National Commission Names BHCC Skill Badges a "Promising Practice" for Connecting Students to Careers
Friday, October 23, 2026
Bunker Hill Community College's (BHCC) Skill Badge program has been recognized as a "promising practice" by the Commission on Opportunities After High School, a national commission convened by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Commission recently released its final report, Thriving After High School: Community, School, Service, and Work, along with an online map featuring more than 100 local and regional initiatives that help learners succeed in education, service, and work. The Commission, composed of 30 leaders from education, business, philanthropy, healthcare, military service, and the arts, spent two years identifying strategies to make economic and social mobility more accessible. The report includes 10 recommendations for policymakers, education leaders, and employers. BHCC's Skill Badges are among the practices that can be tailored and replicated nationwide.
Helping humanities students show what they know
Launched in Fall 2024, the Skill Badge program is part of BHCC's Humanities to Career (H2C) initiative and is supported by a grant from the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation. It integrates career-ready skills into the college's Humanities and Liberal Arts (HLA) curriculum. About 2,500 of BHCC's approximately 10,000 learners, or 25 percent, are pursuing HLA majors.
After consulting an Employer Advisory Board, BHCC focused the badges on durable skills, such as communication and collaboration, self-management and adaptability, leadership and influence, and cognitive and problem-solving skills. These are the human skills employers value, and they matter even more as artificial intelligence changes the workplace.
Faculty design each badge around skills already taught in their courses. They confirm that the skill appears in current entry-level job postings, and employers validate it with a brief endorsement letter. To earn a badge, students complete three credit-bearing courses that count toward their HLA degree and then participate in a workshop with faculty and employers. There, they practice telling stories about how they have used the skill so they can discuss it in interviews, cover letters, and networking conversations. Students receive a digital badge to share on LinkedIn, in a resume, or in an email signature.
“Because students earn the badges early in their degree, they also offer a small win that can build momentum toward finishing a degree,” said Molly Phelps, BHCC’s Director for Humanities to Career Program. “Students who have earned a badge say it helped them ‘break the ice’ with employers, and 99% of students surveyed after a workshop said they would recommend the experience to a friend.”
The program draws on BHCC's existing strengths, including the Learn and Earn paid internship program and career advising redesigned for HLA students. BHCC is working with Jobs for the Future on a formal evaluation of the program.
To learn more about the Skill Badge program, visit BHCC’s Skill Badges webpage. To explore the Commission's report and interactive map, visit amacad.org/opportunities.