Innovations in the Design and Application of Alternative Digital Credentials (Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development)

The world of academic credentials is going through a rapid change that has seen the emergence of alternate digital credentials. Among these are micro-certificates, digital diplomas, and open digital badges, which provide a digital record of learning and have the possibility of not only altering the landscape of academic credentials but also transforming the relationship between institutions of higher education, their learners, and society. As institutions turn their attention to alternate digital credentials, it is important to learn from what others have experienced. Innovations in the Design and Application of Alternative Digital Credentials identifies innovative examples of the use of alternate digital credentials to validate specific skills within an existing academic program or on their own. Alternate digital credentials may be how specific skills (hard or soft) are validated with an emphasis on their relationship to enhance employability and recognition within an industry. Covering a wide range of topics such as micro-credentials, badge-driven learning, and traditional credentials, this handbook is ideal for researchers, students, academicians, and administrative decision makers, as well as those who support and finance learning systems and theories and those already involved in the design and application of alternate digital credentials at the post-secondary level. Quality accreditation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is currently a buzzword. The need to maintain high-quality education standards is a critical requirement for HEIs to remain competitive in the market and for government and regulatory bodies to ensure the quality standards of programs offered. From being an implicit requirement that is internally addressed, quality assurance activities become an explicit requirement that is regularly audited and appraised by national and international accreditation agencies. HEIs are voluntarily integrating quality management systems (QMS), institutional and program-specific, in response to the political and competitive environment in which it exists. Through its higher education department or by creating non-profitable accreditation bodies, many governments have implemented a quality framework for licensing HEIs and invigilates its adherence based on which accreditation statuses are granted for HEIs. Global Perspectives on Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education Institutions provides a comprehensive framework for HEIs to address quality assurance and quality accreditation requirements and serves as a practical tool to develop and deploy well-defined quality management systems in higher education. The book focuses on the critical aspects of quality assurance; the need to develop a concise and agile vision, mission, values, and graduate attributes; and to develop a system that effectively aligns the various activities of the HEI to the attainment of the strategic priorities listed in the institutional plans. The chapters each cover the various facets of the quality assurance framework and accreditation agencies'requirements with practical examples of each. This book is useful for HEI administrators, quality assurance specialists in HEIs, heads of academic departments, internal auditors, external auditors, and other practitioners of quality, along with stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in quality assurance and accreditation in higher education. With increasingly interconnected educational and employment ecosystems, credential innovations are trailblazing multiple pathways to professions at a pivotal moment of rapid change. In the current state of credential proliferation, the quest for simultaneous improvement of quality and value reflects heightened cross-sector interests, while at the same time the quest for concurrent enhancement of access and success remains. With the evolving educational models, technologies, and organizations, credential innovations will continue to serve as powerful catalysts in realizing the great promise for inclusive pathways to professions. The Handbook of Research on Credential Innovations for Inclusive Pathways to Professions surveys the state of credential innovations, examines trends and issues, and explores models and strategies with case studies across sectors and disciplines. The 21 chapters are organized in three sections. Section I, Credential Innovations Amid Evolving Ecosystems, features a powerful array of change theories-in-action with topics ranging from conceptual re-visioning to organizational restructuring and programmatic reengineering within evolving ecosystems. Section II, Credential Innovations and Propositions Across Sectors, spotlights diverse approaches to and propositions of credentials within complex socio-economic landscapes across education, business, and technology industries. Section III, Credential Innovation Models and Strategies, showcases institutional innovations ranging from model developments, pedagogical approaches, and personalized engagements to outcome measurements and strategies for sustainable implementation. Lessons learned and implications are explored to share promising practices, inform current development, and influence future policies toward inclusive excellence in education and the workplace. Self-directed learning is a concept that has been in circulation for centuries, though the topic experiences lulls and surges as contemporary theories identify advantages or improvements to better align the topic with contemporary learning environments. Self-directed learning is an instructional strategy where students accept a leadership role in their own learning practice and an increasingly significant learning technique for undergraduate students performing in a technologically and globally advanced college arena. Self-Directed Learning and the Academic Evolution From Pedagogy to Andragogy is an essential reference book that supports a student shift from passive pedagogical learning to active andragogical exploration and specifically shift from seeking mastery of basic skills to recognizing and reassessing the structure of personal assumptions, expectations, feelings, and actions. It fills the gap between theory-laden academic books designed to help academic faculty incorporate self-directed learning activities into their courses and the self-help books designed to help motivate individuals to learn new skills. This book is designed to specifically