21st Century Skills and Career Readiness Badge

Issued by Unity Environmental University

Earners of the Unity College “21st Century Skills and Career Readiness” badge have demonstrated that they can utilize the professional skills required to synthesize information and be an effective collaborator: active listening, project management, incorporating diverse perspectives, anticipating challenges and being solutions-oriented.

Type Validation
Level Foundational
Time Weeks
Cost Paid

Additional Details

Skills

Earning Criteria

GRIT and Goal setting. Students examine contemporary scholarship around mindset and approaches to success, then draft two goals and corresponding plans to realize them. This process transfers to workplace tasks with both long-term and short-term timelines. Students must earn 75% or higher.
Time Management Techniques. Students evaluate multiple time management techniques, then select two to implement, ultimately deciding which works best for them. This process emphasizes experimenting, evidence gathering, comparing, and decision making. Students can apply both the implementation of a time management technique for efficiency as well as the evaluation process. Students must earn 75% or higher.
Receiving and working with feedback. Students enter the “feedback loop” to familiarize themselves with the process of giving, receiving, and working with feedback. This assessment emphasizes clear communication as well as active listening and engagement. By outfitting students with the capacity to absorb and implement feedback, this activity prepares them for authentic experiences in their professional lives. Students must earn 75% or higher.
Appreciative inquiry - problem solving technique. This assessment employs a mini experiment design, execution, and reflection in order to equip students with the skill of appreciative inquiry. Students identify a scenario with a problem, then devise how they will approach it while engaging in the process of appreciative inquiry. Students then create a brief video recounting the process and how they can continue to draw on this skill. Students must earn 75% or higher.
Leadership and Professional Development. Students practice the “High Quality Connections” (HQC) Technique in another mini-experiment. They create a video explaining the design, process, and application of this technique, emphasizing their communication skills. Students then revise their LinkedIn and Handshake profiles to reflect their newly developed skills. Students must earn 75% or higher.
Integrity and Plagiarism. After reading “Managing Interpersonal Feedback,” students write an executive summary of the article and synthesize the author’s main points. Students practice incorporating an author’s concepts and quotes into their own work, which demonstrates key critical writing and analytical skills. Students must earn 75% or higher.