Course-Level High-Impact Practices Online Badge Program

Applications are now open through June 6th for Summer 2025! Have questions about program requirements or expectations? Email Kellie Ferguson (kellie.ferguson@du.edu).

About

The Course-Level High-Impact Practices (CL-HIPs) micro-credential program provides DU faculty—of any rank, title, or discipline—with an opportunity to consider their teaching through the lens of the AAC&U’s High-Impact Practices (HIPs.) Learning within each badging level of the CL-HIPs program presents opportunities to collaborate, explore research, and develop applicable resources, thereby building the expertise and confidence needed to design engaging courses that incorporate elements of experiential and integrative learning to create high-impact learning experiences for students.

Badge Options

CL-HIPs Foundational Badge

  • Overview:
    • The CL-HIPs Foundational Badge provides faculty with a comprehensive understanding of the AAC&U’s 11 High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and the 8 Key Elements that define their impact. They will then consider these elements within the context of their own courses. This badge signifies their ability to evaluate their specific courses and individual assignments/activities to identify the presence of the 8 Key Elements of HIPs through the application of a HIPs Taxonomy to analyze their work.
  • Learning Outcomes:
    • By the end of this program, faculty will be able to:
      • Explain the foundational concepts of High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and their 8 key elements, relating these principles to their own teaching philosophy and context.
      • Analyze a specific assignment or activity from their course in depth, assessing its effectiveness through the lens of HIPs.
      • Evaluate an existing course using a HIPs framework to identify current alignment with high-impact principles and elements.
      • Articulate insights gained from course analysis and peer collaboration, reflecting on strengths and identifying potential future applications of HIPs in their teaching practice
  • Earning Criteria:
        • Complete CL-HIPs: Foundational Course
        • Complete CL-HIPs: Designing High-Impact Courses course
        • Complete and submit your Foundational Badge artifact
        • Complete and submit the Foundational CL-HIPs reflection

The following images represent the skills learned and practiced in completing the Foundational Badge program:

Icon representing skill learned: reflection
Icon representing skill learned: collaboration
Icon representing skill learned: HIPs

CL-HIPs Intermediate Badge

  • Overview:
    • The CL-HIPs Intermediate Badge expands faculty expertise in AAC&U’s 11 HIPs and their 8 Key Elements, focusing on integrated learning, reflection, experiential learning, or assessment. In the elective course they choose to explore, faculty will design a deliverable that practically applies their chosen pedagogical approach within their own course. This demonstrates their ability to move beyond theory and implement these concepts in concrete, actionable ways.
  • Learning Outcomes:
    •  By the end of this program, faculty will be able to:
      • Apply a deepened expertise in High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and their key elements, specifically focusing on the pedagogical approaches of integrated learning and reflection, experiential learning, or assessment, within their own courses.
      • Design a practical, course-specific deliverable—either a high-impact assignment or an assessment utilizing VALUE rubrics—that effectively translates relevant HIPs theory into an actionable teaching strategy.
      • Develop and present a micro-teaching session that clearly explains the design, rationale, and potential implementation strategies of their HIPs-based deliverable for a faculty audience.
      • Share their expertise and practical application of HIPs with the broader DU community through the micro-teaching session and its associated resources, contributing to collective pedagogical knowledge and promoting high-impact practices.
  • Earning Criteria:
    • Complete all requirements for the CL-HIPs Foundational Badge (see above)
    • Complete your choice of one of the following elective courses:
      • Integrative Learning and Reflection, 
      • Experiential Learning, or
      • Assessing Course Level HIPs.
    • Complete and submit your Intermediate Badge artifact
    • Complete and submit the CL-HIPs Intermediate Badge reflection

The following images represent the skills learned and practiced in completing the Intermediate Badge program:

Icon representing skill learned: assignment design
Icon representing skill learned: HIPs
Icon representing skill learned: presentation

CL-HIPs Advanced Badge

  • Overview:
    • The CL-HIPs Advanced Badge deepens faculty understanding of AAC&U’s 11 HIPs and their 8 Key Elements with a focus on integrated learning and reflection, experiential learning, and/or assessment. Earners of the Advanced Badge will move beyond foundational knowledge to actively apply and advance their understanding through researching and implementing a project based on the work they have done in the CL-HIPs program, measuring impact, and sharing findings, demonstrating a commitment to both the principles of HIPs and the ongoing scholarly pursuit of enhancing teaching effectiveness.
  • Learning Outcomes:
    •  By the end of this program, faculty will be able to:
      • Analyze and apply pedagogical frameworks related to High-Impact Practices (HIPs), specifically focusing on the intentional integration of elements such as Integrative Learning, Experiential Learning, and Reflection, or advanced assessment strategies for high-impact education.
      • Design and implement a scholarly inquiry project focused on applying a specific HIPs approach within their teaching environment or professional context.
      • Evaluate and articulate the impact of their implemented HIPs project through appropriate data collection and analysis methods, demonstrating an evidence-based understanding of its influence on student learning or other relevant outcomes.
      • Share their expertise and practical application of HIPs with the broader DU community through the micro-teaching session and its associated resources, contributing to collective pedagogical knowledge and promoting high-impact practices.
  • Earning Criteria:
    • Complete all requirements for the CL-HIPs Intermediate Badge (see above)
    • Complete your choice of one additional elective course, choosing from the following (one elective course should have been completed in achieving the Intermediate Badge level):
      • Integrative Learning and Reflection
      • Experiential Learning, or
      • Assessing Course Level HIPs.
      • Complete and submit your Advanced Badge artifact
      • Complete and submit the CL-HIPs Advanced Badge reflection

The following images represent the skills learned and practiced in completing the Advanced Badge program:

Icon representing skill learned: HIPs
Icon representing skill learned: presentation
Icon representing skill learned: reflection
Icon representing skill learned: assignment design

Have questions about program requirements or expectations? Email Kellie Ferguson (kellie.ferguson@du.edu).