From Authentic Learning to Competency Recognition: The Designing Microcredentials Online Course Is Here

During Winter 2026, we held a Microcredential Mapping bootcamp for faculty and the Designing Learning & Microcredentials Beyond the Classroom series for staff. We received strong interest in both of these experiences, but heard that the commitment to a synchronous, face-to-face experience did not accommodate everyone's schedules. We're happy to share that "From Authentic Learning to Competency Recognition: Designing Microcredentials at UMBC," an asynchronous online course, is now open for enrollment on Blackboard.

Whether you are a faculty or staff member, if you've been circling the idea of a microcredential for your program, workshop, or course but weren't sure where to start, this is the on-ramp. The course is asynchronous and self-paced; you move through eight modules on your own schedule, with built-in reflection and drafting at each stage. There's no assigned meeting time and no deadline pressure. Most people can spend a few weeks working through it, largely because you're building your actual proposal alongside the content, which is the point.

The arc is simple: start with a learning experience you already run, figure out whether it's ready to create a microcredential, and end with a submission-ready package. By the end, you'll have a Short Form and potentially a draft Long Form proposal ready to bring to the Digital Credential Innovation (DCI) office, which then carries you through badge development and Microcredential Review Board (MRB) submission.

What you'll walk away able to do:

• Explain how UMBC's microcredential system works, start to finish

• Evaluate whether a learning experience is actually ready for a microcredential

• Write learning outcomes and design assessments that hold up under review

• Apply UMBC's Microcredential Taxonomy to land on the right credential level

• Submit a proposal that meets the MRB rubric on the first pass

The course has its own microcredential ecosystem, which is a nice bonus: seven Knowledge microcredentials (one per module), an Engagement microcredential for full participation, a Meta microcredential that issues automatically once you've earned the rest, and a Proficiency microcredential for those who carry their proposal all the way through MRB approval and real-world issuance. All of it lives on our badge-issuing platform, so it's shareable on LinkedIn or in promotion and tenure materials, just like any other microcredential.

Ready to get started? Enroll in the Blackboard course shell here ↗ 

You can also review the full syllabus here before you dive in.

Questions in the meantime? Check us out on the web, review our FAQs, or submit a ticket to contact the DCI team directly.