How to Earn a CAS Advantage Badge

Earning a badge is about what you learn from an experience, not simply completing an activity.

1. Have an Experience
   • Participate in a meaningful academic, professional, campus, community or personal development experience.
2. Document It
   • Submit information about your experience and provide evidence when appropriate.
3. Reflect on It
   • Consider what you learned, how you grew and how you can apply what you learned in the future.
4. Apply for a Badge — Optional
   • After documenting and reflecting on your experience, choose whether you want it considered for an eligible CAS Advantage badge.
   • Your experience and reflection are still part of your CAS Advantage journey even if you choose not to apply for a badge.
5. Demonstrate Your Growth
   • Badge applications are reviewed based on how well you demonstrate development in the competency and at the level for which you are eligible.
   • Participation starts the experience. Reflection and demonstrated growth earn the badge.

One Experience Can Develop Multiple Competencies

• A meaningful experience may help you develop more than one CAS Advantage competency.
• For example, organizing a campus event could demonstrate Communication through promoting the event, Collaboration through working with a planning team, and Community through creating an opportunity for others to connect.
• You may use the same experience for more than one badge when you can clearly demonstrate how it contributed to your development in each competency.

Explore the Five CAS Advantage Competencies

There is no single activity that automatically earns a CAS Advantage badge. Your experiences can take many forms. What matters is your ability to explain what you learned and demonstrate your development.

Communication

Express Ideas. Listen. Connect.

Communication is your ability to exchange information, ideas and perspectives effectively with others.

Your experience might involve: presenting, writing for an academic or professional audience, active listening, giving or receiving feedback, professional communication or adapting a message for a particular audience.

Consider in your reflection: How did you communicate? How did you adapt to your audience or situation? What did you learn about listening or expressing ideas? What will you do differently next time?

Community

Find Your Place. Make an Impact.

Community is your ability to engage meaningfully with others and recognize how you contribute to the groups and communities around you.

Your experience might involve: student organizations, campus programs, volunteering, community involvement, organizing an event or engaging with people whose experiences differ from your own.

Consider in your reflection: What did you contribute? What did you learn from others? How did this experience affect your understanding of community? How might you engage differently in the future?

Critical & Creative Thinking

Question. Analyze. Create.

Critical & Creative Thinking is your ability to evaluate information, consider possibilities, solve problems and develop thoughtful approaches.

Your experience might involve: research, problem-solving, making a difficult decision, evaluating different perspectives, developing an original idea or adapting when an initial approach doesn't work.

Consider in your reflection: What problem or question did you face? What information or perspectives did you consider? How did your thinking change? What would you do differently next time?

Career & Life Design

Explore Possibilities. Design What Comes Next.

Career & Life Design is your ability to understand yourself, explore possibilities and make intentional decisions about your future.

Your experience might involve: career exploration, meeting with a career professional, developing your resume, internships, job shadowing, informational interviews, networking or identifying your strengths, interests and goals.

Consider in your reflection: What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about a possible future path? Did the experience confirm or challenge what you previously believed? What will you do next?

Collaboration

Contribute. Cooperate. Achieve Together.

Collaboration is your ability to work effectively with others toward a shared goal.

Your experience might involve: group projects, teamwork, student organizations, workplace collaboration, event planning, navigating disagreement or taking on a leadership or supporting role.

Consider in your reflection: What role did you play? How did you contribute to the group's success? How did you respond to different ideas or working styles? What will you bring to your next collaborative experience?

Grow Through Four Levels

Each of the five CAS Advantage competencies includes four levels of development. You must complete the previous level within a competency before advancing to the next.

Higher levels recognize deeper development—not simply more participation.

• • Level 1 — Explore

    • Recognize and Reflect
      • Identify the competency within an experience, describe what you learned and consider how you might use that learning in the future.

  • Level 2 — Apply

    • Put Your Learning Into Practice
      • Use what you've learned in a new situation, take greater responsibility and adapt your approach when you encounter new challenges.

  • Level 3 — Integrate

    • Connect Your Experiences
      • Make connections across experiences, apply the competency in different settings and demonstrate how your approach has developed over time.

  • Level 4 — Demonstrate

    • Show Sustained Growth
      • Use the competency intentionally and independently, draw upon multiple experiences and explain how you will carry your development into your career, graduate education or life beyond Oakland University.

How Far Can You Go?

• With five competencies and four levels in each, you have the opportunity to earn up to 20 CAS Advantage badges.
• You don't have to earn all 20.
• Earn one badge in all five competencies - Receive your CAS Advantage graduation pin
• Then continue progressing through higher levels as you choose.
• Five is the milestone. Twenty is the challenge.

What Makes a Strong Badge Application?

A CAS Advantage badge recognizes demonstrated development, not attendance or participation alone.

Before submitting your badge application, ask yourself whether you've demonstrated these five things:

• Connect

  • Does my experience clearly connect to the competency?
  • Explain why the experience relates to the CAS Advantage competency you selected.

• Reflect

  • Have I explained what I learned—not just what I did?
  • Go beyond describing the activity. Identify what you learned about yourself, others or the situation.

• Demonstrate

  • Have I supported my reflection with meaningful examples?
  • Use specific moments, decisions, challenges or outcomes from your experience to show your development.

• Apply

  • Can I explain what I'll do with what I learned?
  • Consider how this experience might affect what you do in another course, experience, workplace or future situation.

• Grow

  • If I'm pursuing a higher level, have I demonstrated continued development?
  • Show how this experience builds upon what you've previously learned or demonstrated.

Remember

• Participation starts the experience. Reflection and demonstrated growth earn the badge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to apply for a badge?

• • • No. Badge applications are optional. You can submit your CAS Advantage experience and reflection without applying for a badge.

How many badges can I earn?

• • • There are five CAS Advantage competencies with four levels in each, giving you the opportunity to earn up to 20 badges.

Do I need to earn all 20 badges?

• • • No. Twenty badges represent the maximum opportunity for students who want to continue advancing through all four levels.

How do I earn the CAS Advantage graduation pin?

• • • Earn at least one badge in each of the five CAS Advantage competencies. Communication, Community, Critical & Creative Thinking, Career & Life Design, and Collaboration to receive a CAS Advantage pin to wear at graduation.

Can I use the same experience for multiple badges?

• • • Yes. A meaningful experience can contribute to multiple competencies. You may use the same experience for more than one badge when you can clearly demonstrate how it contributed to your development in each competency.

Can I skip a badge level?

• • • No. Badge levels are sequential within each competency. You must complete the previous level before advancing to the next level in that competency.

Does attending an event automatically earn me a badge?

• • • No. CAS Advantage badges recognize what you learned and demonstrated through an experience, not simply that you attended or participated.

What counts as an experience?

• • • Experiences can come from many places, including courses, campus events, student organizations, employment, internships, research, volunteering, leadership, workshops, community involvement, and other meaningful academic, professional, or personal experiences.

What should I include in my reflection?

• • • Focus on what happened, what you learned, why the experience mattered, and how you will apply what you learned in the future.

What happens if I don't earn the badge?

• • • Your experience and reflection are still part of your CAS Advantage journey and can be included in your e-portfolio. Applying for a badge is an additional opportunity for recognition.