Cal Poly Pomona Taps Into Digital Badges to Elevate Engagement in CBA Student Clubs
Campus clubs are one of the best ways for students to build leadership skills, gain hands-on experience, and connect with peers. However, maintaining engagement and initiative has proven to remain a challenge. To support student involvement in a more meaningful way, the College of Business Administration is introducing digital badges as a new form of recognition for club participation.
Led by the Innovation Incubator, digital badges are shareable credentials that recognize specific skills, contributions or accomplishments. Unlike traditional certifications, badges are tied to clear criteria and can be displayed on platforms such as LinkedIn, allowing students to showcase their involvement, leadership, and professional growth beyond the classroom. For clubs, badges provide a way to motivate members, recognize behind the scenes work and create clearer pathways for participation and growth.
Beginning in spring 2026, the CBA will pilot 29 digital badges across select student clubs. The pilot is designed to recognize engagement, including leadership roles, professional development activities, event planning, training completion and sustained contributions to club initiatives.
The pilot is informed by research conducted during a fall 2025 micro-internship, led by faculty member Jeanne Alamaraz. The micro-internship team worked closely with business clubs and presented to the United Business Student Senate (UBSS) to better understand what motivates student participation and how digital badges could add value to existing club activities.
“Throughout my experience working on digital badges for the business clubs last semester, I discovered that these badges could boost a student's motivation by providing credible, skill-based recognition that feels more personal than traditional certificates,” said Perla Valdez-Mota, business management and human resources major. “These badges also allow employers to verify specific skills, see your involvement and recognize your commitment and contributions to an organization.”
Several badge examples highlight how recognition is being tailored to each club’s mission. For Women in Tech, an implementer badge recognizes students who move beyond introductory participation to take on active, impactful roles within the organization. Students earning this badge demonstrate meaningful engagement by collaborating at a higher level, creating a lasting impact on the Women in Tech community.
Similarly, the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) implementer badge recognizes members who take initiative and actively contribute to chapter leadership and development. The badge highlights commitment, collaboration and readiness to step into future leadership roles.
By aligning badges with activities clubs already offer, the initiative helps make student involvement more visible and rewarding. “I believe digital badges would be more motivating than traditional incentives because they’re exclusive, with a limited number available each year,” said Antonio Rocha, a business management and human resources student. “I think they help individuals going forward having a leg up on the competition having a digital badge from a certified organization.”
Clubs interested in awarding digital badges are encouraged to begin the process by speaking with their club advisor to discuss how badges can support organizational goals. From there, clubs can propose a badge aligned with existing activities, such as officer roles, event coordination, competition, or professional development, and begin defining a clear, measurable criteria for earning the badge.
For more information on digital badging, view the Innovation Incubator website or contact the team directly at digitalbadging@cpp.edu.