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

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.