Digital Credentialing Pilot Program Announces Universitywide Expansion

A digital credentialing system piloted by EWU Professional & Continuing Education (PCE) has transitioned to a university-wide pilot as Eastern moves to expand portable, digital, verifiable records to all for-credit and non-credit courses.

PCE is partnering with Eastern’s faculty and staff to develop a skills-based taxonomy that represents instructors’ course learning outcomes in the form of digital credentials, or badges.

Christi Harter, assistant vice president of PCE, says that what began as an early exploration has developed into a structured credentialing framework that is now being tested in select academic and co-curricular programs across campus.

“As interest in digital badging expanded, it became important to establish clear and consistent processes,” Harter says. “PCE has developed a workflow that guides badge development from initial conversation through issuance.”

Digital badging is being adopted by universities worldwide as higher education works to help students and graduates connect skills-based academic experiences to workforce needs. Unlike the transcripts of the past, credentials issued through Parchment, a secure global digital credentialling platform, represent clearly defined skills or competencies in readily verifiable badges owned by student learners.

Harter says such skills-based badging offers a forward-thinking way of aligning job seekers’ competencies with employers’ specific needs which supports the related component of EWU’s strategic plan.

“In this way, badges offer a more detailed and verifiable account of what a student is able to do while complementing the academic achievements provided by a transcript,” Harter says.

During the next phase of EWU’s digital credentialing project, which will continue through September 2027, PCE will continue to collaborate with departments across campus.

Framework for EWU’s digital badging system has been a work-in-progress. PCE initially tested several platforms in partnership with Eastern’s Department of Wellness and Movement Sciences. It went on to form the EWU Credentialing Committee, which recently transitioned to the EWU Digital Badge Steering Committee.*

Harter says the pilot accomplished the following:

Created digital badge governance.
Utilized a skills-taxonomy system through TalentNeuron, a platform embedded in Parchment that provides a common language for how skills are defined.
Established a request process for a university-wide digital badging model.
Hosted informational workshops for faculty, staff and students.

Digital credentialing has been successfully implemented for 14 EWU courses so far, including Geographic Information Systems; Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages; Introduction to Blockchain; AI for Professional Work and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (with badges awarded for completion of each of the nine separate courses and a final awarded for the entire TEFL certificate).

Campus feedback has been largely positive, Harter says. “Students have been excited to earn their digital badges – and faculty like that the digital badge request process is now easily accessible and are looking forward to the process being further streamlined through the EWU Digital Badge Steering Committee.”

EWU faulty members Stu Steiner, Travis Masingale and Luis Matos, for example, recently signed on to complete a Complete College America workshop to learn how to embed an industry-recognized microcredential into their courses, which will be badged through PCE and other faculty are in the process of coming on board.

For faculty members interested in getting started, PCE with guidance from the Digital Badge Steering Committee is creating a walkthrough guide (soon to be available online) and in upcoming months will provide a new round of informational workshops for students, faculty and staff.

To learn more, visit the EWU Digital Badging website.

*EWU Digital Badge Steering Committee Representatives:

Christi Harter (Lead) | Assistant Vice President | Professional & Continuing Education
Sue Magyar | Director | Interdisciplinary Studies
Ashley Stettler | Business Manager | Professional & Continuing Education
Mikyla Sears | Program Coordinator | Professional & Continuing Studies
Ryan Weldon | Assistant Director | Career Development
Aimee Pope | Registrar | Records & Registration
Natalie Mack | Associate Director | Center for Academic Advising & Retention
Mark Ward | Management Analyst & Academic Planning | Records & Registration
Brandon Welte | Office Assistant 2 | Interdisciplinary Studies
Jim Ryan | Instructional Designer | Academic Affairs
Staci Rasmussen | Director of Sector Growth & Innovation | Greater Spokane Inc.