Shape the Future of Learning with UNLV Microcredentials

At UNLV, we believe in empowering our students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in today’s dynamic world. As a faculty member, you play a crucial role in this mission by developing innovative microcredentials that address emerging trends, industry needs, and student interests.

UNLV’s amazing faculty–are the researchers, teachers, and innovators, and who design and teach the for-credit courses in our microcredential program and collaborate with our employer partners to ensure that UNLV microcredentials are aligned with evolving and in-demand workforce skills. UNLV’s faculty-driven microcredential design and creation process mirrors our university’s normal process for creating classes. It starts with faculty and is guided by principles of shared governance.

How to Create a UNLV Microcredential

• Identify a Need: Consider the skills, knowledge, or competencies that are in high demand in your field and how a microcredential could address them.
• Do your “Homework”: Make sure to read through the “Microcredential Guidelines” and a “How to Propose a Microcredential” documents which are designed to help you successfully design and create microcredentials and to navigate through the proposal process. 
• Develop the Curriculum: Using your expertise and collaborating with UNLV’s instructional designers, you can create engaging, high-quality content that teaches students in-demand skills and assesses that skill attainment accurately.
• Propose a Microcredential: Faculty submit microcredential proposals in Modern Campus/Curriculog. Just like UNLV’s normal course creation proposals, faculty initiate and submit microcredential proposals through Modern Campus/Curriculog. Specifically, faculty use Curriculog proposal form 1.30 “UNLV Credit-Bearing Undergraduate Academic Microcredential Create.”
  • In the Curriculog proposal form, you will be asked to list three to five workforce competencies/skills that students will gain while earning the Microcredential.
    • Each of these skills/competencies must be linked to at least one measurable assessment (test, assignment, project, etc.) that shows how a student demonstrates knowledge attainment or competency in that specific skill.
    • For assistance with skill-related terminology and descriptions, please see The Open Rich Skill Descriptor (RSD)--a searchable database of skills, competencies, and their descriptions.
  • The approval processes for microcredentials in curriculog also mirror those for course creation. Generally microcredentials:
    1. undergo a technical review process by key administrative stakeholders, then
    2. are considered and voted on by the department/unit curriculum committee, then they
    3. are considered and voted on by the college/school curriculum committee, and finally they
    4. are considered and voted on by UNLV’s Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee.
• Launch and Assess: Once your microcredential is live, we will help you to monitor its success, gather feedback, and refine and improve the experience for future UNLV students.

When developing a UNLV microcredential, make sure to consider the digital badge taxonomy to describe the “type” and “level” of skills that students will obtain following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). The pyramid also highlights the levels required for assessment and demonstration of those KSAs.

Have Questions? We're Here to Help!

Reach out to our support team if you have any questions about creating microcredentials or need help getting started. We're here to guide you every step of the way.