Key Insights
In one year, Chaffey College used Canvas Credentials to issue more than 10,000 micro-credentials, but wanted a more automated way to integrate data from Canvas Outcomes.
The Instructure Custom Development team worked with Chaffey College to create a Credentials-Outcomes Alignment Tool that allows administrators to configure awards based on mastery of outcomes.
Implementing Canvas + Credentials
Chaffey started by renaming institutional learning outcomes as "employability skills" and employed Canvas Outcomes to evaluate these skills in Career Education (CE), non-CE programs, and general education courses. They actively engaged students in the process of skill assessment by employing Canvas Credentials to grant micro-credentials to students who demonstrated proficiency in the employability skill framework. This strategy was widely embraced as faculty members throughout the college collaborated with their current assignments to articulate the skills more clearly and visibly by aligning them with the employability skill framework. Faculty utilized the Canvas Commons platform to exchange and store resources, building on existing institutional learning outcome maps for courses. In the program's first year, Chaffey College awarded students over 10,000 micro-credentials for skills.
The Challenge
Although the program was successful, it required considerable manual effort to keep it running because the systems used in the initiative were not integrated. For starters, their configuration of the Canvas Credentials LTI was limited to the course level, which prevented the implementation of a global approach to awarding micro credentials through Canvas Credentials. Consequently, the institution had to extract data reports from Canvas with Outcomes data and merge them with student records to award micro-credentials in Canvas Credentials. Faculty and students also struggled to monitor progress toward credential attainment, which created a sense of detachment from the process.
The Solution
The Instructure Custom Development team and Chaffey College joined forces to integrate Canvas Credentials and Canvas Outcomes. Together, they developed a tool called the Credential-Outcomes Alignment Tool, which allows administrators to configure awards in Canvas Credentials based on mastery of outcomes.
The Results
The Credential-Outcomes Alignment Tool eliminates the manual process of exporting data reports and uploading CSV files into Canvas Credentials for student awards. It also provides faculty and students with personalized portals to track their progress toward credential goals and competency attainment. Chaffey College can now run their micro-credential programs with more speed and efficiency.
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