University of Phoenix Announces Milestone Issuing Over 600,000 Digital Badges for Working Adult Learners
June 25 2024 - 4:46PM
Business Wire
University of Phoenix digital badges help
working adult learners demonstrate skills attainment and workplace
relevancy and opportunity
University of Phoenix is participating this week in the Society
for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference, Booth #1417, and
celebrating the milestone of 601,589 digital badges issued to the
University’s working adult learners in skills-tagged curriculum
programs since September 2021, for skills obtained in
undergraduate, graduate, and professional development courses.
Digital badges are available in 48 degree programs and students can
earn badges through additional opportunities in select programs as
well as professional development courses.
A recent SHRM study advocates that in a tight labor market,
equitable “whole person” hiring that considers life skills,
aptitude, and skills-based employment practices rather than
focusing solely on degrees can help address workforce challenges.
University of Phoenix anticipated this market transition and
introduced digital badges for single or combinations of skills
obtained in select undergraduate, graduate, and professional
development courses. Digital badges offer students a clear way to
communicate exactly the skills they have learned to current and
potential employers.
“In today’s job market, skills matter. Employers of all types
are increasingly focusing more on skills, in and outside of
degrees,” states John Woods, Ph.D., provost and chief academic
officer. “We want our students to find value both in their degree
and also throughout their learning journey. Digital badges provide
assessed evidence of skills that learners have gained in their
degree programs or courses and support their efforts to more
quickly identify career opportunities and transitions.”
As of June 2024, University of Phoenix offers 384 digital badges
for assessed skills and has issued over 601,589 digital badges to
more than 173,000 learners. Since launching digital badges in 2021,
University of Phoenix has seen the monthly acceptance rate grow and
it currently stands at 62%.
The University offers badges for undergraduate courses required
in most degree programs. Called the Phoenix Success Series, these
courses provide undergraduate students the opportunity early in
their programs to earn digital skills badges including: Intentional
Communicator, Reflective Communicator, Reflective Decision Maker,
Reflective Problem Solver, Strategic Problem Solver, and
Intentional Problem Solver. New badges have been added for skills
in Quantitative Reasoning, Qualitative Reasoning, and Teamwork,
Collaboration and Conflict Resolution. There have been 377,875
Phoenix Success Series badges earned as of June 2024. Additionally,
the University provides digital skills badges aligned with
University Learning Goals, for which 212,117 digital badges have
been earned.
University of Phoenix continues to develop new badges in
response to labor market changes, highlighting durable as well as
technical skills that have become more prominent in recent years.
New badges for skills obtained in College of Business and
Information Technology programs and courses include Data Driven
Decision Making, Organizational Leadership, and Relationship
Building in the Bachelor of Science in Business program (BSB), and
Business Planning, Financial Management, Operational Efficiency,
and Strategic Leadership in the Master’s of Business Administration
(MBA) degree program. The College of Nursing has developed an
Emergency Preparedness badge in the Registered Nurse to Bachelor of
Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) degree program, and the College of
Social and Behavioral Sciences has developed a badge for Crisis
Support available in Master’s of Science in Counseling
programs.
University of Phoenix works with labor market researchers
including Lightcast, Industry Advisory Councils, and expert faculty
in their fields, to identify, tag, and map employer sought-after
skills in curriculum, and students’ progress are made visible
through their profile dashboard. Students can then claim digital
badges, using the Credly platform, to display skills across
multiple platforms including resumes, social media and digital
platforms as proof of learning for potential employers, current
employers, and colleagues.
In 2023, the University’s innovative skills-aligned curriculum
culminated in 100 percent of associate, bachelor’s and master’s
degree programs open for new enrollment being fully skills-mapped.
The University issued a white paper in November 2023 providing a
foundational reflection of the University of Phoenix focus on
providing career-relevant, skills-based education and authentic
assessment for working adult students.
As a member of the SHRM Recertification Provider network,
University of Phoenix offers eight non-credit, self-led
professional development courses that provide recertification
credits for the SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP®) and SHRM
Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP®), focusing on topics
including diversity, equity and inclusion, communication
leadership, and business acumen. Each course aligns to the SHRM
Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (SHRM BASK™) and provides 30
professional development credits (PDCs) upon successful completion.
SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, SHRM BASK, and SHRM Body of Applied Skills and
Knowledge are registered trademarks of Society for Human Resource
Management.
University of Phoenix has a SHRM Affiliated Student Chapter,
dedicated to the professional development of students pursuing
careers in human resource management, business administration,
industrial and organizational psychology, and closely related
fields of study; currently enrolled University of Phoenix students
are eligible for a discount on SHRM memberships.
Learn more here about the SHRM annual conference.
About University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance
their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world.
Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning,
skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree
programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students
more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while
balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit
phoenix.edu.
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Sharla Hooper University of Phoenix
sharla.hooper@phoenix.edu