Saint Leo University brings micro-credential offerings to broad market
The university is pleased to share that we are formally opening our new Center for Alternative Pathway Programs this month.
University President Jeffrey Senese has discussed this new center at previous university Community Days. For those who have not heard, its purpose is to offer continuing education opportunities via brief courses that focus on the teaching of certain skills or a niche area of knowledge, called micro-credential courses. People do not take these courses because they are part of a degree program, but because they need a certain skill that may have become part of the work world only recently, to make themselves better prepared for new job opportunities, or because they want to brush up on areas they learned earlier. The center refers to this as “upskilling,” a word you may be hearing frequently. When people complete these courses successfully, they are awarded a digital “badge” that validates their new competency to employers. One can incorporate badges into online professional profiles and resumes.
The Center for Alternative Pathway Programs ran a pilot program in the spring to make sure operations were ready for market. Now, marketing, publicity, and registration work is aligned to support offerings of badge-bearing micro-credential courses on June 29—which coincides with the first day of the Summer II term. However, registration and payment for micro-credential courses takes place on its own site, and not the university’s registration area. Employees can click on this link for information on employee discount. Topics include cognitive behavioral therapy skills, grantsmanship, and Project Management Professional (PMP) test preparation, and possibly more. The center intends also to provide its expertise to companies and economic groups that may want customized, badge-bearing courses for workforce training.
The Center for Alternative Pathway Programs website also offers other learning opportunities. The center has chosen to include in its catalog a number of short, career-oriented self-paced online courses from an industry vendor, MindEdge.
Also, as many are aware, the center’s website offers a range of free, non-credit “community” online courses. Faculty developed these as a service for those in need of some engaging, relaxing enrichment opportunities when more people were sheltering in place because of the coronavirus. Many topics were offered and are still available, including birding, baking with a limited food budget, spiritual nourishment, and more.
The primary focus of external conversations now and into the near future, though, will be promoting badge-bearing courses. Please visit the center website. If faculty wish to propose developing any new courses from their fields of expertise that are directly relevant to workforce needs, please get in touch with the director of the center, Dr. Cindy Lee, by email at cindy.lee@saintleo.edu. For more general questions, feel free to email the center site at micro@saintleo.edu.
Related Posts
Saint Leo celebrates faculty and staff success at Community Day →
HR to begin tuition remission dependent verification process starting this fall →
View photos from Prodigy® Cultural Arts program showcase →
