This is the fourth post in our series on the new LER briefs. Catch the intro post here if you missed it.

Here's a scenario that's becoming more common: an advisee mentions they earned a microcredential, or asks whether they should pursue one. Do you know what to say?

If not, you're not behind; this is genuinely new territory for many advisors. But it's worth getting comfortable with because, in a planned update, students' earned microcredentials will start appearing directly on their myUMBC profiles, right alongside the information you already use in advising conversations: major, GPA trends, stated career goals.

The question we hear most: does this create more work for me?

Hopefully not, and that's the point. You're not being asked to track which courses or programs include microcredentials, recommend specific ones, or manage any part of the process. The ask is much smaller: know that they exist, know where to point students, and don't get caught flat-footed if a student brings one up.

A student asks if they should pursue a microcredential. What do you say?

Treat it like you would any other elective, research opportunity, or co-curricular activity: "yes, if it fits." A microcredential doesn't replace coursework or change degree requirements; it's just one more way for a student to document and communicate what they're already doing. The real conversation is the one you're already equipped to have: does this align with where the student is trying to go?

Where do they actually show up?

Two places right now. Some are built directly into for-credit coursework: a student completes certain assignments, and the badge comes alongside the grade. Others are tied to co-curricular experiences: Shriver Center service-learning programs, student leadership roles, undergraduate research. Co-curricular ones tend to be easier to spot upfront (if a program includes a microcredential, it's usually stated clearly). Course-embedded ones are less visible in current systems,  something DCI is actively working to improve. If you're ever unsure whether a specific course or program includes one, DCI can tell you.

How do you see what an advisee already has, before myUMBC integration is live?

Ask them directly. Students can share their Accredible digital wallet:  think of it like sharing a portfolio, which can surface things you wouldn't otherwise catch in conversation. A student who's quietly earned several microcredentials in data analysis, for instance, might be a stronger fit for a research opportunity or career path than either of you had considered.

Why this is worth your attention now

Since 2015, UMBC has developed more than 250 active microcredentials across academic, student affairs, research, and co-curricular programs, and was recently selected for a national cohort focused on Learning and Employment Records. Employers and grad programs are increasingly recognizing this kind of verified skills documentation, and students who can talk about what they've earned have a real edge. Advisors are often the first to help students make that connection.

A few low-effort ways to get more comfortable with this:

• Ask a current advisee whether they have any microcredentials and, if so, have them share their Accredible wallet with you, just to see what it looks like in practice.

• Browse the UMBC badge portfolio to get a sense of what's currently available.

• If you advise students in programs with active Shriver Center, research, or leadership-based opportunities, reach out to DCI to find out what's on offer.

• If you'd like a deeper orientation for yourself or your advising team, DCI offers consultations and training.

Want the full brief? Read it here.

Questions? Submit a support ticket or reach out to the DCI team directly.

This is the third post in our series on the new LER briefs. Catch the intro post here if you missed it.

If you've earned a UMBC microcredential, do you know what's actually in it?

Not the badge image, the record behind it. Because it's more than a nice-looking icon for LinkedIn. Every UMBC microcredential is built from four specific pieces:

• The skill — a specific, named competency. Not "teamwork," but something concrete, like "facilitated cross-functional team decision-making."

• The evidence — a description of what you actually did to earn it: the project, the task, the work you produced.

• The assessment — how it was evaluated, the criteria you had to meet, and confirmation that you met them.

• The issuer — UMBC. Which means anyone who looks at it can verify it's real, not just self-reported.

That combination is the whole point. It's the difference between saying you can do something on a resume and actually proving it.

Why this matters more than it used to

Employers are leaning more heavily on skills-based hiring than ever, focusing on what candidates can actually do, not just where they went to school. And with AI-generated resumes and cover letters becoming the norm, a verified, UMBC-backed record of what you did and how it was assessed carries more weight than another bullet point that reads like everyone else's.

So what do you actually do with one?

• Add it to LinkedIn. Accredible makes this simple: it appears as a clickable, verified credential.

• Use it in applications. "I have a UMBC-verified credential in [skill]" lands differently than "I'm familiar with [skill]."

• Bring it up in interviews. It hands you a concrete story: what you did, how it was assessed, what you learned. That specificity is what people remember.

• Put it in grad school or scholarship applications. A verified competency makes a stronger case than a course title ever could.

• Include it in your digital portfolio. Verified credentials can help demonstrate skills alongside class projects, internships, and research experiences.
  
  

Not sure if you have one, or how to find opportunities?

Some microcredentials are built directly into coursework; complete the assignments, and the badge comes with your grade. Others live outside the classroom entirely: Shriver Center programs, student leadership roles, research opportunities. If you're not sure what's available to you, your academic advisor is a good place to start.