empower college students to accept a leadership role in their academic journey. Covering topics such as self-directed learning, lifelong learning, educational leadership, and competency-based education, this book is a foundational resource for teachers, instructional designers, administrators, curriculum developers, academicians, researchers, and students. Coaching has become such a ubiquitous concept that it can connote any professional practice for empowering people and unlocking their potential to make the most of their performance and achieve their goals. This can be accomplished by establishing collaborative relationships between the coach and coachee (the person being coached) based on the effective communication and professional skills of the coach, which include the ability to create a safe environment, ask effective questions, pay attention, listen actively, keep an open mind, stay non-judgmental, paraphrase, challenge, and give and accept constructive feedback while remaining respectful. The higher education sector is one of the key areas that can benefit from adopting coaching practices. Coaching Applications and Effectiveness in Higher Education provides relevant applications of coaching and their effectiveness within the sector of higher education. This branches out to teaching and learning and involves students, staff, and staff development. Chapters include information on coaching models, coaching in blended environments and with technology, coaching effectiveness, and coaching equity. This book is ideal for researchers working in the field of coaching and higher education in different disciplines, coaches, HR and management, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students who want to improve their understanding of where coaching can be applied in higher education and its effectiveness. The roles that corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business support of democracy play in American higher education are infrequently discussed, though very important. There are many ethical issues that concern both corporate interests as well as higher education, linking the two more than many would think. It is necessary to understand the environment, inter-organizational relationships, and documents holistically to observe the rich history, pluralistic American societal issues, and relevant milestones between corporate America and higher education. Partnership Motives and Ethics in Corporate Investment in Higher Education provides comprehensive documentation of business and corporate entanglements with higher education. This work discusses the historic journey of funding from business and U.S. corporate engagement in American higher education. Covering topics such as academy-business relationships, philanthropic partnerships, and transactional partnerships, this work is essential for professors, executives, managers, faculty, fundraisers, leaders in higher education, researchers, students, and academicians with interests in CSR, business ethics, and higher education. Cover 1 Title Page 2 Copyright Page 3 Book Series 4 Editorial Advisory Board 6 Table of Contents 7 Detailed Table of Contents 9 Preface 14 Chapter 1: A Case Study in Micro-Learning and Alternate Credentials Before Their Time 18 Chapter 2: Micro Credentialing in the Landscape of Higher Education 47 Chapter 3: Taking a Student-Centred Approach to Alternative Digital Credentials 74 Chapter 4: A Guide to Innovation in the Adoption of Alternative Digital Credentials 87 Chapter 5: 360-Degree View of Digital Open Badge-Driven Learning 112 Chapter 6: Alternative Digital Credentials in Higher Education 148 Chapter 7: Curing the Common Curriculum 162 Chapter 8: Current Advancements and Future Prospects of Alternative Digital Credentials (ADCs) in a Technology-Disrupted World 190 Chapter 9: Visibilization of Graduating Student Employability Skills via ePortfolio Practices 208 Compilation of References 249 About the Contributors 279 Index 287 "While traditional degrees will remain somewhat important to employers, this book evaluates how alternative forms of learning verifications (alternate digital credentials) are quickly creating a new system of skill and knowledge validation for the marketplace to not only validate knowledge and skills related to skills typically associated with careers, but also to the many soft or transversal skills which are key in succeeding in today's workplace"-- Provided by publisher. "This book investigates the state of credential innovations, exam issues and trends, share promising theories and practices, and explore implications with case studies highlighting a broad range of credentials issued through agencies such as institutions of higher education (IHEs), local educational agencies (LEAs), private industries, regulatory agencies, and/or professional associations"-- Provided by publisher. "This authored book provides a comprehensive documentation of business and corporate entanglements with higher education discussing the importance of corporate social responsibility and business support of democracy and American higher education by identifying institutional motives and ethics for consideration in each type of collaborative interaction"-- Provided by publisher Surveys the state of e-credential exam practices and explores future impactions with case studies highlighting e-credentials and alternative e-credentials. The book increases the quality and value of e-credentials through collective research and development, and improves the validity of e-credentials through multi-sector partnerships. An essential reference book that supports a student shift from passive pedagogical learning to active andragogical exploration and specifically shift from seeking mastery of basic skills to recognising and reassessing the structure of personal assumptions, expectations, feelings, and actions. "This book reviews the benefits of coaching among higher education professionals and provides relevant applications of coaching and their effectiveness within the sector of for those stakeholders who want to improve their understanding of coaching in general"-- Provided by publisher "This book fills the gap between theory-laden academic books designed to help academic faculty incorporate self-directed learning activities into their courses and the self-help books designed to help motivate individuals to learn new skills"-- Provided by publisher "This book covers Quality Assurance in Higher Education, offering frameworks to address QA and quality accreditation requirement in higher education systems around the world"-- Provided by publisher