UNM Pilots Skill-Building Badge Program in 50 Classes

More than 50 faculty members across The University of New Mexico are teaching a new set of course activities this school year under a pilot program called Elevate Gen Ed+, which awards students badges for completing skills training. The 2026-27 academic year marks the program's pilot, and it was formalized in spring 2025.

Cait Lippitt, a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, leads the initiative, which is supported by Academic Affairs. Faculty across UNM developed it. Activities are posted on a shared Canvas site for instructors.

The program identifies eight skills: professional communication, critical reflection, project management, civic engagement, information literacy, intercultural competence, data analytics, and AI literacy. Activities are built to run in one or two class periods. Examples include graphing and analyzing data, writing a professional email to an alumnus to request a career conversation, and using AI to identify research opportunities at UNM.

Faculty can use the activities as written or adapt them for their courses. Because the activities run inside existing classes, students do not take on extra credit hours or new course requirements.

Before a badge is awarded, faculty assess student work against competency criteria. Students then reflect on what they learned and how it might apply elsewhere. Lippitt said the badge is designed for students to use publicly.

"These are intended to be active, engaging opportunities for students to get to know each other and learn these skills in a variety of settings," Lippitt said. "If the students complete these activities and meet the criteria, they get a verifiable badge that they own and can use on sites like LinkedIn and on their resumes."

Lippitt said UNM-Valencia is adopting Elevate Gen Ed+ across many courses, and other branch campuses have expressed interest. "We will track the impact of these activities and skill building opportunities over time," she said. "But right now we're really (focused) on helping faculty and students access these resources and giving faculty opportunities to share the great teaching practices and activities they've developed with colleagues across UNM."

Faculty who develop activities for the program can receive a $300 stipend and recognition from the Vice Provost for Student Success. The working group and activities are open to all, and instructors request access through the Faculty Access Request Form.

The program grew from earlier faculty work on active and inclusive learning at UNM, including the Student Experience Project and Expanding Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences.