Recognition and Badging
The Teaching & Learning Center believes that professional growth deserves to be recognized and celebrated. Every year, Geneseo faculty and staff invest time, energy, and creativity into exploring new teaching approaches, strengthening their practice, collaborating with colleagues, and supporting student success. Our recognition and badging programs are designed to honor that commitment.
Through digital credentials issued via , participants can document their accomplishments, showcase their expertise, and share evidence of professional learning with colleagues, departments, professional organizations, and broader academic networks. Each badge includes information about the skills, experiences, and achievements it represents, creating a verifiable record of professional development.
TLC Digital Badges
The TLC currently offers seven digital badges that recognize meaningful engagement in professional learning, teaching excellence, collaboration, leadership, and innovation.
This badge recognizes faculty and staff who contribute to the professional growth of the campus community by sharing their expertise through TLC-sponsored workshops, presentations, panel discussions, institutes, or professional development events. Presenters help advance a culture of teaching excellence by contributing their knowledge, experiences, and innovative approaches to support the learning of colleagues across campus.
The New Faculty Institute supports faculty as they begin their careers at Geneseo. This badge recognizes new faculty members who actively engage in the Institute’s professional development experiences, build connections with colleagues across campus, and develop knowledge of effective teaching practices, campus resources, and institutional culture. Earning this badge signals a commitment to establishing a strong foundation for teaching excellence and student success.
Strong mentoring relationships contribute significantly to faculty success and belonging. This badge recognizes experienced faculty members who serve as mentors through TLC-supported mentoring initiatives. Faculty mentors provide guidance, support, encouragement, and institutional knowledge to colleagues while helping foster a welcoming and collaborative academic community.
Faculty Learning Communities create opportunities for educators to engage in sustained conversations about teaching and learning. This badge recognizes faculty and staff who facilitate a TLC Faculty Learning Community, providing leadership for collaborative inquiry, professional reflection, and the exploration of topics that advance teaching effectiveness and student learning. Facilitators help create inclusive spaces where colleagues can learn from one another and develop new ideas for their teaching practice.
This badge recognizes faculty and staff who have been awarded a TLC Innovation & Exploration Grant. Awardees design and implement innovative projects that advance teaching, learning, curriculum development, pedagogical research, or professional growth. These individuals demonstrate a commitment to exploring new ideas, engaging in reflective practice, and contributing to a culture of educational innovation at Geneseo.
The Teaching Square badge recognizes faculty and instructional staff who participate in a Teaching Square experience. Participants engage in reciprocal classroom observations and collegial reflection with peers from across disciplines. Through observation and discussion, participants deepen their understanding of effective teaching, gain new perspectives on their own instructional practices, and strengthen connections with colleagues across campus.
This badge recognizes faculty and staff who actively participate in a TLC Reading Group. Reading Groups bring colleagues together to explore scholarship on teaching and learning, discuss contemporary issues in higher education, and reflect on how new ideas can inform their own practice. Participants contribute to a supportive learning community dedicated to continuous growth and improvement.
Why Digital Badges?
Digital badges provide more than recognition. They offer a way for faculty and staff to make their professional learning visible and portable. Badge earners can:
- Document professional learning and accomplishments
- Highlight specialized skills and expertise
- Share verified credentials through LinkedIn, personal websites, annual reports, and professional portfolios
- Demonstrate ongoing engagement with evidence-based teaching and learning practices
- Showcase leadership, collaboration, and contributions to the Geneseo community
All TLC badges are issued through Credly and can be easily shared online or included as evidence of professional development in promotion, tenure, and review materials.
External Certifications and Partner Programs
In addition to TLC-issued badges, the Center works with external partners to provide nationally recognized certifications that support faculty and staff development.
ACUE Effective Online Teaching Practices Certification
The TLC is proud to partner with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to offer various professional development certification and endorsement pathways. These programs prepare educators to implement evidence-based teaching practices shown to improve student engagement, achievement, persistence, and equity.
Celebrating Professional Growth
Recognition programs are ultimately about people: colleagues who dedicate themselves to improving student learning, experimenting with new ideas, supporting one another, and contributing to a vibrant culture of teaching excellence. Whether through a TLC digital badge or a nationally recognized certification, these credentials celebrate the meaningful work that faculty and staff do every day to make Geneseo a place where learning thrives.
We invite all faculty and staff to explore TLC programs, participate in professional learning opportunities, and celebrate their accomplishments through our growing recognition and badging initiatives.