Cengage Partners with Accredible to Offer Digital Badging in Intro to Computing Courses
Through a partnership with digital credentialing platform Accredible, Cengage is making it easier for students in its Introduction to Computing courses to showcase workforce skills to potential employers. Students using Cengage's MindTap online learning platform will be able to earn achievement badges for competencies that demonstrate proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, the company explained in a news announcement. The badges can then be added to a student's digital résumé, online portfolio, or LinkedIn profile.
Accredible's badging software adheres to 1EdTech's Open Badges v2 standard, ensuring that the badges are verifiable and shareable across platforms. Each badge indicates "milestone achievement" for a specific Microsoft application, such as Word or PowerPoint. The badges will be available in all Cengage Introduction to Computing programs beginning with fall 2023 classes.
"The workforce skills gap is a serious issue that affects organizations in every industry," commented Cheryl Costantini, SVP for Academic Product at Cengage, in a statement. "One way to proactively address the issue is to allow students to master universally adaptable skills, like Microsoft Office 365, before they enter the workforce. Students want to know that the skills they're acquiring will result in employment, and employers want to know that they're hiring the most qualified candidates. Our partnership with Accredible accomplishes this goal, building skilled candidate pipelines that fill a serious need."
For more information, visit the Cengage site.
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Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].