University of Phoenix announces innovative alliance with Credly using skills-tagging to generate and verify career-relevant digital credentials for students
By Sharla Hooper
Innovative process designed by the institution helps learners Career with Confidence™
University of Phoenix and digital credentialing leader Credly have teamed up to offer skills-aligned digital badging and credentialing that allows students to quickly access and share their skills acquisition on digital platforms. This agreement strengthens the work University of Phoenix has already done in collaboration with labor analytics company EMSI Burning Glass to help ensure career-ready curriculum for the University's students.
Digital badges are an increasingly popular and accessible method across higher education for learners to showcase verified skills, specialization, ability, learning experiences, and achievements. While the University has focused on career-relevant curriculum and skills since its founding in 1976, teaming up with Credly has created a new way for learners to share those skills. Through Credly’s digital credential platform, which includes the ability to share to the blockchain, badges are verified and backed by data that confirm the credential for learners and employers.
“Individuals are better able to realize their full potential in the labor market when they can easily present trusted, real-time evidence of their skills and abilities,” says Jonathan Finkelstein, CEO of Credly. “By helping learners and employers speak a common language around skills, the University of Phoenix is advancing the vision of a world where opportunities connect with skilled talent – equitably, efficiently, and at scale.”
More than 2000 organizations use Credly and since its inception, Credly has issued over 50 million professional credentials to more than 25 million people, making it the world’s largest professional credentialing marketplace.
“The University’s innovative, seamless process of tying skills-aligned program content to digital credentialing empowers learners. We are bridging the gap between what a student learns in the classroom and the workplace by aligning degrees and individual courses to skills employers want,” states John Woods, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer. “We are proud to work with Credly and appreciate our highly collaborative relationship and the tools and resources Credly has provided. Our students now have the means to transform knowledge, skills, and achievements into verifiable digital credentials that allow them to Career with Confidence™.”
Digital badging at University of Phoenix is the culmination of a skill-mapping process in program and curriculum development. The University began its digital badging initiative by first mapping skills, working with labor market researchers including Emsi Burning Glass, and expert faculty in their fields, to identify and embed employer sought-after skills into curriculum outcomes. The skills and progress are made visible to students’ through their profile dashboard. With the digital badging agreement in place, students can display skills across multiple methods including resumes, social media and digital platforms as proof of learning for potential employers, current employers and colleagues.
About Credly
Credly, a Pearson business, is helping the world speak a common language about people's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Thousands of employers, training organizations, associations, certification programs, and workforce development initiatives use Credly to help individuals translate their learning experiences into professional opportunities using trusted, portable, digital credentials. Credly empowers organizations to attract, engage, develop, and retain talent with enterprise-class tools that generate data-driven insights to address skills gaps and highlight opportunities through an unmatched global network of credential issuers.
About University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life® help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.
