Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor uses digital CBE badges, and progress in a competency is artifact and project driven. Concordia has created the “mastery learning mentoring approach,” in which students are encouraged to submit drafts of their work (like a writer’s workshop) with peers and instructors. Students can use online forums to post portions of their work for peer feedback. From there, they submit their work to an instructor who provides narrative written feedback and phone or video conference follow up discussions as needed. Students are able to revise their authentic projects and re-submit multiple times until their work demonstrates competence.

There is no limit to the number of submissions permitted, but because this is an 8-week, course-based model, students are expected to demonstrate competence in each area by the end of the course. Students work to create products that solve problems in the real world. For example, in one course students are charged with the task of creating a collection of training materials and guides intended to help educators make sure they are complying with current copyright law when designing. The artifacts created must demonstrate a solid grasp of specific copyright laws, how to apply them in an educational context, and how to effectively teach this to others. In another course, students are expected to design a collection of lessons that exemplify best practices and current research in game-based learning.