Digital Badges at UWM

Learn how UWM digital badges recognize skills, achievements, competencies, and learning experiences through secure, verifiable digital credentials. Explore information for learners, employers, faculty, and staff.

Verified Recognition for Learning and Achievement

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) uses digital badges to recognize skills, knowledge, achievements, and learning experiences earned through academic programs, professional development, workforce training, leadership experiences, and other university-sponsored activities.

Digital badges are secure, shareable, and verifiable credentials that help learners communicate their accomplishments and provide employers, educational institutions, and other stakeholders with additional information about what was achieved.

What Is a Digital Badge?

A digital badge is a verified online credential that represents an achievement, skill, competency, or completed learning experience.

Unlike a traditional image or certificate, a digital badge contains information about:

  • The issuing organization
  • The achievement being recognized
  • Skills or competencies demonstrated
  • Requirements used to earn the credential
  • Date awarded and verification details

Digital badges follow the Open Badges standard, allowing achievements to be shared and independently verified.

Why Digital Badges Matter

Digital badges help make learning and achievement more visible. They provide a trusted way to communicate accomplishments by helping others understand what was learned, how it was earned, and what knowledge or skills the credential represents.

Badges can recognize a wide variety of achievements, including:

  • Professional development
  • Leadership experiences
  • Training completion
  • Workforce skills
  • Academic accomplishments
  • Microcredentials
  • Demonstrated competencies

For Learners

Digital badges help learners:

  • Showcase skills and accomplishments
  • Build professional portfolios
  • Share achievements on LinkedIn and other professional platforms
  • Highlight experiences that may not appear on a transcript
  • Demonstrate career-relevant knowledge and abilities

Because badges are digital and verifiable, they help learners tell a more complete story about their educational and professional journey.

For Employers

Digital badges provide additional context about a candidate's achievements.

Employers can review information about:

  • Skills and competencies associated with a credential
  • Learning outcomes and program requirements
  • The issuing organization
  • Verification details confirming the credential's authenticity

This helps employers better understand what a credential represents beyond a résumé, transcript, or job application.

Verification and Trust

UWM digital badges are issued through Parchment Digital Badges and follow Open Badges standards.

Each credential contains information that allows viewers to verify:

  • Who issued the credential
  • What was earned
  • When it was awarded
  • The requirements associated with the achievement

This transparency helps increase confidence in the value and authenticity of the credential.

Learn More

Whether you are interested in earning digital credentials or creating them, additional resources are available.

For Learners

For Faculty and Staff

Additional Resources

New to digital credentials?
Start by exploring UWM's digital badges and microcredentials. If you are a faculty or staff member interested in creating credentials, review the Metadata Standards and Issuer Guidance resources for additional information.


Keywords:
digital badges credentials microcredentials verification skills competencies achievement learning workforce employers learners parchment openbadges metadata education training certificates recognition portfolio linkedin career 
Doc ID:
163522
Owned by:
Samantha M. in Advancing Learning
Created:
2026-08-21
Updated:
2026-08-21
Sites:
UW-Milwaukee Center for Advancing Student Learning