Micro-Credentials
The micro-credential curriculum offered at Fairfax University of America offers skill-based certifications of great value to students and employers. By earning digital badges for micro-certifications, students can showcase and share these specialized achievements with employers and educational institutions. They also can be included with the student’s resume or CV. Digital badges registered with the global platform, Credly, verify the identity of the individual student and note the successfully completed micro-credential learning unit.
Students enrolled in both graduate and undergraduate degree programs at Fairfax University of America will find micro-credentialing opportunities within the curriculum.
Micro-Credentials Overview
For students enrolled in degree programs within the School of Computer and Information Systems or School of Business, these technical certifications and competencies are available at no extra cost. They are included as part of the normal tuition for each program. Micro-credentials signify the achievement of specialized knowledge and skills.
For non-degree students, micro-credentials are a flexible, affordable way to:
- Quickly acquire focused technical skill sets that are useful for professional development
- Qualify for acceptance in training programs
Regardless of university enrollment status, micro-credentials can assist in making career changes, as well as helping employees who want to advance their positions and opportunities.
How Micro-credentials Benefit You?
The benefits of the micro-credentialing program at Fairfax University of America include accessibility. Since they are available to students in degree programs, as well as non-degree learners, it’s possible to gain these skills and show competencies for a variety of purposes. Additional benefits include:
- Competency-based learning experiences
- Flexible, short learning units fit well into busy schedules
- Affordable method of learning new skills
- Appropriately aligned with university programs and industry needs
- Interconnected learning units build skillsets
- Digital badges allow sharing credentialing on social media, ePortfolios, and applications
- Partnership with Credly provides a verified, global platform
Offerings of Micro-Credentials
The micro-credentialing program at Fairfax University of America assists both professionals and students in gaining important, valuable skills. The following is organized by academic categories, and each contains a variety of micro-credential learning units and individual badges:
- Business Administration
- Computer Science
- Management Information Systems
- Path to Success Program
- Transformative Learning and Leadership in Practice
To see all the individual micro-credentials and badges currently offered, visit our page on Credly for Fairfax University of America.
For more information regarding each of our micro-credential collections,
browse through the following sections:
Business Administration
Computer Science
Management
Information Systems
Path to Success Program
Transformative Learning
and
Leadership in Practice
Our new collections
coming soon!
How to Earn Micro-Credentials
To earn a micro-credential at Fairfax University of America, follow these steps:
- Enroll in an academic degree program, either undergraduate or graduate level, and you will automatically be enrolled in the micro-credentialing learning units. Non-degree learners can enroll in one of our standalone programs for access.
- Complete the courses and activities in the micro-credentialing learning unit you have chosen.
- Claim the digital badge offered by Credly. They will send you an email invitation after you complete the micro-credential unit.
- Proudly share the badge on social media, such as LinkedIn, and with your employer. This certifies that you have completed the micro-credential and possess the skills and competencies they want.
Credly Platform FAQs
If you have questions about the Credly global platform, check out the answers to our FAQs.
What is an open badge?
Open badges are web-enabled versions of a credential, certification or learning outcome which can be verified in real-time, online.
How does my certification get displayed as a badge?
We have partnered with Credly’s digital badge platform to translate the learning outcomes you’ve demonstrated into a badge. The technology Credly uses is based on the Open Badge Standards maintained by IMS Global. This enables you to manage, share and verify your competencies digitally.
What are the benefits of a badge?
Representing your skills as a badge gives you a way to share your abilities online in a way that is simple, trusted and can be easily verified in real time. Badges provide employers and peers concrete evidence of what you had to do to earn your credential and what you’re now capable of. Credly also offers labor market insights, based on your skills. You can search and apply for job opportunities right through the Credly platform.
Who is Credly?
Credly is a digital badge platform that works with credible organizations to provide digital credentials to individuals, worldwide.
How will I know if I’ve earned a badge?
You will receive an email notification from Credly () with instructions for claiming your badge and setting up your account.
What if I don’t want my badge to be public?
You can easily configure your privacy settings in Credly. You’re in complete control of the information about yourself that is made public.
Is there a fee to use Credly?
No. This is a service we provide to you, at no cost.
What’s to keep someone else from copying my badge and using it?
While badges are simply digital image files, they are uniquely linked to data hosted on the Credly platform. This link to verified data makes them more reliable and secure than a paper-based certificate. It also eliminates the possibility of anyone claiming your credential and your associated identity.
Where and how can I share my badge through Credly?
You can share your badge directly from the Credly platform to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook; over email; embedded in a website or in your email signature.
What are labor market insights and how can I access them through Credly?
Labor market insights are pulled from live job requisitions. Based on your skills you can learn which employers are hiring, what job titles you might be qualified for, salary ranges and more. Search active job listings and even apply for them with just a few clicks through Credly. Access the labor market insights from your badge details page by clicking on Related Jobs, or by clicking on the skill tags assigned to your badge.
Can I export badges issued through Credly to other badge-storing platforms?
Yes, you can download your badge from the Share Badge page. Your downloaded badge contains Open Badge Infrastructure (OBI) compliant metadata embedded into the image. This allows you to store your badge on other OBI-compliant badge sites, such as the Mozilla backpack.
Can I import badges issued from other platforms into Credly?
Not at this time.
I have a question about the Credly platform. Where can I find support?
You can find answers to frequently asked questions here: support.credly.com
About Micro-Credentials
The Office of Micro-Credentials at Fairfax University of America falls under the Department of Curriculum Development and Instructional Design. The micro-credential learning units are specially designed to blend well with Fairfax University of America’s degree programs. The subject and organization of the micro-credential units are structured with a view to business and computer science trends, and the skills desired by employers. Through full offerings of focused micro-credential units, people have an opportunity to develop and advance their careers, academic pursuits, and lifelong learning goals.
Contact Us About Micro-Credentials
Please contact us at with any questions or concerns about the micro-credentials offered by Fairfax University of America, or about the issuance of the certifying badges via the global platform, Credly.
For questions about admissions for micro-credential learning units, or about our degree programs, please contact .
Discover the Advantages of Micro-Credentialing at Fairfax University of America
At Fairfax University of America, students can sharpen their business, computer, and leadership skills in our micro-credential learning units. Available to all students, micro-credentialing is a way to show faculty and employers that students are learning new skills and showing initiative. In addition, these flexible learning units are helpful for those students and professionals who want to change their career paths or start a new endeavor. Request information today.