03.700 Approval of Non-Credit Alternative Credentials

Chancellor

Established March 4, 2026

 Non-Credit Alternative Credential Approval Regulation

Office of the Provost and Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs

Policy Details:

This policy shall be implemented and applied in accordance with such regulations and guidelines as may be approved by the Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs following consultation with appropriate governance bodies.

1. Purpose

   1. The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the approval of alternative credentials to recognize learning achievements of all University of North Carolina Wilmington (“UNCW”) learners (students, faculty, and staff) in non-credit programs at UNCW.

2. Scope

   1. This policy applies to all UNCW learners (students, faculty, staff, and community members) who successfully complete an approved learning experience and associated assessment(s) to fulfill the requirements of an earned alternative credential.

   2. This policy applies to all academic and non-academic units interested in issuing an alternative credential associated with a defined non-credit learning experience with associated assessments.

3. Guiding Principles

   1. Value of traditional and alternative credentials – Institutions of higher education serve multiple constituencies including undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in traditional degree programs, community members and alumni in public trust professions requiring continuing education, unemployed and underemployed members of the community seeking new skills, adult learners engaged in personal enrichment, and their own faculty and staff seeking professional development. Serving these diverse populations requires multiple approaches to program delivery as well as multiple ways of recording and recognizing learning.

   2. Shared Governance – Educational program planning should be implemented in line with principles of shared governance across the institution. Faculty have a primary role in shaping and delivering the curriculum of credit-bearing degree and certificate programs. Recognizing that non-credit offerings serve a broad constituency and contribute to learning outside of traditional programs, principles of shared governance extend to all areas of the institution engaged in student learning.

   3. Transparency - Program planning should be conducted in an open and transparent way. Therefore, data and decision-making processes will be shared widely and openly.

4. Definitions

   1. Credential – Official recognition by an authorized body of completion of a learning experience that includes measurable learning outcomes, learner engagement, and assessment. Traditional credentials recognized by institutions of higher education such as associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees are awarded for completion of a program of study defined by minimum credit hours and a set curriculum that includes theoretical and practical content and skills. These traditional credentials are typically represented by the conferral of a diploma.

   2. Alternative Credential – Official recognition of learning that results from a learning experience that differs in duration, format, or competency basis than those typical of programs leading to a traditional credential. Alternative credentials can be awarded for credit bearing and non-credit bearing learning experiences, and are represented by certificates, certifications, digital badges, and other physical or virtual tokens. At UNCW examples of alternative credentials include non-credit certificates of completion. This policy applies to non-credit programming only.

   3. Microcredential – Official recognition of completion of learning that results from a learning experience that is shorter in duration than a traditional credential program. Microcredentials can be represented using a variety of physical and digital tokens including certificates, certifications, and digital badges. Microcredentials can be awarded for learning that results from credit-bearing or non-credit bearing programs. This policy applies to non-credit programming only.

   4. Stacking and Stackable Pathway – A process by which a learner can earn multiple microcredentials that lead through accumulation to a higher-level credential.

5. General Approval Process

   1. Proposals for alternative credentials in non-credit programs can originate in any academic or non-academic unit at UNCW. Proposals must be properly formatted and submitted using the appropriate curriculum management system as described in associated guidelines.

   2. Alternative credentials that result from the completion of non-credit learning experiences must be reviewed and approved by the head of the requesting program (e.g. Chair, Director, or other unit leader), next level supervisor (Dean, Director, or other unit leader), and by the appropriate Vice-Chancellor (or their designee).

6. Stackable Pathways

   1. Microcredentials represent knowledge and skills acquired through learning experiences that are shorter in duration than those leading to other traditional or alternative credentials. With proper planning and design, it is possible to modularize the curriculum leading such that individual modules could be represented by microcredentials. A student would then be able to earn individual microcredentials at their own pace, resulting in the granting of higher-level alternative credential when all microcredentials are earned.

   2. Stackable Pathways in non-credit programs

      1. The learning pathway must be reviewed and approved by the head of the requesting program (e.g. Chair, Director, or other unit leader), next level supervisor (Dean, Director, or other unit leader), and by the appropriate Vice-Chancellor (or their designee) as described in regulation.

      2. Individual microcredentials within the stackable pathway must be approved through the established processes using the curriculum management system approved for non-credit-bearing programs as described in this policy and the associated guidelines.

      3. Higher order alternative credentials resulting from the accumulation of designated microcredentials must be approved through the established processes using the curriculum management system approved for non-credit-bearing programs as described in this policy and the associated

      4. All approvals for lower-order and higher order alternative credentials must be in place prior to launching a stackable pathway.

      5. Only microcredentials identified in an approved stackable pathway may be used, no substitutions are allowed.