Overview

Background

The non-accredited professional and personal development market - including CPD, Exec Ed, PPD, and other forms of lifelong learning - is worth millions to the University and underpins strategic goals.

A fast growing product that supports the principles around lifelong learning is Digital Badges.

Digital badges are verifiable, portable digital credentials with embedded metadata that validate a skill or achievement. The awarding criteria is set by the institution and can vary from a user participating in a task to the completion of a course.

Digital badges can be integrated into existing teaching tools (e.g. an LMS) and the digital badge can be exported and displayed in numerous external platforms including Linkedin, Outlook, twitter, webpages. Issued badges can be validated by the awarding institution and can include branding which increases visibility of the institution. Any awarding criteria or associated skills can be published with the digital badge with badging platforms linking skills to job insights including vacancies and employability.

The use of digital badges has increased as detailed in the IMS open Badge Count 2020 (which all major digital badging vendor participated) which notes in 2020 475,000 badges were available and 43.3 million badges were issued (count of all issued badges up to that date) which is double the total in 2018 (24.1 million). This may be partly due to the pandemic

Issuing badges can be split into the following components with the current gap at the institution being a badging platform.

•            Issuer: creates and awarding body

o            University of Edinburgh is the issuer but badges need to be created via a badging platform

•            Host: platform that allows users to store their badges which then can be shared externally

• A badging platform

•            Displayer: platform that badge can be published too

o            Linkedin, Outlook, social media, webpages

Badging platforms allow institutions to gain access to actionable insights via analytics, develop stackable credentials across the digital estate and build pathways for learners to develop and define their own learning goals and achieve further recognition.

The use of digital badges has been explored at the institution however currently there is no centrally supported platform or any institutional standards for badges including design, meta-data, issuing etc. Currently areas across the University, including Bayes, The Business School, Digital Skills and the Library, are already issuing digital badges and each have set up their own provider and processes. The Learn VLE does have an integration with a 3rd party supplier however due to technical issues this an elongated and complex workflow.

Digital badging platforms either offer a free version or a subscription (with most offering both). The open badging platform provides the standards for all digital badges and also provide an open-source version of a digital badging platform which can be managed locally.

Benefits of a subscription service include:

•            Bulk awarding

•            Customizable badge designs

•            Support

•            Access to additional tools including analytics and reporting

This project will be the second of 3 projects which comprise the Digital Badge Programme and will predominantly deal with the standards and governance surrounding the digital badge service. This project will run alongside the 2 other projects within the Digital Badge Programme; namely the procurement of the digital badge service which will lead to the implementation project.

Scope

The scope of the standards and governance project is to:

1. Facilitate the creation of an institutional wide governance structure as well as detailing the responsibilities for the creation, issuing and earning of badges
2. Determine the standards around the requirements for earning a badge, the appearance of the badge, meta data contained within in order to comply with relevant standards
3. Produce web pages and guidance on the value of digital badges.

Out of scope

The procurement and implementation of the new Digital Badge platform are both out of scope of this project as these are being undertaken as separate projects. Also out of the scope of this project is:

• The migration of any existing digital badge platforms used by parts of the University, micro-credentials and badge pathways
• The “how to” guides for all the different processes (such are earning / issuing / creating etc)
• Impact Assessments (DPIA & EQIA) will be captured under the implementation project.

Objectives and Deliverables

Benefits

• The standards & governance will help all stakeholders get the most out of using digital badge and this will ultimately enhance both the student and staff experience
• Standards will provide efficiencies and reduce effort from everyone trying to work things out themselves
• Agreed support responsibilities will allow calls to be directed to the correct team(s)
• The governance structure removes duplicated effort from different areas of the University each setting up their own digital badges and processes.

Success Criteria

• Have sufficient standards documentation that UoE users are able to create, issue and earn compliant and accessible digital badges
• Have an agreed governance structure in place that devolves actions and responsibilities appropriately and proportionately to the University’s overall structure and resources
• Have sufficient controls in place to ensure the number of badges issued and subsequent expenditure is in line with the targets set out by the procurement project.

Project Milestones