This is yours. It doesn't expire when you graduate, and it doesn't depend on anyone else remembering what you accomplished. Whether you've already got one or you're just learning this exists, it's part of your story — worth telling.

Want the full guide? Read the full student brief here.

Questions? Submit a support ticket or reach out to the DCI team directly.

This is the second post in our series on the new LER briefs. Catch the intro post here if you missed it.

In January, six faculty members spent two days in UMBC's first Microcredential Mapping Bootcamp, a hands-on workshop for turning existing course learning outcomes into proposal-ready microcredentials. All six left either having submitted a proposal or actively planning one. Here's some of what they said afterward:

"I am very excited about some of the possibilities for what we can do with [microcredentials across my] program going forward."

"There was a lot covered that I did not anticipate but really appreciated... I plan to put provided language into the syllabus for this semester."

The overall sentiment: the experience felt energizing and practical, not bureaucratic. The most common request wasn't for less content; it was for more hands-on drafting time.

That reaction gets at something worth sitting with: faculty aren't being asked to do something new. If you write learning outcomes and design assessments, you're already doing the work a microcredential recognizes. The proposal process is really just about presenting that work in a format that travels with a student beyond a gradebook. For example, a student who demonstrates proficiency in data visualization, community engagement, or laboratory techniques can carry evidence of that learning beyond the course itself. 

Why this is picking up momentum

UMBC's microcredential ecosystem has been building since 2015, but the landscape around it has shifted fast in the past year. Employers are increasingly hiring on demonstrated skills rather than degree alone, a practice now used by a large majority of employers globally. Congress held a hearing this past December specifically on Learning and Employment Records, and new federal legislation introduced this spring aims to build state-level infrastructure around verified credentials. UMBC's decade of groundwork here is now shaping how other University System of Maryland institutions, and institutions across the country, approach the same problem.

None of that means faculty need to become workforce development experts. It just means the moment is good for making visible what your students can already do by the end of your course, not just what grade they earned.

A few ways to get involved, at whatever level makes sense for you:

• Learn — Get familiar with how the program works. DCI offers consultations and an asynchronous, online microcredential design course launching soon.

• Create — If your course has clear, measurable learning outcomes, you likely already have the foundation for a proposal. DCI supports the whole process, start to finish. Keep an eye out on this myUMBC group for more information about opportunities.

• Advocate — Faculty who've been through the process are the most effective messengers to colleagues.

• Review — The Microcredential Review Board is seeking faculty reviewers across disciplines, a role similar in spirit to serving as an editor or reviewer for a journal, conference, or grant panel.

Want the fuller picture? Read the full faculty brief here.

Questions in the meantime? Submit a support ticket or reach out to the DCI team directly.

If you've bumped into the word "microcredential" on campus this year, in a course, an advising conversation, a hallway conversation, a Shriver Center flyer, you've probably noticed it means something a little different depending on who's saying it.

A student thinks about it as something to put on a resume. A faculty member thinks about it as an extension of the learning outcomes they already write. An advisor wonders if it's one more thing to track. An employer wonders if it's actually worth anything. And folks working in policy see it as part of a much bigger national conversation about how skills are recognized outside a transcript.

All of those framings are correct. But none of them are complete on their own.

So instead of writing one generic explainer and hoping it landed for everyone, the Digital Credential Innovation (DCI) team built five audience-specific briefs — each one answering the questions that particular audience actually asks, in the language they actually use.

Starting next week, we'll be featuring one brief a week here on myUMBC:

• Faculty — Your Teaching Already Does This. Let's Make It Count.

• Students — Your Skills, Verified.

• Academic Advisors — Microcredentials and Your Advising Conversations

• Employers — What Your Next Great Hire Can Actually Prove

• Government Relations & Policy Audiences — Digital Credentials and Maryland's Workforce Future

Why now? UMBC was selected for the inaugural cohort of the national LER (Learning and Employment Records) Accelerator, one of only 25 institutions nationwide, and Maryland had more institutions represented than any other state. Congress held a bipartisan hearing on LERs this past December, and federal legislation introduced this spring aims to build state-level infrastructure for verified credentials. In other words, the work UMBC has been building since 2015 is increasingly relevant to a much bigger conversation, and it felt like the right moment to ensure every part of our community understands where they fit into it.

Each post in this series will pull out something worth knowing from that audience's brief, not just a summary, but the parts we think are genuinely interesting or useful, with a link to the full brief if you want to go deeper.

First up next week: faculty, and the case that you're probably already doing the work microcredentials recognize; you just haven't had a way to document it yet.

Questions in the meantime? Submit a support ticket or reach out to the DCI team directly.