽  
Katie Davis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Digital Badges ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Learning Pathways ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the potential for digital badges to support alternate learning and career pathways in formal and informal learning environments. Stakeholder groups in higher education and industry discussed how digital badges might transform current processes of admitting undergraduate students and hiring young professionals. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 stakeholders in higher education and the technology industry. Findings Interview participants expressed optimism about the potential for digital badges to make learning pathways visible to learners and external audiences and to promote equity in STEM (STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and careers. Participants noted several obstacles, largely focused on issues of credibility and logistics of working with badges across settings. Research limitations/implications Though the research approach is limited in geographic scope, the findings have broad applicability and insight for the use of digital badges in general. Practical implications Education policymakers, employers and scholars will be able to use the insights from this investigation in their efforts to find innovative ways to expand and diversify the STEM workforce, as well as support a wider range of learners than is currently supported by initiatives aligned with the school-to-workforce pipeline metaphor. Originality/value This paper directly confronts issues of real-world applications of digital badges by discussing practical implications with college admissions officers and employers. The current study fills a need for research that investigates the use of digital badges across – as opposed to within – contexts.

Support and Recognition for Workplace Learning

1991 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-208
Author(s):  
Lois Lamdin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Prior Learning ◽  
Prior Learning Assessment ◽  
The Usa

In this article, Lois Lamdin reviews current perceptions of ‘employability’ in the USA, the kind and extent of training sponsored by industry, and the difficulties perceived by industry in interacting with higher education in relation to training. She stresses the importance of recognizing the workplace as learning place, discusses the development and benefits of prior learning assessment, and sets out the importance of establishing a national credentialling system for the workforce, taking into account the variety of academic and non-academic ways learning is achieved. Finally, she describes the existing work of the Employee Growth and Development Programs of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, which demonstrate how business, unions, government, and higher education can work together to help respond to the crucial challenge of training and retraining a national workforce.

Anthropology and Development Planning

1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 6-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Partridge
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Interorganizational Relationships ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Project Objectives

A development project "is alive, it changes its form and develops, or it declines" (Opler, Morris E. Social Aspects of Technical Assistance. p. 70. Amsterdam: UNESCO, 1954). Conditions in the natural history of a development project are different in its conception phase as compared to its construction phase, or two years after it is in operation, or a generation later—project objectives evolve, personnel come and go, interorganizational relationships shift, program designs are modified, and the uses to which social scientific data and analysis are put change over the life of the project. The evaluation of the socioeconomic and cultural impacts of a project undertaken at only one stage is, perforce, unsystematic and only rarely comprehensively analytical. When anthropologists enter a development project, it is often as technicians. They are fieldworkers on sojourns from academe, hired to carry out studies and write reports and leave the decisions to others. Our wholistic perspective does not assist us in achieving systematic and comprehensive analyses of impacts when we are limited in this way.

Open, Flexible and Participatory Pedagogy in the Era of Globalisation

2014 ◽  
pp. 8-23
Author(s):  
Catherine McLoughlin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Institutional Strategies ◽  
Open Education Resources

The socio-political and economic conditions of the world signal that the global society is moving towards an era of international, cross-border collaboration in education. International higher education by its very nature sits at an intersection of socio-cultural, economic, and geopolitical variables. Over the years, we have seen the complex interaction of the factors that influence patterns of student mobility, institutional strategies and economic forces. Worldwide, institutions of higher education (IHEs) are including global and international themes in their mission statements, courses, and strategic plans. Internationalization is seen as the integration of an international/intercultural dimension into teaching, research, and service of an institution. Internationalizing educational delivery can require significant change and is systematically complex, requiring faculty, staff, students, administrators, and community members who aspire to communicate with, understand, and connect with the diverse 21st-century global community. In this globally connected millennium, as institutions are moving towards Open Access and the use of OER (Open Education Resources) to widen participation and access to higher education, there is a consequent need to redesign pedagogy, teacher roles, and the use of technology to support learning.

Workforce Development and Higher Education Partnerships

2019 ◽  
pp. 369-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheena Copus Stewart ◽  
James E. Witte ◽  
Maria Martinez Witte
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Collaborative Relationships ◽  
Higher Education Partnerships ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Collaborative Efforts

Workforce development and higher education can benefit from collaborative efforts that incorporate and apply teaching, learning, and research from a variety of environments. This chapter introduces the context of workforce development innovation and the impact on employees. Partnerships, in general, are defined and workforce development and higher education partnerships are examined that have influenced building collaborative relationships. Also included is a review of best practices and future trends related to workforce development and higher education partnerships.

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