Instructure Success Model: Defining Your Vision for Credentials

[ErinMR]

As we discussed in our previous post, the Instructure Success Model is a key component of your approach to launching a new platform or endeavor, including Canvas Credentials. This month, we will begin taking a closer look at the first of four components of the model: Vision, and how it applies to Canvas Credentials.

What is a Vision?

Vision communicates your WHY. It sets the foundation for your goals and success measures. At one of our first sessions with new adopters of Credentials, we ask project leaders to think about a few questions:

1. First, why did you purchase Canvas Credentials? It might seem obvious at first, but repeating the question “Why?” especially with multiple stakeholders, can yield useful insights. 
2. Next, what do you hope to achieve with Credentials? What are your long-term goals?
3. What is your purpose for using Credentials? Consider how this purpose affects the organization, faculty/staff, and learners.
4. Why are you making this change? How will you communicate it to faculty, staff, and/or students?
5. How would you finish this sentence? “Through Canvas Credentials, [institution’s] vision is to…” 

The answers to these questions will help us begin building a vision as well as set the stage for future communication with stakeholders. A vision statement is our final destination — what we want to achieve, broadly, with our usage.

Let’s take a look at what this might look like in real life. In this hypothetical example, Panda College has decided to use Credentials to help build value and interest in its MBA program. Here’s what their vision might look like:

• Panda University’s vision is to offer the premier skills-based MBA program in the region, empowering students with practical expertise and real-world experiences to drive innovation, foster sustainable business growth, and become leaders who positively impact their communities and industries.

From Vision to Goals

A vision isn’t enough, however. While a vision provides a destination, we need to consider actionable goals. How will we arrive at that destination? What milestones do we need to meet to get there? We encourage SMART (Specific, Measurable Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) Goals. Here are some goals Panda U might identify:

• Within 6 months, identify at least five marketable skills for each course in the MBA program to increase transparency and communicate the value of the program.
• By Fall 2025, create at least one badge for each course in the program, tagged to Lightcast skills, so that these marketable skills can be easily identified when badges are shared.
• By Spring 2026, place badges on a pathway so that learners can track their progress through the program.

Measuring Success

Finally, how will we measure whether we are successful? What does successful completion of these goals look like? How will we define success, and what is the timeline? If a vision is our destination, and goals are milestones or checkpoints on our journey, success measures tell us how we know we have reached our destination. Here are some of Panda University’s success measures:

• Track the number of badges awarded
• Track the number of badges shared on social media platforms
• Survey business partners for feedback on tagged skills

Having a vision, goals, and success measures will ensure we are set up for success. Ready to get started? This link will take you to a worksheet that you can use to begin answering some exploratory questions about your vision. We’d also love to partner on your journey to write your vision, goals, and success measures! Reach out to your Customer Success Manager if you’d like to work with us.