Build Your Best Self: DU Launches 4D Character and Leadership Micro-Credential

What is “character”? At DU, it’s more than a personal trait—it’s one of the four clearly defined dimensions of the 4D Experience, the University’s whole-person approach to developing the leaders of tomorrow.

Compassion, resilience, and integrity are three core elements of DU’s definition of character, and students can develop these traits through unique learning experiences like the new 4D Character and Leadership Micro-Credential.

Created by the 4D Leadership Team in partnership with the Leadership Studies Department in the Office of Public Good Strategy and Research, this micro-credential requires students to take five courses across disciplines, including two Leadership Studies courses and three electives. When they complete the program, students earn a badge that demonstrates to future employers and post-graduate admissions counselors that they have the character disposition, mindset, and skills needed to succeed in the workforce and society. 

“Character is so essential in our current world,” says Paul Kosempel, professor and director of Leadership Studies and one of the program’s developers. “We each need to be mindful of what our character is, and how we can develop it. This micro-credential is a significant way we can engage students in these conversations.” 

All students begin with a Leadership Studies course called Exploring Lives of Leadership and Character (LDRS 2140), which introduces what it means to build character and lead a life of purpose. From there, they select electives from a variety of academic programs, including Communication Studies, Counseling Psychology, Entrepreneurship, and Philosophy.

The electives are organized around the program’s three core virtues of compassion, resilience, and integrity. For example, Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication is considered a compassion class, Rapid Prototyping relates to resilience, and Ethics and Your World addresses integrity. Each virtue category offers seven to 10 course options; a full list of the elective courses can be found here.

Students take one class in each virtue subcategory and then finish the program by taking Reflecting on Lives of Leadership and Character (LDRS 2150), where they consider what they’ve learned and how to carry it forward as they develop as leaders. They also complete an ePortfolio of all their micro-credential work.

Audrey Townsend, director of 4D Experiential Learning and co-developer of the program, says the curriculum “enables students to approach issues of character from different disciplinary lenses and do so when it makes sense for them in their academic journey.”

Students from any major or minor can participate—and at any time during their years at DU. “We strongly encourage undergraduate students to enroll in the micro-credential in their first or second year, given that they may retroactively apply courses that they have taken,” says Townsend, “but it is possible for a student later in their studies to complete it as well.”

Electives are offered year-round, with the introductory LDRS course available in the fall and the final LDRS course offered in the winter. This timing is subject to change based on DU’s class scheduling process, which varies year to year. Students are encouraged to make course plans in advance, as they would with any academic path. 

Once they complete the program, students receive a badge from Credly, which they can display on their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and anywhere else they want to show their professional development credentials. While the micro-credential itself does not appear on transcripts, the required leadership courses do.

Character beyond the classroom

Apart from its academic and professional benefits, the 4D Character and Leadership Micro-Credential also provides an enriching experience that enhances the student journey at DU. 

Liv Kane, a third-year student majoring in communications and minoring in psychology, says the program has helped her “feel like I’m able to think outside the box, have more impactful conversations, and bond with other students in the program.”

She also thinks the experience will push her beyond the classroom. “By participating in these lectures and going to these classes, I’m able to think and answer questions in a more critical way—and I see how that's going to help me for a lifetime. I feel like I’m part of something bigger.”

Kosempel says another benefit of the program are the bonds students make with each other. “In the initial one-credit class, as students reflect on themselves and their lives, they make some really great connections with their peers,” he notes.

With just five required courses, the 4D Character and Leadership Micro-credential is something all interested students can fit into their schedule—which was important to Kosempel and the 4D leadership team. “We philosophically and fundamentally believe that leadership is something that everyone should be able to access and that everyone can grow and develop as leaders,” he says.

Getting started is easy: Students do not need to reach out to the registrar to declare their participation in the program—they just need to register for LDRS 2140. They can then take their time completing the micro-credential, as long as they finish the courses and ePortfolio prior to graduation.

Learn more about the Character and Leadership Micro-Credential.